An investigation of the effectiveness of Behavioral Momentum on the acquisition and fluency outcomes of tacts in three children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the fluency intervention, Behavioral Momentum (BM), on acquisition of tacts and associated fluency outcomes in three children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). A multiple probe design across stimulus sets was utilized to investigate the outcomes of Behavioral Momentum for the acquisition, retention, stability, endurance, and application of tacts learned to a fluency aim. In the intervention phase, children were required to complete a Behavioral Momentum exercise consisting of the presentation of a sequence of high probability tacts followed immediately by the presentation of low probability tacts delivered within 1 min timings. The results demonstrated positive fluency outcomes on low probability tacts across all children. The practical implications of the study are discussed in terms of the use of Fluency Training for children with ASD within the educational setting.