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Abstract
Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) provides individuals without speech, or with limited speech, a way to functionally communicate. Current practitioner recommendations emphasize the need for multimodal AAC communication, yet limited research exists on teaching two AAC modalities simultaneously and no studies are available that evaluate the use of multiple modalities with preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The purpose of the current study is to evaluate the effects of simultaneously teaching two AAC modalities, Picture Exchange Communication System and the Proloquo2Go™ application on an iPad, to preschoolers with ASD. Through the use of a multiple probe across participants design, the primary researcher evaluated the PECS instructional protocol for teaching each modality, assessed participants’ rate of acquisition and preference of modality through a concurrent operant condition, assessed the occurrence or emergence of vocalizations, and assessed for maintenance of each modality. Additionally, a B-A-B-A design was used to determine the impact of embedding a treatment challenge (e.g., one modality is unavailable when using a lag schedule of reinforcement) directly into training to evaluate the effects of response persistence when two modalities are simultaneously taught. Results demonstrated three of the four participants acquired PECS and Proloquo2Go during simultaneous training, maintained each modality at comparable levels to intervention, and interchanged modalities when faced with a contrived communication breakdown. The Lag 1 schedule of reinforcement yielded higher variation of responding in comparison to no extinction in the Lag 0 conditions. Findings provide support for training modalities simultaneously and suggest the PECS manual an effective protocol for teaching speech-generating devices, specifically, Proloquo2Go. The current study also extends response persistence and variability literature and preliminarily suggests adding contrived communication breakdowns into training can strengthen an individual’s multimodal communicative repertoire.