Abstract
We assessed the efficiency of tact and listener training for eight participants with autism spectrum disorder. Tact and listener probes were conducted in baseline for all target sets, and then tact training was initiated with one and listener training with another. Following mastery of one set, tact and listener probes were conducted with only the sets assigned to the same modality of training (i.e., sets 1, 3, and 5 for tact; sets 2, 4, and 6 for listener). Training and probes were repeated for all sets. The measures of efficiency included the number of skills mastered through direct training, the number of skills that emerged without training, the number of trials-to-criterion, and maintenance of skills. Clinical programming based on each participant’s results is discussed. For six participants, tact training was more efficient than listener training across multiple measures. For the remaining two participants, tact training and listener training were considered equivalent.
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Acknowledgements
Sarah E. Frampton, Language and Learning Clinic, Marcus Autism Center; Hannah C. Robinson, Language and Learning Clinic, Marcus Autism Center; Daniel E. Conine, Language and Learning Clinic, Marcus Autism Center; Caitlin H. Delfs, Language and Learning Clinic, Marcus Autism Center, and Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained for all individuals in the study.
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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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Danny Conine is now at the University of Florida.
Implications for Practice
• Tact and listener comparisons can be conducted in the context of daily clinical services, by assigned clinical staff, with individualized procedures for each participant.
• Probe and training procedures can be adapted to require less intrusive data collection while still allowing clinicians to make data-based decisions regarding the outcomes.
• Tact training was shown to be more efficient or as efficient for all participants; however, differences across measures were detected for most participants.
• The proposed decision-making model may assist clinicians in using their data to guide clinical programming.
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Frampton, S.E., Robinson, H.C., Conine, D.E. et al. An Abbreviated Evaluation of the Efficiency of Listener and Tact Instruction for Children with Autism. Behav Analysis Practice 10, 131–144 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-017-0175-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-017-0175-y