A Systematic Review of Derived Relational Responding Beyond Coordination in Individuals with Autism and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

As interest in derived relational responding has increased, so have the number of investigations evaluating interventions to promote the emergence of derived responding for individuals with autism, as well as other intellectual and developmental disabilities. However, much of the literature has focused on the relation of sameness, and less is known about interventions to facilitate derived responding in other relations. Systematic searches identified 38 studies contained in 30 articles that met inclusion criteria. These studies were analyzed according to their participants, assessment methods, experimental design, content taught, setting, teaching procedures, derived responses, outcomes, and reliability measures. The quality of the studies was measured using the Single Case Analysis and Research Framework (SCARF). The results of the current review indicate that many learners with autism spectrum disorder and other intellectual and developmental disabilities demonstrate derived relational responding beyond the relation of coordination across varied instructional content and teaching methodologies, but the quality and rigor of the published literature requires the results be interpreted with caution, leading to recommendations for future research.

Deriving relations at multiple levels of complexity following minimal instruction: A demonstration

“…In this vein, research focused on developing and validating an instructional technology capable of establishing and strengthening AARRing for children is minimal but emerging (Dixon et al, 2015(Dixon et al, , 2021Howarth et al, 2015;Rehfeldt & Barnes-Holmes, 2009). Recent reviews on derived relational responding provide promising evidence that multiple-exemplar training facilitates relational framing (Belisle et al, 2020;Gibbs et al, 2023). However, little to no research has been conducted with children on higher levels of AARRing (e.g., relational networking).…”

From direct contingencies to derived relations: the ever-developing nature of theory and practice in behavior analysis

“…RFT’s account of verbal behavior was considered controversial for decades, even within the behavior analytic community ([ 43 ]; [ 17 ]). However, the growing body of evidence from laboratory and clinical trials (see [ 45 ] for a review) shows its utility and effectiveness in establishing new relations, conducting detailed assessments of language abilities, and changing the existing patterns of AARRing [ 46 ].…”