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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of simultaneous physical prompting with a secondary prompter on the acquisition of independent imitation skills in a pre-kindergarten student with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The researcher used a single-case multiple probe across behaviors design to determine whether the intervention led to increases in object imitation. The intervention consisted of teaching trials in which a primary therapist modeled an action with an object and said do this and a secondary therapist immediately physically prompted the correct response to the task direction. Before each teaching session, the primary therapist ran a probe session to measure independent imitation progress. Results demonstrated a strong positive trend in independent imitation upon introduction of the independent variable to each behavior. This intervention is one that could be beneficial for children acquiring imitation skills in a home, clinic, or classroom setting.