Reducing Overselectivity in Early Language Development in Children with Autism

Robert L. Koegel, Ariella Eichenbaum, Lynn K. Koegel

Children with autism often exhibit stimulus overselectivity, or a lack of response to multiple cues in the environment. This has negative implications for learning new behaviors and the generalization of learned behaviors. It may result in communicative delays in speech and language, and in social delays. The current study examines stimulus overselectivity in young children with autism who are in the early stages of language development. Two children with autism participated in a multiple baseline design that assessed the effects of using the motivational techniques of PRT while modifying the stimulus components (phonemes) of target words to reduce stimulus overselectivity. The results indicate that both children showed a significant decrease in stimulus overselectivity and a large improvement in correct responding to the target words. In addition, both children showed a generalized effect of the treatment for learning new words. The findings support previous research that suggests that stimulus overselectivity varies as a function of stimulus variables and shows that it can be reduced through intervention.