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Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis logoLink to Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis
. 1984 Winter;17(4):453–460. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1984.17-453

Establishing generative yes/no responses in developmentally disabled children.

N A Neef, J Walters, A L Egel
PMCID: PMC1307967  PMID: 6526766

Abstract

We evaluated the effects of two procedures for teaching four developmentally disabled children to respond yes/no appropriately. During baseline, tutoring was conducted in which five known items were individually presented with the question, "Is this a ----?", followed either by access to requested items or by remedial prompting contingent on responding. When tutoring did not improve performance, instruction was embedded in the regular classroom activities. In this condition, items requested by students were either presented or withheld on the basis of their response to the question, "Do you want ----?". Increases in correct responding were confirmed by a multiple-baseline design across all four students and were maintained with the introduction of new items. However, generalization to "Is this a ----?" questions did not occur in the tutoring setting until specifically programmed. Subsequently, students also demonstrated appropriate yes/no responding to questions involving actions, possession, and spatial relations.

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Selected References

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