Abstract

Typically developing children acquire language skills without specific training; however, children with autism often need intensive interventions to acquire a verbal repertoire. The purpose of the current study was to teach two children diagnosed with autism the Naming skill (i.e., acquiring object labeling and identification after the first presentation of the object and the label) as described by Greer and Ross (2008). The Naming skill is essential for normal language acquisition. Without it, words must be specifically taught across multiple verbal-operants. The current study was conducted with two participants at age 5. Both participants had a diagnosis of autism and the prerequisite skills required for Naming as described by Greer and Ross (2008). Multiple exemplar training across multiple behaviors was used to attempt to train the skill. A multiple baseline across participants and probe design was used. Data were collected at every session.