Within Stimulus Prompting to Teach Symbol Discrimination Using an iPadA® Speech Generating Device

This study evaluated the effects of within stimulus prompting and prompt fading to teach four preschool children with autism picture symbol discrimination using an iPadA (R) and the Proloqu2Go application as a speech-generating device. Participants were taught to discriminate between a progressively more complex field of picture-symbols depicted on the screen of an iPad with a five-phased training procedure. All participants acquired discrimination between picture-symbols while using the iPad to mand for preferred items in a field of four picture-symbols. The results provide tentative support for a procedure to teach children with autism to discriminate between picture symbols while manding using a handheld speech-generating device.