The effects of focused stimulation, vertical structuring, and expansions on verbal language in young minimally-verbal children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Speech pathologists are often the first line of referral for young children at risk for an ASD. Often, SLPs, especially those who work in state-funded Early Intervention Programs (Part C-Early Intervention, IDEA, 2004), do not have access to training on autism-specific early intervention models (Stahmer, Collings, & Palinkas, 2005). In addition, children who are receiving Early Intervention in community settings often do not have available options for autism-specific interventions, which are offered in many university settings. As a result, the facilitation strategies of focused stimulation, vertical structuring, and expansions are often being implemented in therapy with these children. To our knowledge, no study has measured the effects of these commonly used language strategies on the verbal language in minimally verbal children with ASD. The purpose of this study was to measure the effects of focused stimulation, vertical structuring, and expansions on the acquisition of verbal language in minimally verbal children with ASD. Three toddlers diagnosed with autism were recruited for this study. Intervention took place twice a week for 20-minute sessions, followed by two-generalization probes 4 weeks post intervention. Two out of our three participants demonstrated gains in their verbal language inside of the intervention environment. Results of this study conclude that these intervention strategies are capable of being implemented in community-based intervention settings with successful outcomes.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Alabama Libraries

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Chiarelli, Chelsea Renee

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Barber, Angela B.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Buhr, Anthony P.
• Moss, Laura
• Scofield, Jason M.
• Saffo, Rachel W.

• Speech therapy

Statement dc:rights

• All rights reserved by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Language dc:language.iso

en_US, English

Dc Identifier Other

u0015_0000001_0001884
Chiarelli_alatus_0004M_12329

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ir.ua.edu:123456789/2315