ABSTRACT:

In this study the effect of a stimulus-stimulus pairing procedure was used as part of a clinical investigation to increase vocalizations for two young children diagnosed wiht autism. This procedure involved pairing a vocal sound with a preferred stimulus (e.g., toy) to conditon automatic reinforcement. In addition, this study assessed the effects of a direct reinforcement procedure to bring a vocalization under echoic control following the pairing procedure for 1 of the participants. The results showed the pairing procedure was used successfully to increase a vocalization for one of the participantts, and the vocalization was brought under echoic control.

ABSTRACT

Many children with autism do not imitate adult vocalizations, an important skill in learning to talk. Pairing adult vocalizations with preferred stimuli has been shown to increase free-operant vocalizations but effects are temporary; thus, direct reinforcement may be necessary to establish durable vocal behaviors. In Experiment 1, directly reinforced echoic responses did not increase following stimulus-stimulus pairings in three children with autism. Similarly, pairings did not increase free-operant vocalizations in Experiment 2, a replication of Miguel et al. (2002). Experiment 3 demonstrated that shaping increased vowel frequency for one participant. Results suggest that variables are yet to be delineated that influence effectiveness of a stimulus-stimulus pairing procedure on vocalization frequency and acquisition of a verbal operant following such pairings.

ABSTRACT

Recent research suggests that the sound produced by a child’s vocalization can become a conditioned reinforcer via the temporal pairing of an experimenter’s vocal model with a preferred stimulus delivered to the child. The current study replicated and extended the findings of previous studies in this area. A multiple baseline design across vocal behaviors (combined with a reversal to baseline) was used to evaluate the effects of a stimulus–stimulus pairing procedure on one-syllable utterances of 3 boys who had been diagnosed with autism. Data were collected during presession and postsession observations across four conditions: baseline, control, pairing, and reversal. During baseline, the free-operant levels of target sounds were recorded in the absence of experimenter interaction. During the control condition, the experimenter presented a vocal model and, after a 20-s delay, presented a preferred stimulus to the child. During the pairing condition, the experimenter’s vocal model was paired with the delivery of the preferred item. Results from postsession observations during the pairing condition showed an increase in target sounds for 2 participants. This outcome may suggest that the children’s vocalizations were automatically reinforced, albeit only temporarily. Practical and theoretical implications of the results are discussed along with the specific methods employed in this literature..

ABSTRACT

The current study evaluated the effects of a stimulus-stimulus pairing procedure intended to increase spontaneous vocalizations of a young child diagnosed with autism. A multiple-baseline design across two target phonemes was used to evaluate the effects of the pairing procedure on the frequency of phonemes uttered by the participant. Data were collected during presession, postsession, and follow-up periods across three conditions: Baseline, Control, and Pairing. During the Pairing conditions, a target phoneme was repeatedly vocalized by the experimenter and was systematically paired with preferred stimuli. Results from postsession observations following the pairing condition evidenced no increase in the target sounds. Practical and theoretical implications of the results are discussed.

ABSTRACT

Two female infants, aged 11 and 14 months, were exposed to a procedure in which and experimenter-emitted vocal response was paired with an established form of reinforcement (positive condition). One of the subjects was also exposed to a procedure in which an experimenter-emitted vocal response was paired with a neutral stimulus (neutral condition), and a procedure in which an experimenter-emitted vocal response was paired with a mild aversive stimulus (negative conditon). An AB design was used with the pre- and post-pairing measures. The results showed that after the positive pairing the targeted responses increased in frequency in 75% of the sessions. Responding remained constant during the neutral conditon, but dropped sharply in the negative conditon. These data suggest that a critical variable relataed to an infant's native language acquisition is the stimulus-stimulus pairing process that occurs when parents or caretakers speak to their infants.

ABSTRACT

An alternating treatments design was employed to compare the effect of stimulus-stimulus pairing, standard echoic training, and a control conditon on the vocal behavior of 3 preschoolers with autism. Data was recorded during pre- and postsession observations. During the stimulus-stimulus pairing condition, the experimenter's vocal model was paired with the delivery of a preferred item. During the standard echoic training condition, the experimenter presented a vocal model and, after a 10-s delay, presented a preferred edible item. Results from the postsession observations during the stimulus-stimulus pairing conditon showed an immediated but temporary increase in the target sound for 1 participant only. Implications and suggestions for future research are provided.

ABSTRACT

The vocal behavior of five children was recorded and analyzed during pre- and post-pairing conditions. Between these conditions there was a pairing condition where a target sound, word, or phrase was paired with an established form of reinforcement (e.g., tickling). In the first experiment all of the children emitted the targeted responses during the post-pairing condition. The results showed that the children acquired new vocal and verbal responses by pairing neutral stimuli with established forms of conditioned or unconditioned reinforcement. Perhaps the most significant aspect of these results was that new vocal responses were acquired by the children without the use of direct reinforcement, echoic training, or prompts. In the second experiment several parameters of the pairing procedure were examined. The results of the two experiments have implications for the analysis of native language acquisition, and for the development of language intervention procedures for individuals who fail to acquire language.

ABSTRACT

Children with autism and related disabilities frequently fail to develop echoic repertoires. Among the ways in which treatment approaches vary is the extent to which automatic reinforcement is utilized. The present experiment was designed to test the efficacy of a procedure that incorporates automatic reinforcement and socially mediated reinforcement in the development of an echoic repertoire. The implementation of this treatment package resulted in an increase in the vocal play and echoic behavior for two participants, each of whom had very limited verbal repertoires. The study was conducted as a multiple probe across sounds design. Vocal play for Participant 1 increased from baseline rates as low as .2 per min to 4.5 per min during treatment, and her percent correct echoic behavior increased from 0% to at least 90% on both sounds. Participant 2 showed rapid gains in echoic control on one sound before requiring dismissal from the study. Interobserver agreement on the occurrence of target vocals equaled 100%. The results of this study have implications for which procedures to use in the establishment of echoic, echoic mand, and mand repertoires.

ABSTRACT

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of stimulus–stimulus pairing on conditioning vocal sounds as reinforcers. Four preschoolers with severe language and communication delays participated. In Experiment 1, an attempt was made to condition vocal sounds as a reinforcer by pairing a specific vocal sound with a reinforcing event (e.g., physical interaction). Results indicated that presentation of a stimulus–stimulus pairing was effective in conditioning the target vocal sounds as reinforcers, which increased the occurrence of vocalizations of those sounds by the participants. Experiment 2 compared the effects of the pairing procedure with those of echoic training. The pairing procedure was identical to that in Experiment 1. In the echoic training condition, the experimenter produced the target vocal sound and gave the participant an opportunity to echo. The same reinforcing stimulus (e.g., physical interaction) was provided contingent upon the occurrence of the target vocal sound emitted by the participant. Results showed that the pairing procedure was more effective than the echoic training. Findings from this study suggest that for these participants, who had no vocal imitation skills, the stimulus–stimulus pairing was an effective procedure for conditioning vocal sounds as reinforcers and increased the probability of occurrence of the vocalization without a direct reinforcement contingency. with the delivery of the preferred item. Results from postsession observations during the pairing condition showed an increase in target sounds for 2 participants. This outcome may suggest that the children’s vocalizations were automatically reinforced, albeit only temporarily. Practical and theoretical implications of the results are discussed along with the specific methods employed in this literature.

ABSTRACT

Effects of a stimulus-stimulus pairing procedure on the subsequent acquisition of mand operants were investigated. An attempt was made to shape novel sounds that emerged through the pairing procedure into a mand. Six children, aged two to five years, with moderate to severe language and communication delays, participated. Two conditions were used following the pairing condition: postpairing and direct reinforcement. The emergence of mands was compared across these conditions. An additional analysis was made of the relation between participants’ baseline verbal repertoires and the effects of the pairing and the emergence of mands. Results indicate the possibility of stimulus control from a stimulus-stimulus pairing to mand as shown in two of the participants who had demonstrated high rates of vocal play and low to no verbal repertoire prior to this study. Target vocal sounds during postpairing and direct reinforcement condition remained at zero to low levels for participants with high verbal repertoire and little vocal play, warranting future studies on relations between the pre-existing verbal repertoire and the effectiveness of stimulus-stimulus pairing.