Using script fading to promote natural environment stimulus control of verbal interactions among youths with autism

Script fading was used to teach three youths with autism to initiate and sustain verbal interactions under stimulus control consistent with the natural environment. The youths learned to engage in verbal interactions during simulated shopping trips and during visits to community stores. The effectiveness of script fading was examined using a multiple-baseline-across-settings experimental design. During pre-test trips to community stores and during baseline sessions, all three youths demonstrated near zero rates of verbal interactions. With the introduction of the script-fading procedure, all three youths successfully learned to use the scripted statements in conversations during a series of simulated shopping trips. As the scripts were faded, from last word to first word, rates of unscripted statements systematically increased. All three participants also demonstrated generalization of their newly acquired conversation skills to untrained stimuli. In addition, all three youths demonstrated generalization of their conversation skills during community shopping trips to local retail stores. These results suggest that the script-fading procedure brought verbal interactions under the stimulus control of environmental, as opposed to teacher-controlled stimuli.