Join us for a practical CEU that turns intraverbal “webbing” research into step-by-step teaching—with the explicit goal of reducing rote responding and building flexible, independent intraverbals. We’ll clarify pretests vs. baseline, walk through an errorless teaching sequence (systematic prompt delay, distractor trials, re-presenting the SD), and show how to design randomized FFC/category prompts and 12-trial sessions that promote true verbal-stimulus control rather than memorized scripts. Attendees leave with probe scripts, a fidelity checklist, and a simple data/graph template.
Featured Article (reviewed):
Alzrayer, N. M. (2020). The impact of an intraverbal webbing procedure on the emergence of advanced intraverbal skills in children with autism spectrum disorder. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 13, 914–923. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-020-00410-5
Who: BCBAs, BCaBAs, RBTs (1) Differentiate pretest, baseline, and post-intervention probes; (2) Implement a 4-step errorless routine with prompt delay to shift stimulus control; (3) Build and run randomized FFC/category intraverbal probes to minimize rote responding and increase generative language.
This CEU event explores the application of lag schedules of reinforcement to strengthen intraverbal repertoires and reduce rote responding in learners with autism. Building on the previous session’s discussion of intraverbal webbing and the challenges of rigid verbal behavior, this session reviews the study by Contreras and Betz (2016), Using Lag Schedules to Strengthen the Intraverbal Repertoires of Children with Autism.
Participants will examine how lag schedules can be implemented to increase variability in responding, promote flexible language use, and identify when additional variability training may be necessary. Discussion will include interpretation of the research design, participant outcomes, and clinical implications for everyday programming. Attendees will gain practical strategies for fostering diverse, adaptive verbal behavior that moves beyond memorized or scripted responding.
Contreras, B. P., & Betz, A. M. (2016). Using lag schedules to strengthen the intraverbal repertoires of children with autism. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 49, 3-16. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.271
In this live article review, participants will examine a recent experimental comparison of two procedures designed to establish generalized intraverbal-tacting in children with autism spectrum disorder: a Frame procedure (intraverbal-tacting embedded in a verbal frame) and a No Frame procedure (intraverbal-tacting without a frame requirement). The study used a conditional-only teaching method across compound stimulus sets (Shape/Number, Number/Color, and Agent/Action) and evaluated both acquisition and generalization of intraverbal-tacting across four children with ASD.
Together, we will analyze baseline error patterns (e.g., restricted stimulus control, combined responses), review the experimental design and dependent measures, and discuss why the Frame procedure facilitated acquisition or produced more efficient learning for most participants. The discussion will highlight how verbal frames may add multiple sources of intraverbal control and how this can inform the design of language programs targeting question discrimination, compound tacts, and generalized responding.
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
Describe the key components of Frame vs. No Frame procedures for teaching intraverbal-tacting.
Identify common restricted stimulus control errors observed at baseline and how the intervention addressed them.
Discuss implications of conditional-only teaching, stimulus complexity, and array presentations for clinical language programming.
degli Espinosa, F., Wolff, K., & Hewett, S. (2021). A comparison of two teaching procedures to establish generalized intraverbal-tacting in children with autism. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 54(4), 1468–1487. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.869
