The relative efficiency of two orders for training autistic children in the expressive and receptive use of manual signs

Effects of Symbol, Referent, and Instructional Variables on the Acquisition of Aided and Unaided Symbols by Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders

“…The effects of referent concreteness on the acquisition and use of manual signs and graphic symbols by individuals with autism have not been directly investigated. However, there are a number of studies that indicate that the majority of signs and graphic symbols acquired by individuals with autism depict referents from the noun word class (e.g., Kozleski, 1991;Miller & Miller, 1973;Salvin, Routh, Foster, & Lovejoy, 1977;Watters, Wheeler, & Watters, 1981). Common and proper nouns as a whole tend to be relatively concrete in comparison to other linguistic categories (Benedict, 1979;Nelson, 1973).…”

AAC Interventions for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders: State of the Science and Future Research Directions

“…in many reports, participants with aSD learned only a limited number of sign vocabulary words, and teaching of these few signs often required much time and effort (Carr, Binkoff, Kologinsky, & eddy, 1978;Carr, Kologinsky, & Leff-Simon, 1987;falcomata, Wacker, ringdahl, Vinquist, & Dutt, 2013;Hinerman et al, 1982;Kee, Casey, Cea, Bicard, & Bicard, 2012;remington & Clarke, 1983;Valentino & Shillingsburg, 2011). finally, much of the literature in support of using manual sign language includes anecdotal reports, case studies (Bonvillian & nelson, 1976;Kee et al, 2012;Konstantareas, Hunter, & Sloman, 1982), and underpowered group designs (Watters et al, 1981).…”

The Research Basis for Autism Intervention

“…In most cases, children progress to a point at which the emphasis shifts to facilitating symbolic communication. Findings suggested that teaching the expressive use of signs prior to their receptive use facilitated learning the receptive use of the signs, but that teaching the receptive use of signs first interfered with learning expressive use (Watters, Wheeler, & Watters, 1981). Children with autism have demonstrated an ability to learn to use such symbols in communicating (e.g., Bondy & Frost, 1995;Bonvillian, Nelson, & Rhyne, 1981;Layton, 1988), and studies are also suggestive that learning to use these alternative symbol systems does not inhibit and may even facilitate the subsequent development of verbal communication.…”