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Mands are consistently described as critical learning targets for members of vulnerable populations in need of language intervention (Ala'i-Rosales et al., 2018; Michael, 1988; Sundberg, 2004). Reviews of the literature demonstrate a prevalence of the mand in the applied literature (e.g., DeSouza et al., 2017). Yet, gaps between research and practice exist in scientific fields resulting in decades-long delays between identification of evidence-based approaches and adoption in everyday use. The mand may be particularly at risk for procedural drift in practice settings given the sometimes elusive nature of establishing operations (EOs) and the relative complexity of procedures used to contrive them. Thus, the purpose of this tutorial is to build upon prior conceptual (e.g., Shafer, 1994) and applied (e.g., Cengher et al., 2022) reviews on mands to provide a contemporary, in-depth review of three procedures used to contrive EOs: incidental teaching, the interrupted chains procedure, and programmed restriction of reinforcers. Recent examples from the literature are discussed along with considerations for use in practice. Resources to support implementation including integrity checklists and role play scenarios are provided., Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40617-024-00985-3., Competing Interests: Conflicts of InterestWe have no conflicts of interest relevant to this article to disclose., (© Association for Behavior Analysis International 2024. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

One of the most critical intervention strategies when working with individuals with significant language delays associated with autism spectrum disorder and related developmental delays is teaching mands. For mand training to be effective, an establishing operation (EO) must be in effect, yet EOs are often difficult to observe. Before learning to mand, an individual may point to or approach a reinforcer, which likely indicates an EO related to that reinforcer, and may be considered an indicating response (IR). Observing an IR before prompting a mand increases the likelihood that the prompt is delivered when an EO is in effect and that the response is truly a mand. Missing from the literature is a consistent definition of IRs and a robust set of guidelines for using them in practice. In this tutorial, we review the terms and topographies of IRs in the literature to arrive at a definition of IRs. We then provide practical, research-based recommendations for using IRs during mand training, as well as assessing, selecting, teaching, and replacing IRs. Last, we provide tools and resources related to decision making and data collection with respect to IRs., Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40617-024-00965-7., Competing Interests: Conflicts of InterestThe authors have no relevant financial or nonfinancial interests to disclose., (© Association for Behavior Analysis International 2024. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Effective note taking may enhance learning outcomes for students and serve as a directly observable form of mediation within a test context. Frampton et al. (2023) used stimulus fading to teach note taking in the form of a graphic organizer (GO) during matching-to-sample baseline relations training (MTS-BRT). Moderately high yields were observed with young adults despite the use of linear series training, abstract stimuli, and five-member classes. The present study taught the same note taking strategy using an intervention package including video illustration, voice-over instructions, and feedback to eight college students. Participants were taught to construct the GO during MTS-BRT with three three-member classes of familiar stimuli. Then the effects of MTS-BRT alone with three five-member classes of abstract stimuli was evaluated. Participants efficiently completed training with familiar stimuli and passed the posttest on the first attempt. With the abstract stimuli, participants engaged in GO construction during MTS-BRT and the six participants that demonstrated high levels of fidelity to the trained note taking strategy passed the posttest on the first attempt. These results replicate findings from Frampton et al. while using a more efficient intervention package. Benefits of teaching overt mediation responses are discussed as well as future directions for translation to applied contexts., (© 2024 The Authors. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.)

Purpose: Miniature linguistic systems (also known as matrix training) is a method of organizing learning targets to achieve generative learning or recombinative generalization. This systematic review is aimed at determining whether matrix training is effective for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in terms of improving recombinative generalization for instruction-following, expressive language, play skills, and literacy skills., Method: A systematic review methodology was employed to limit bias in the various review stages. A multifaceted search was conducted. Potential primary studies were imported into Covidence, a systematic review software, and inclusion criteria were applied. Data were extracted regarding (a) participant characteristics, (b) matrix designs, (c) intervention methods, and (d) dependent variable. A quality appraisal using the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Single-Case Design Standards (Version 1.0, Pilot) was carried out. In addition to the visual analysis of the data, an effect size estimate, non-overlap of all pairs (NAP), was generated for each participant. Independent t tests and between-subjects analyses of variance were conducted to identify moderators of effectiveness., Results: Twenty-six studies including 65 participants met criteria for inclusion. All included studies were single-case experimental designs. Eighteen studies received a rating of Meets Standards Without Reservations or Meets Standards With Reservations . The aggregated combined NAP scores for acquisition, recombinative generalization, and maintenance of a range of outcomes were in the high range., Conclusions: Findings suggested that matrix training is an effective teaching method for individuals with ASD for acquisition, recombinative generalization, and maintenance of a range of outcomes. Statistical analyses to identify moderators of effectiveness were insignificant. Based on the WWC Single-Case Design Standards matrix training meets criteria to be considered an evidence-based practice for individuals with ASD.

A graphic organizer (GO) is a note-taking device with concepts and fill-in spaces that may enhance equivalence yields under suboptimal training and testing parameters (e.g., linear training, simultaneous testing, five-member all-abstract classes). We used a nonconcurrent multiple-probe design across eight adult participants to evaluate the effects of a treatment package consisting of abstract matching-to-sample baseline relations training (MTS-BRT) and GO-construction training. GOs were faded until participants drew or wrote the trained relations from a blank page, which was available in the pre- and posttests. There was a 75% yield (six of eight participants) on the first posttest and a 100% yield following remedial training with Set 1. With Set 2, MTS-BRT alone resulted in voluntary GO construction and a 75% yield (three of four participants) on the first posttest and a 100% yield following remedial training. These results suggest that teaching participants to draw relations among stimuli may strengthen the effects of MTS-BRT training on equivalence yields., (© 2023 The Authors. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.)

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may struggle with verbal behavior related to recall in various contexts. However, relatively little research has evaluated methods for improving recall among this population, and even fewer from a verbal behavior perspective. One socially important set of skills that relies upon a behavioral repertoire of recall is applied reading skills, such as reading comprehension and story recall. Valentino et al. (2015) designed an intervention package to teach children with ASD to recall short stories and conceptualized the behavior as an intraverbal chain. The present study replicated and extended that study with three school-aged children with ASD using a multiple baseline design across stories. For some participants and some stories, story recall was mastered under less intensive intervention conditions than in the previous study. When it was necessary to implement the full intervention package, the effects largely replicated previous research. Improvements in recall were correlated with increases in correct answers to comprehension questions. These data have important implications for clinicians and educators providing reading and recall interventions to children with ASD. Results also have theoretical implications for verbal behavior accounts of memory and recall, and suggest several possible avenues for future research., Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40616-023-00183-2., Competing Interests: Conflict of InterestThe authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© Association for Behavior Analysis International 2023. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Matrix training consists of arranging targets for instruction to promote fine-grained stimulus control resulting in the establishment of skills without direct training. Recent reviews of the matrix training literature (Curiel et al., 2020a, b.; Kemmerer et al., 2021) highlighted the efficacy and efficiency of the approach with learners with and without disabilities. These reviews noted substantial variations in procedures across studies, suggesting the approach may be flexibly deployed across content areas and teaching procedures. This outcome is positive for practitioners as they may customize matrix training to meet the unique needs of their clients. However, it also necessitates decision making to sort through the variations in the literature. This tutorial was developed to help practitioners weigh various considerations when using matrix training. Tools and resources are provided to illustrate and accelerate adoption into practice settings., Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40617-022-00733-5., Competing Interests: Conflicts of InterestWe have no conflicts of interest relevant to this article to disclose., (© Association for Behavior Analysis International 2022, Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

This article tells the story of how a public charter school serving students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) adopted Direct Instruction (DI) as their primary form of instruction. The journey from recognizing the need for evidence-based curriculum focused on academic skills to integrating DI on a daily basis was outlined using a common implementation framework. We measured results of the implementation process on student outcomes using reading scores obtained from the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement (KTEA-II Brief). Results for 67 students who participated in a DI reading program for at least 2 years suggest that the implementation of DI led to significantly improved reading scores; with some students demonstrating greatly accelerated rates of learning for their age. Our study suggests that the road to adoption of DI may be long, but the results are powerful for the individuals served. We offer our steps to implementation as a guide and resource to educators and behavior analysts eager to utilize DI in their settings., Competing Interests: Conflicts of InterestNo funding was received to assist with the preparation of this manuscript. The authors have no relevant financial or nonfinancial interests to disclose., (© Association for Behavior Analysis International 2021.)

Developed by Siegfried ("Zig") Engelmann and colleagues, direct instruction (DI) has been recognized as an effective and replicable teaching model for decades. Although rooted in many principles of learning that behavior analysts utilize in daily practice, DI is not a common a component of behavior analytic services for learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This may be attributed to behavior analysts' unfamiliarity with research evaluating the efficacy of DI with learners with ASD. This article synthesizes findings across studies evaluating DI with learners with ASD. The review addresses the contributions of the studies to date and identifies additional areas of research that may lead to more learners with ASD benefitting from DI., (© Association for Behavior Analysis International 2021.)

We replicated Shillingsburg et al. (2018) by teaching children with autism to mand for social information while analyzing the variables influencing the emission of mands. We presented questions about a social partner that were known and observable (e.g., "What is Robin doing?"), known but unobservable (i.e., questions for which an intraverbal response had previously been taught, such as, "Where does Robin work?"), or unknown (e.g., "What is Robin's favorite food?"). Correct answers were reinforced across all conditions. During treatment, we prompted children to mand for information from the social partner following only unknown questions. All children acquired mands for social information and answered previously unknown questions correctly after manding for social information and 3 of 4 participants emitted mands to novel social partners, including a peer with autism., (© 2020 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.)

Skinner's (1957) classification of mand responses has spawned decades of research related to teaching individuals with developmental disabilities. However, few studies have evaluated how to teach individuals with autism to progress from simple to more complex mands for desired items and activities. The present study used a treatment package consisting of errorless teaching, differential reinforcement, and systematic decision rules to increase the number of words per mand utterance used by 6 children with autism. Daily probes were conducted in the absence of prompting and differential reinforcement throughout every stage of the treatment. Results showed that all children showed significant developmental gains in the mean length of utterances. Increased rates of manding, increased emission of mand frames, and decreased instances of indicating responses (i.e., pointing, reaching) in the absence of mands were also observed. Implications regarding the feasibility of intensive mand training in practice are discussed., Competing Interests: Conflict of InterestThe authors have no declared financial conflicts of interest., (© Association for Behavior Analysis International 2020.)

Shillingsburg, Frampton, Cleveland, and Cariveau (2018) taught listener and tact by feature, name-feature intraverbal, and feature-name intraverbal responses across sets and reported emergence of responses that were not directly trained for 6 individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current study was a systematic replication with the addition of instructive feedback (IF) with 2 children diagnosed with ASD. During trials for previously mastered listener by name responses (e.g., "Point to Tennessee" and child selects a picture of Tennessee), the experimenters provided related IF (e.g., "The capital of this state is Nashville"). After 3 sessions, we evaluated the effects of IF on related verbal responses (e.g., listener by feature, tact by feature, name-feature intraverbal, and feature-name intraverbal) across sets probes. We observed increased correct responses for related verbal responses; replicating Shillingsburg et al. Results suggest that the inclusion of IF may increase the efficiency of verbal behavior programming., (© 2019 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.)

Direct instruction (DI) is an evidence-based approach to education that has been shown to be effective across a wide variety of student populations. Growing evidence suggests that DI may be an efficacious strategy for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of using DI with students with ASD who utilize speech-generating devices (SGDs); 3 students with ASD whose primary mode of communication was an SGD were exposed to the Language for Learning Curriculum, Lessons 1-10. Student performance on pre- and posttests was measured, as well as student performance on exercises within each lesson. The average time to complete an exercise, number of repetitions, number of terminated sessions, and student affect were also evaluated. Results indicated that all 3 students could participate and complete exercises with some modifications to support SGD use. The students demonstrated improved performance, positive affect, and overall timely completion of exercises. Taken together, these findings suggest that DI may be feasible for some students with ASD who utilize SGDs., Competing Interests: Conflict of InterestThe authors have no declared financial conflicts of interest., (© Association for Behavior Analysis International 2020.)

The present study evaluated the emergence of intraverbals for 2 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Prior to baseline, both children demonstrated tact, tact function, listener, and listener by function responses with 12 pictorial stimuli, yet they failed to demonstrate intraverbals related to the function of the items (e.g., "What do you do with [item]?" and "What do you use to [function]?"). Following baseline, previously mastered related tact, tact function, listener, and listener by function tasks were presented prior to probe trials for the target item-function and function-item intraverbals. Results showed that interspersal of the related tasks for a subset of the intraverbals led to the emergence of untrained item-function and function-item intraverbals for both participants. In Experiment 2, the long-term effects of this remedial training on the emergence of untrained intraverbals was evaluated as new tact and listener responses were trained. Results of Experiment 2 showed that tact function and listener by function training was sufficient to establish the emergence of item-function and function-item intraverbals in the absence of related-task interspersal. These results are discussed in relation to current explanations for emergent responding., Competing Interests: Conflict of InterestThe authors have no declared financial conflicts of interest., (© Association for Behavior Analysis International 2019.)

Matrix training consists of preplanning instruction by arranging components of desired skills across a minimum of two axes. In the current study, three matrices were developed for each participant (e.g., Matrix 1, Generalization Matrix 1, and Generalization Matrix 2) with known color and shape components. Following baseline, nonoverlapping (i.e., diagonal) training was conducted with Matrix 1. Results of posttests were used to determine the extent of emergence of untrained color-shape combinations across all matrices. Results from all six participants indicated that mastery criteria were eventually met for Matrix 1. For five participants, mastery criteria were also eventually met for generalization matrices. Results replicate findings from prior studies and offer a simple approach for both testing emergence of untrained skills and remediating responding., Competing Interests: Conflict of InterestThe authors have no declared financial conflicts of interest., (© Association for Behavior Analysis International 2018.)

Few studies have applied Skinner's (1953) conceptualization of problem solving to teach socially significant behaviors to individuals with developmental disabilities. The current study used a multiple probe design across behavior (sets) to evaluate the effects of problem-solving strategy training (PSST) on the target behavior of explaining how to complete familiar activities. During baseline, none of the three participants with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) could respond to the problems presented to them (i.e., explain how to do the activities). Tact training of the actions in each activity alone was ineffective; however, all participants demonstrated independent explaining-how following PSST. Further, following PSST with Set 1, tact training alone was sufficient for at least one scenario in sets 2 and 3 for all 3 participants. Results have implications for generative responding for individuals with ASD and further the discussion regarding the role of problem solving in complex verbal behavior., (© 2018 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.)

Research with individuals with disabilities has demonstrated the utility of intervention approaches to address toy play, also referred to as functional leisure engagement (FLE). Examples include prompting FLE, blocking stereotypy, and differentially reinforcing appropriate FLE with social or automatic (i.e., access to stereotypy) reinforcers. Backward chaining has yet to be evaluated, but may be useful for establishing more complex FLE. The current study employed a treatment package consisting of these components with three school-aged children with autism in a therapeutic classroom. Effects were evaluated during pretest and posttest sessions, which consisted of free access to toys in a novel setting. The percentage of session with FLE was evaluated using a multiple probe design across participants. Results showed all participants demonstrated an increase in FLE and two participants showed decreased stereotypy. Feasibility for classroom implementation is discussed.

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.

We used procedures established within the mands for information literature to teach two children with autism to mand for social information. Establishing operation trials were alternated with abolishing operation trials to verify the function of the responses as mands. Use of the acquired information was evaluated by examining responding to questions about their social partner. Both participants acquired mands for social information and showed generalization to novel social partners., Competing Interests: Compliance with Ethical StandardsThe authors have no declared financial conflicts of interest. 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.

Instructive feedback (IF) is a procedure in which extra information is presented to a participant during the consequence portion of instruction for other skills. Previous research has demonstrated that participants with intellectual disabilities may acquire a portion of non-targeted skills (secondary targets) without explicit instruction when extra information is presented. Previous research has demonstrated that IF has resulted in more efficient instruction for participants with disabilities as a whole. However, few studies have focused on participants with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Additionally, the measures of secondary target acquisition in past research have focused solely on discrete responses (e.g., one-word utterances). The current investigation extended the IF literature related to participants with ASD by including longer verbal responses as secondary targets and assessing maintenance for both primary and secondary targets. Across three participants, IF resulted in the acquisition of at least a portion of secondary targets without explicit teaching. For two participants, additional instruction was required before IF resulted in acquisition of secondary targets. Across all three participants, gains observed for both primary and secondary targets in intervention were maintained., Competing Interests: The authors have no declared financial conflicts of interest.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.

Matrix training consists of planning instruction by arranging components of desired skills across 2 axes. After training with diagonal targets that each combine 2 unique skill components, responses to nondiagonal targets, consisting of novel combinations of the components, may emerge. A multiple-probe design across participants was used to evaluate matrix training with known nouns (e.g., cat) and verbs (e.g., jumping) with 5 children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Following baseline of Matrix 1 and a generalization matrix, diagonal targets within Matrix 1 were trained as noun-verb combinations (e.g., cat jumping). Posttests showed recombinative generalization within Matrix 1 and the generalization matrix for 4 participants. For 1 participant, diagonal training across multiple matrices was provided until correct responding was observed in the generalization matrix. Results support the use of matrix training to promote untrained responses for learners with ASD and offer a systematic way to evaluate the extent of generalization within and across matrices., (© 2016 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.)

This study assessed whether tact training would establish analogies as measured by equivalence-equivalence relations. In Experiment 1, six college students were trained to tact "same" or "different" in the presence of AB and BC compounds based on component class membership (e.g., A1B1 as "same", and A1B2 as "different"), and then tested on emergent tacts (BA, CB, AC, CA) and equivalence-equivalence relations. Only one of six participants passed all tests without remedial training. In Experiment 2, six college students were trained to tact only compounds belonging to the same class as "same". Three of six participants passed all tests without remedial training. In Experiment 3, six college students were trained to tact stimuli belonging to the same class with a common name prior to exposure to relational tact training. All participants passed tests without remedial training. In Experiment 4, eight college students were trained to tact stimuli belonging to the same class with a common name. Six participants passed without remedial training, while two, who did not tact the relation of the compounds, did not. Results from these studies suggest that simple discrimination of individual components and their relation in the form of tacts is related with equivalence performance., (© Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.)

Recent literature reviews have highlighted the need to better understand the relation between speaker and listener behavior when teaching learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current paper outlines the practical implications of evaluating the emergence of tact and listener behavior during instruction for the opposite relation, as presented in the preceding article "Evaluating the Efficiency of Listener and Tact Instruction for Children with Autism." Modifications of those procedures for clinical use as well as future directions for research in this area are presented., (© Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.)

Recent literature reviews have highlighted the need to better understand the relation between speaker and listener behavior when teaching learners with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The current study used a modified parallel-treatments design to compare directly the degree to which tact and listener behavior emerged during instruction in the opposite relation for 4 children with ASD. Results showed tact training to be either equally or more efficient than listener training for all participants. However, varied patterns of emergent responding across participants indicate a need for further research. Data on collateral responding during instruction did not suggest that the presence or absence of overt collateral behaviors were predictive of emergence. The results highlight the importance for clinicians and educators to assess emergent tact and listener repertoires periodically., (© Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.)