ABSTRACT Caregivers' vocal imitation provided contingently on infant vocalization is an essential factor in early language development. While there is a large body of research using contingent vocal imitation (CVI) procedures with infants, there is limited research on applying the CVI procedure to young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study examined the effectiveness of the CVI procedure implemented by caregivers (staff members) to increase the vocalizations and echoic responses (imitative responses) of four children with ASD. The effects of CVI were compared to a noncontingent vocalization control condition using a modified alternating treatments design, with a baseline and reversal. All four participants demonstrated an increase in vocalizations in the CVI phase. Two participants demonstrated increased echoic (imitative) responses in the CVI conditions compared to the initial baseline condition and control condition. We discuss the implications of these findings for application and future research with younger children with ASD and in multiple settings and caregivers.
Crysdale et al. (Tue,) studied this question.