Work

Culturally responsive language assessment through a verbal operant experimental analysis.

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: Speakers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds are disproportionately identified with communication deficits, a defining feature of autism spectrum disorder. The present case study demonstrates the use of a verbal operant experimental analysis as a measure of functional language. This analysis allows a bilingual participant to switch freely between responses in Spanish and English. Prior to receiving services, a pretreatment functional analysis of verbal behavior is used to identify the speaker's present level of functional language and develop an individualized treatment plan for shaping a more complex verbal repertoire. The benefits of culturally responsive early intensive behavioral intervention are demonstrated by a posttest evaluation 5 months later. Functional analyses of language are shown to be a verbal-community-centered approach to observing and measuring the verbal behavior of speakers from diverse backgrounds.

Source: Behavior Analysis Research and Practice

DOI: 10.1037/bar0000269

Authors: Janet Enriquez, Nayeli Arechiga, Sreeja Atherkode, Maria Otero, Alonzo Andrews, Lee Mason