Why Children With Autism Often
Fail to Acquire a Functional Intraverbal
Repertoire and What to do About it
Mark L. Sundberg, Ph.D., BCBA-D
(www.marksundberg.com)
Intraverbal Behavior
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The most significant aspects of human behavior involve
intraverbal behavior
language acquisition
education
social behavior and relationships
knowledge, thinking, and intellectual behavior
literature, poetry, stories, novels
understanding
employment
beliefs, views, & opinions
religion
international relations
facts of history....
Intraverbal Behavior
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A young child’s early intraverbal behavior may be relatively
simple such filling in the words of songs or fun activities (e.g.,
“Ready, set...” “Peek-a-…”)
These response may be multiply controlled (e.g., MOs)
But intraverbal behavior soon becomes quite complex and a
significant part of a developing child’s daily verbal behavior
What is Intraverbal Behavior?
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Intraverbal behavior is a type of verbal behavior where the form of the
response (what is said, signed, written, etc.) is under the functional
control of an antecedent verbal discriminative stimulus (SD) and some
type of generalized conditioned reinforcement (Skinner, 1957)
The verbal stimulus and the verbal response do not match each other
(i.e., no “point-to-point correspondence”)
Verbal stimulus control
Verbal responses
“What’s your favorite movie?”
“Cars”
“What’s your name?”
“Neil”
“What kind of work do you do?”
“I’m a behavior analyst”
“What causes autism?”
“There are probably a variety...”
How is the Intraverbal Different from the
Mand, Tact, & Echoic?
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Antecedent
Motivation (MO)
Nonverbal SD
Verbal SD
(w/ a match)
Verbal SD
(w/o a match)
Behavior
Mand
Tact
Echoic
Consequence
Specific reinforcement
Generalized reinforcement
Generalized reinforcement
Intraverbal
Generalized reinforcement
These are all called “expressive language” in traditional treatments
Common Intraverbal Problems
Experienced by Children with Autism
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Absent or weak intraverbal behavior, despite strong mands,
tacts, and listener (receptive) skills
Rote intraverbal responses
Difficulty answering questions--especially complex questions
Excessive rote scripting
No conversational skills
Echolalia with intraverbal questions
Poor peer intraverbal interaction
Irrelevant intraverbal behavior
Self as a listener with overt intraverbal behavior
Why the Intraverbal Repertoire
may be Absent, Weak, or Impaired
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There are many potential causes of intraverbal problems. Here are a
few...
The child has not received formal intraverbal training
The child is given training, but it’s too early to focus on intraverbals
The specific target responses are not in the child’s repertoire as tacts,
listener discriminations (LDs), or listener responding by function,
feature, and class (LRFFCs) (e.g., “What vehicle has wings?”)
Single verbal stimuli and single verbal responses have been over
conditioned
The intraverbal curriculum is out of developmental sequence
The child does not have sufficient training on verbal conditional
discriminations
Special Problems Related to
Teaching Intraverbal Behavior
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There are many complexities involved in the intraverbal. Here
are a few...
Verbal stimulus control vs. nonverbal stimulus control
Transitory and constantly changing SDs vs. the general static
nature of tact, mand, matching-to-sample
A separate curriculum is required
Tact, mand, and listener (receptive) prerequisites
Many words have no clear referent, but change the meaning of
words in a sentence (if, but, can’t, or, usually, its, for, of)
Verbal stimulus and response classes must be established
Verbal conditional discrimination training is usually necessary
Conditional Discriminations
Conditional discrimination: “When the nature or extent of
operant control by a stimulus condition depends on some other
stimulus condition” (Michael, 1993, p. 14)
• One discriminative stimulus (SD) or motivational operation (MO)
alters the evocative effect of a second stimulus, and establishes
the second stimulus as an SD or MO, and they collectively evoke
a response
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Verbal Conditional
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Discriminations (VC )
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What constitutes a verbal conditional discrimination and an
intraverbal response?
Two components of a verbal stimulus where one verbal stimulus
alters the evocative effect of the second verbal stimulus, and
collectively they evoke a differential intraverbal response
Skinner (1957, p. 76) calls this a “compound verbal stimulus,” but
does not use the term “verbal conditional discrimination”
Antecedent
Response
Verbal SD1 + Verbal SD2
Intraverbal Response
Verbal Conditional
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Discriminations (VC )
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Examples...
Antecedent (Verbal SD1 + Verbal SD2)
Big animal
Little animal
Big vehicle
Little vehicle
Intraverbal Response
Lion
Mouse
Boeing 747
A toy bike
VCD=VSD1 alters the evocative effect of VSD2 or vice versa
A correct response is dependent on VCD between words, if
individual words are the source of control errors will occur
Teaching Intraverbal Behavior to
Children with Autism
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Many children with autism have a difficult time acquiring
intraverbal behavior because beyond simple intraverbals (“A
kitty says...”), most intraverbal responses are part of a VCDs.
For example...
“What’s your cat’s name”
“What’s my cat’s name?”
“What did the cat chase?”
“What did the dog chase?”
Current Study
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Is there a general sequence of increasingly complex verbal stimuli
and VCDs that can be used for assessment and intervention?
When are typically developing children successful at these tasks?
A revised version (v. 5-2) of the 80-item intraverbal subtest of the
VB-MAPP was designed with increasingly complex intraverbal tasks.
This version was modified as function of previous field-test data
This is the 3rd large-scale administration of the VB-MAPP IV subtest
Current Study
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Approximately 8,500 intraverbal responses were collected
40 typically developing children and 71 children with autism served
as participants (bringing the project total to 91 typically developing
children and 262 children with autism)
Ages ranged from 23 months old to 15 years old
Parents and professionals administered the assessment based on a
set of written instructions
Acknowledgments for the People who
Conducted the Field Testing
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Kristen Albert
Judah Axe
Vincent Carbone
Lori Chamberlain
Anne Cummings
Carla Epps
William Galbraith
Rebecca Godfrey
Lisa Hale
Ally Labrie
Heather Law
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Mike Miklos
Paige Raetz
Rikki Roden
David Roth
Rachael Sautter
Carl Sundberg
Cindy Sundberg
Brenda Terzich
Joel Vodovic
Kaisa Weathers
Intraverbal Assessment: Level 7: Multiple SDs
with Prepositions, Adverbs, & Negation
Verbal S D
What do you eat with?
What animal moves slow?
Tell me something that is not a food
What do you write on?
Where do you talk quietly?
What is something you can't wear?
What do you sit at?
What is between the blankets and the bed?
What animal goes fast?
What's something that is not a musical instrument?
Score Response
Typically Developing Children
Intraverbal Scores
80
70
Age in Months and Intraverbal Score
Intraverbal Score
60
50
Age in Months
40
30
3-years-old
20
10
0
0
10
20
Participants
30
40
Results and Error Analysis for the
Typically Developing Children
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1½-year-olds (20-30 mands and tacts)
IV Assessment scores: Less than 5
Generally no IV behavior
2-year-olds (100-200 mands and tacts)
IV Assessment scores: 10-30 range
Some intraverbal behavior, but no VCDs
Can do song fill-ins and fun IVs, some associations, animal sounds,
common fill-ins; limited WH answers (e.g., name, or one word
answers); lots of echoic responses
Results and Error Analysis for the
Typically Developing Children
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2 ½ -year-olds (200-400 mands and tacts)
IV Assessment scores: 20-40 range
Some simple intraverbal behavior, getting some easy WH questions,
minimal VCDs
Frequent echoic responding, or “What?” “I don’t know” “Things”
When some intraverbal control was demonstrated, often simple IV
relation, minimal verbal conditional discriminations, the last, or
prominent word was usually the source of stimulus control
“What do you smell with?” ... “Poopies”
“What grows on your head?” ... “Shoulders”
“What animal moves real slow? ... “Drink water slow?”
“What helps a flower grow?” … “Up”
Results and Error Analysis for the
Typically Developing Children
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3-year-olds (500-1000 mands and tacts)
IV Assessment scores: 40-60 range
Well established basic intraverbal repertoire, 100s of IV relations
But verbal conditional discrimination errors were prevalent
“What grows on your head? ... “Plants”
Many “WH” questions cause problems
“Why do people wear glasses?” ... “Because they do”
“When do we set the table?” ... “So we don’t make a mess of food”
“Why do you use a Band-Aid?” ... “A rainbow”
“Where do you eat? ... “Food”
Rote responses were evident
“What day is today?” ... “Rainy” (it was sunny)
Results and Error Analysis for the
Typically Developing Children
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3-year-olds (cont.)
Problems with prepositions, adjectives, adverbs in VCDs
“What’s under a house? ... “roof”
“What something that is sharp?” ... “Giraffe”
Trouble with negation, time, personal information (except first
name)
“What’s something you can’t wear?” ... “Shirt”
“Tell me something that is not a food” ... “We don’t throw food.”
“What day is today?’ ... “Sunny”
“What is your last name? ... “Noah” “Jon” “Sofia” “Neil”
Three causes of errors: VCDs, complexity of the different parts of
speech, and meanings of individual words (e.g., “clothing” evoked
Results and Error Analysis for the
Typically Developing Children
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3½-year-olds (500-1200 mands and tacts)
IV Assessment scores: 50-70 range
Verbal conditional discrimination errors were still common
“What grows on your head?” ... “Hat”
“Name some clothing” ... “For the body”
Negation still a major major problem
Still having problems with, prepositions, adjectives, adverbs in VCDs
Still problems with time concepts
Still emitted echoic responses when no intraverbal occurred
Results and Error Analysis for the
Typically Developing Children
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4-year-olds (800-1800 mands and tacts)
IV Assessment scores: 50-75 range
Verbal conditional discrimination errors were still common
“What do you smell with?”... “A skunk”
But VCDs are clearly getting stronger
“What’s above a house?”...“An airplane, and stuff that’s on the
roof”
Negation, time concepts, prepositions, and adjectives in a VCDs
continued to be a problem for many children
Specific words and concepts like “different,” “between,” “take”
“how,” & “why” caused problems
Results and Error Analysis for the
Typically Developing Children
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5-year-olds (1000-2500 mands and tacts)
IV Assessment scores: 55-76 range
They get it! They are much better at VCDs.
“What’s in a balloon?” ... “Helium” “Air”
However, they still have problems with negation, time concepts, and
prepositions
Many children missed “What day is today?” “What day is before
Tuesday” “What’s your last name.” “How is a car different from a
bike?” “What number is between 6 and 8?”
Results and Error Analysis for the
Children with Autism
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71 children served as participants
Ages ranged from 35 months old to 15 years old
Consultants, classroom staff, and in-home
providers administered the assessment
Children with Autism
Intraverbal Scores
190
180
170
160
Age in Months and Intraverbal Score
150
140
130
Age in Months
120
110
100
Intraverbal Score
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
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10
20
30
40
Participants
50
60
70
Typically Developing Children
Intraverbal Scores
80
70
Age in Months and Intraverbal Score
Intraverbal Score
60
50
Age in Months
40
30
3-years-old
20
10
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10
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Participants
30
40
Error Analysis for the
Children with Autism
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The children with autism made the same types of errors as typical
children who scored at their level
Verbal conditional discriminations were hard for all children
especially those involving “WH” questions and the different parts of
speech
Rote responding was more obvious, and more firmly established
Echoic responses were more frequent
Negative behavior was higher with increasing complexity of the
verbal stimulus
Errors Made by Typically Developing
Children and Children with Autism
Scoring at the Same Level
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IV Assessment Score of 0-19
Typically developing children and children with autism who scored
at this level emitted similar errors
Gave an echoic response to the question
Gave no answer
Gave a standard single answer like “yeah,” or “yes”
Pointed at something or pointed in some location (listener behavior)
Negative behavior was higher for children with autism (avoidance
and escape)
Errors Made by Typical Children and
Children with Autism Scoring
at the Same Level
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IV Assessment Score of 20-29
Samples
What can fly?
What can you sing?
What’s outside?
Typical
“All gone shirt”
“Yes”
“Outside”
Autism
“Water”
No Response
“Outside”
Errors Made by Typical Children and
Children with Autism Scoring
at the Same Level
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IV Assessment Score of 30-39
Samples
What are some colors?
Why do you use a Band-Aid?
Where do you take a bath?
Typical
Autism
“1, 2, 3”
“Coloring”
“On my finger”
“Happens”
“Mommy and daddy” “With toys”
Errors Made by Typical Children and
Children with Autism Scoring
at the Same Level
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IV Assessment Score of 40-49
Samples
What grows outside?
What shape are wheels?
What do you wear on your head?
Typical
“Sand”
“Triangle”
“A ear”
Autism
“Playground”
“Cars”
“Boo boo”
Errors Made by Typical Children and
Children with Autism Scoring
at the Same Level
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IV Assessment Score of 50-59
Samples
What color are wheels?
What do you eat with?
Name some clothing.
Typical
“Circle”
“Cheese”
“Clothing”
Autism
“Red”
“Pizza”
“Clothing”
Errors Made by Typical Children and
Children with Autism Scoring
at the Same Level
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IV Assessment Score of 60-69
Samples
What’s in a balloon?
What makes you sad?
What grows on your head?
Typical
“It pops”
“Cry”
“Hats”
Autism
“String”
“Cry”
“A plant”
Errors Made by Typical Children and
Children with Autism Scoring
at the Same Level
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IV Assessment Score of 70-80
Samples
Typical
What day comes before Tuesday? “Wednesday”
What’s your last name?
Gave full name
What number is between 6 and 8?
“9”
Autism
“Wednesday”
Gave full name
“9”
Implication for Intraverbal
Intervention Programs
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Use the acquisition of intraverbal behavior of typically
developing children as a guide for an intraverbal curriculum
Assess a target child’s existing intraverbal repertoire using a tool
like the one presented here
Look for balance across the scores of the VB-MAPP (Is the child
ready for intraverbal training?)
Assess the corresponding mand, tact, and listener repertoires and
be assured they are present prior to intraverbal training (e.g.,
“big” and “little” as tacts and LDs)
Carefully sequence the intraverbal tasks (e.g., the VB-MAPP
intraverbal task analysis)
Implication for Intraverbal
Intervention Programs
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Typically developing 3-year-olds emit 1000s of intraverbal
responses a day, thus there needs to be many trials for language
delayed children.
Don’t move from the nonverbal context too quickly
Don’t be in a rush to move up the curriculum
There is a need for massive verbal stimulus and response
generalization
Use LRFFC as a stepping stone to IV
Always analyze errors and the sources of control. Back down the
curriculum sequence if necessary
Mixed and rotated VB trials on one topic mimic general
conversation and provide a bridge to the natural use of the skill
Implication for Intraverbal
Intervention Programs
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Respect the complexity of verbal conditional discriminations
(VCDs)
Establish a strong repertoire of simple intraverbal relations prior
to moving to VCDs and WH questions (100s of IVs from Group 1
and 2)
Be aware that a (rote) correct answer to a question may occur
when the VCDs element is removed (e.g., all “What color”
questions, or all “What shape” questions, or all “Where”
questions). Mixed and rotated VB trials can solve that problem
Be assured that the individual words evoke generalized
intraverbal responses prior to combining them in a VCDs task
(e.g., “grows” “head” “garden” individually evoke a variety of
intraverbal responses)
Conclusions
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The intraverbal behavior of typically developing children can
serve as an important guide for an intraverbal curriculum for
children with autism or other developmental disabilities
The primary behavioral relation relevant to intraverbal behavior
almost always involves a verbal conditional discrimination
Children with autism made the same intraverbal errors as typical
children who scored at their level
A behavioral analysis of these verbal errors can help us better
understand the errors made by children with autism and avoid
those errors by better sequencing the curriculum tasks, and by
providing the necessary instruction, especially on VCDs
Conclusions
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There is very little behavioral research on VCDs and their relation
to intraverbal behavior (for a review see Axe, 2008)
Existing conditional discrimination research can serve as a guide
for VCD intraverbal research (e.g., Saunders & Spradlin, 1989)
Funny Intraverbal Responses:
“Kids say the darnedest things”
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Why do people wear glasses? ...
What’s something you can’t wear?...
What do you write on? ...
What can you kick? …
Where do you put dirty clothes? ...
Who drives a car? ...
You sit on a...
Twinkle, twinkle, little ...
Because they are old and tired
I can’t wear my Halloween shirt
Not on the wall
We only kick balls
In the dishwasher
Daddy slept in the car
Time-out chair
Starbucks
Thank You!
For an electronic version of this presentation visit:
marksundberg.com/ABAI
For a copy of VB-MAPP intraverbal subtest visit:
Avbpress.com
Click on “Updates and downloads”