A Comparison of Two Approaches for Teaching VB Functions: Total Communication vs. Vocal-Alone

Abstract Total communication (TC) involves the use of manual signs with their corresponding spoken words simultaneously; and research indicates that TC facilitates vocal responding by children with autism. However, most of this previous research was conducted 20 years ago and did not consider vocal responding in relation to verbal behavior functions (Skinner, 1957). The present study used an alternating treatment design to compare the effects of TC vs. vocal-alone (VA) training on the vocal tact responses of a child with autism. Results indicated that the child produced nearly four times as many vocal tact responses during TC training than during VA training in less than half the number of teaching trials. The use of manual sign training is considered in relation to its advantages for supporting the production of vocal responses. Keywords: verbal behavior, sign language, tact, autism, total communication. Introduction The use of manual sign language as an alternative form of verbal behavior for persons with various language impairments has its roots in the experimental animal research of Gardner and Gardner (1969). They were the first researchers to use sign language to teach effective communication skills to an infant chimpanzee. The success of sign language training with primates prompted researchers in the applied fields to investigate the effects of sign language training on persons with various language impairments (Sundberg, 1996). Specifically, the profound language deficits presented by many children with autism and other developmental disabilities led early researchers to investigate the viability of sign language as an alternative mode of communication for this population and to examine the benefits that this form of verbal behavior could offer (Carr, Binkoff, Kologinsky, & Eddy, 1978). Subsequent research confirmed that children with developmental disabilities could not only be taught to use manual sign language, but that the manual sign acquisition could support the development of various verbal and nonverbal operants including, receptive discrimination, mands, and tacts (Miller & Miller, 1973; Bonvillian & Nelson, 1976; Carr et al., 1978; Carr, 1979; Carr & Kologinsky, 1983). Total communication (TC), the most commonly used training procedure to teach sign language to children with autism and other developmental disabilities, involves the simultaneous presentation of both a manual sign and an associated spoken word (Carr, 1979). Research has demonstrated that this form of language training may result in superior acquisition of verbal and nonverbal operants for children with autism and other developmental disabilities as compared with vocal-alone or sign-alone training (Brady & Smouse, 1978; Barrera et al., 1980; Barrera & Sulzer-Azaroff, 1983; Konstantareas, 1984; Sisson and Barrett, 1984). For example, Brady and Smouse (1978) compared the effectiveness of three language training methods (vocal-alone, sign-alone, and TC) on the acquisition of correct behavioral responses to an experimenter's vocal request. Compared to baseline levels of responding, the TC training condition produced significant gains in behavioral responses. Vocal-alone training actually produced a significant decrease in behavioral responses, and sign-alone training condition produced no significant difference in responses. Research has also suggests that a the use of TC for teaching sign language to non-vocal children may not only enhance communicative effectiveness but also facilitate the development of vocal responses (Fulwiler & Fouts, 1976; Schaeffer, Kollinzas, Musil, & MacDowell, 1977; Brady & Smouse, 1978; Casey, 1978; Carr, 1979; Konstantareas, Webster, & Oxman 1979; Barrera et al., 1980; Layton & Baker, 1981; Barrera & Sulzer-Azaroff, 1983; Konstantareas, 1984; Sisson and Barrett, 1984, Clarke, Remington, & Light, 1988; Goodwyn, Acredolo, & Brown, 2000; Tincani, 2004). …