Teaching Generalized Communicative Behaviors within Interrupted Behavior Chain Contexts

Abstract

Three students with severe disabilities were taught to request items or events within interrupted behavior chain contexts. The interrupted behavior chain strategy involved inserting a typical instructional trial into the midst of an ongoing predictable sequence of behaviors such as getting a jacket and going outside or obtaining and operating a simple toy. Additionally, generalization probes were conducted in a variety of nontraining settings to determine whether responses taught within interrupted routines would generalize to “out-of-routine” contexts in which the child requested items to begin, rather than to resume, an activity. The results demonstrated that for each of the three students the responses acquired within interrupted chains of behavior generalized to a variety of naturally occurring, out-of-routine contexts and are discussed in relation to teaching self-initiated communicative behaviors.