Document Type

Thesis

Degree

Master of Science

Major

Education

Date of Defense

7-10-2024

Graduate Advisor

Andresa De Souza

Committee

Andresa De Souza

Danielle Pizzella

Barbara Gross

Abstract

Mands for information play an important role in language development and are important for successfully acquiring new information from one’s environment. Still, many individuals cannot effectively ask Wh- questions to mand for information, even though they may have extensive tact, intraverbal, and receptive language skills. Recently, Valentino et al. (2019) investigated procedures to teach the MFI “Why?” to children with language delays under the control of the establishing operation and examined the extent to which teaching resulted in generalization. The purpose of this study was to extend Valentino et al. protocol with three adults with developmental disabilities. The procedure involved six “Why?” scenarios with the controlling variable being EOs and the consequence being specific reinforcement. Generalization to new scenarios was demonstrated with all participants. Results showed that the mand training procedure resulted in the establishment of the MFI for all participants replicating Valentino et al.’s result with adults with developmental disabilities.

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