ABSTRACT

This study examined the effects of stimulus equivalence-based multiple exemplar instruction (MEI) including categorization on derived verbal relations in children with autism spectrum disorder and developmental delay. A multiple-probe design across participants was employed, and three children aged 4-6 years with autism spectrum disorder or developmental delay participated in the study. The independent variable was stimulus equivalence-based MEI, implemented using five stimulus sets. During the intervention, A–B (pointing), B–C (matching), B-A (tact), C-B (matching), A-C (pointing), and C-A (intraverbal) relations were taught in an interspersed sequence. The dependent variable was measured by correct responses in the derived B-A, C-B, A-C, and C-A relations following direct instruction of only the A-B and B-C relations. Changes in performance from pre- to post-probe and the emergence of these relations with a novel stimulus set were also examined. The results showed that Participants A and B demonstrated increases in the number of correct responses across all four relations-B-A, C-B, A-C, and C-A-from pre- to post-probe; however, the number of correct responses in the C-A relation was relatively lower than those in the other three relations. Participant C likewise showed increases in correct responses across all four relations from preto post-probe, and the emergence of all four derived verbal relations was also observed with the novel stimulus set.

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