| All children with autism exhibit conversational speech delays to some degree, which limit their ability to interact with others in their social environment. These deficits perpetuate the tendency of children with autism to remain on the periphery of peer groups and limit their opportunities for social success (Charlop & Milstein, 1989; Charlop-Christy & Kelso, 2003). In the present study, a multiple baseline design across children was used to assess the efficacy of a text messaging intervention (TMI) procedure to teach conversational speech with peers. Results indicated that participants learned conversational speech through the TMI and generalized the behavior across peers and settings. The behavior of conversational speech was maintained after 1-month follow-up periods. Results are discussed in terms of the efficacy of the TMI intervention, the importance of conversational speech as a target social behavior, and the social validity of the results. |
