ABSTRACT

This study investigated the effects of category-name tact training on emergent categorization (matching) and listener responding (pointing) in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with attention to the accuracy and latency of categorization (tact-matching), using a multiple probe design across three school-aged children. Pre- and post-probes assessed the emergence of untrained categorization (matching) and listener responding (pointing), while impure tact (speaker response) was also probed as a secondary indicator of the maintenance and generalization of the trained tact. At post-probe, categorization (matching) improved to 85%–100% for Participants A and B and 65%–80% for Participant C, and listener responding (pointing) improved to 95%–100% for Participants A and B and 75%–100% for Participant C. Categorization performed under a condition preceded by tact production (tact-matching) generally showed higher accuracy than categorization without a preceding tact, an effect that was especially pronounced for Participant A, with a latency reduction of approximately 34.6%–67.2%. Impure tact responses also increased at post-probe, and Participant C's relatively high performance variability was examined through an exploratory post hoc error analysis. These findings suggest that the acquired category names may have contributed to the formation of a functional stimulus class across individual stimuli and may have served a mediating function in the categorization process. This study offers practical implications for promoting emergent language and categorization development in children with ASD through category-name tact training.

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