Using the Verbal Behavior Approach to Increase Language in a Child with Autism

There is a fairly large research literature base evaluating the use of Skinner’s analysis of verbal behavior for teaching aspects of language to children with autism and language delays. However, although many practitioners are using the “verbal behavior approach” (Sundberg & Partington, 1998) to teach language to these children, no research was found evaluating the effects of the entire approach on language development in children with autism. The purpose of this case study was to employ the verbal behavior approach as presented by Sundberg and Partington (1998) with a young child with autism. A multiple baseline across verbal operants design was used to evaluate the acquisition of verbal behavior across the individually targeted elementary verbal operants. Additionally, The Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills, the Test of Language Development-P:2, and the Leiter-R were administered once every three months to monitor the student’s overall progress. The verbal behavior approach was effective at teaching the student new verbal behavior across the elementary verbal operants. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.