Objective: This study aimed to investigate if naturalistic language intervention increased the frequency of conceptual verb use in autistic AAC users. The dependent variable was the participant’s spontaneous use of conceptual verbs. Methods: Four male, autistic, augmentative, and alternative communication (AAC) users, ages 4 years to 8 years old, were included in this investigation. A multiple baseline across participants design was used. Participants received two 30-minute sessions per week for 4 to 8 weeks. Sessions occurred within the participant’s home environment. Specific verb ‘give,’ ‘open,’ and ‘look’ were targeted using naturalistic language intervention strategies during intervention sessions. Results: Three out of four participants achieved baseline stability. All four participants demonstrated a behavior change between the overall use of verbs and naturalistic language intervention. Two participants showed an increase in verb variability and in the number of verbs expressed using AAC, suggesting a null relationship for these variables. Conclusion: The data supported the claim that a functional relationship exists between conceptual verb use and naturalistic language intervention strategies. In verb variability and, verbs expressed using AAC were not replicated across participants, suggesting no effect of the intervention on these behaviors.
