The Effects of Teacher-Implemented Naturalistic Intervention on the Communication of Preschoolers With Autism

This study examined the effects of a teacher training package on the teacher-delivered naturalistic communication-promoting intervention and the expressive communication of three preschool-aged boys with autism spectrum disorders. Growing numbers of children with disabilities, including autism spectrum disorders, attend community-based and inclusive preschool settings, and the present study provides information on how to support positive adult child social-communicative interactions by embedding noninvasive strategies in the context of natural environments. In this multiple-baseline study, the teachers received training and support in implementing specific, naturalistic communication-promoting strategies to increase child opportunities for expressive communication. As a result of the training, the teachers increased their use of the intervention strategies, and all of the target children showed increases in the frequency of expressive communication. This study emphasizes the importance of language input and how the level of intervention delivery-in this case, frequency of teacher-provided opportunities for communication-appears to influence child communicative behavior.