Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) strive to provide evidence-based practices to elicit expressive language in young children with autism spectrum disorder. This single subject, multiple baseline across behaviors investigation was implemented to see if early childhood education (ECE) staff could use expressive language strategies with students with ASD following coaching. The intervention of coaching was defined to include teaching at the beginning of each intervention condition, as well as two weekly coaching cycles that included check-in, embedded practice, and planning. One participant was coached in three independent strategies and demonstrated that coaching produced significant changes in the use of each strategy with students with ASD. The percentage of nonoverlapping data (PND) when baseline conditions were compared to intervention conditions were 87.5% for following the child’s lead and 75% for matched turns and expansions. These findings demonstrate the ECE staff can be coached to implement expressive language strategies for students with ASD and may have future implications for SLP service delivery in educational settings.
Keywords: Preschool, Early Intervention Natural Environments
