The current study was a replication of Petursdottir and Aguilar (Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 46, 58-68, 2016). Two different stimulus presentations were evaluated during auditory-visual discrimination training. A sample-first procedure, in which the sample stimulus was presented before the comparison stimuli, was compared to a comparison-first procedure, in which the sample presentation was presented after the comparison stimuli. The results indicated that both participants learned more quickly in the comparison-first condition, a finding that differed from Petursdottir and Aguilar (Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 46, 58-68, 2016).

The current study compared the use of a differential observing response (DOR) during receptive label training to a condition without the DOR. We extended the research on DORs used during receptive label training by using them with progressive prompt delay procedures and assessing responding following mastery without the DOR. Results indicated that both participants performed better in the DOR condition during the first comparison, but results were less clear in the second comparison.

The current study extended research on picture prompts by using them with a progressive prompt delay to teach receptive labeling of pictures to 2 teenagers with autism. The procedure differed from prior research because the auditory stimulus was not presented or was presented only once during the picture-prompt condition. The results indicated that the combination of picture prompts and prompt delay was effective, although 1 participant required a procedural modification.

This study examined selective attention and sustained attention in children with ADHD. Performance of 10-year-old boys on a visual cueing task was examined as a measure of selective attention. A subset of the original participants returned for a second study, during which they completed the Conners' Continuous Performance Test (CPT) as a measure of sustained attention. The results of this investigation suggest a dissociation between selective and sustained attention abilities in children with ADHD. Specifically, children with ADHD were able to perform as well as non-ADHD children on the selective attention task, while their performance on the sustained attention task indicated an impairment. These findings have important implications for designing academic interventions for children with ADHD. Additionally, these findings regarding the cognitive deficits associated with ADHD may be useful in guiding research investigating possible neuroanatomical dysfunction in ADHD.