Tacts facilitate social interaction, and a strong tact repertoire can lead to the development of other verbal operants. For children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the development of a tact repertoire can reduce stereotypical and repetitive language and increase social communication, as functional language may reduce the amount of stereotypical vocal behavior that children engage in. However, teaching tact repertoires to children with ASD that maintain and generalize is difficult. The current study reviewed tact interventions for children with ASD from 2000 to 2019 to provide an overview of current tact interventions, their effectiveness, and the inclusion of intervention components that may promote maintenance and generalization of learned tacts in children with ASD. Fifty-one studies were included in the review. Of the studies that met criteria for effect size calculations 87.18% of the interventions showed excellent or high effect. Although many of the studies focused more on stimulus control to answer specific research questions, some studies implemented intervention components and procedures that could promote acquisition and generalization of learned tacts in children with ASD. We discuss implications and the need to increase research regarding tact intervention components that can increase generalization in children with ASD.

Little is known about the language trajectories of minimally verbal school-aged children with autism spectrum disorders. The present investigation conducted observations across two elementary schools over an entire school year to analyze the vocal language development of nine minimally verbal children with autism spectrum disorder between the ages of 6 and 10 years, and their educational service providers. A Language Environment Analysis™ device automatically recorded and disaggregated over 743 h of data on child vocalizations, and vocal interactions with adults. Vocalizations did not increase for eight of the nine participants, and conversational counts between participants and adults were near zero across the entire year. These results speak to the need for additional research examining language development and potential intervention strategies among minimally verbal children with autism spectrum disorder.

In the United States school system, there is an increasing number of students who need behavioral support. Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) utilize the science of applied behavior analysis and are uniquely qualified to provide such support. However, for many reasons, BCBAs may not have the knowledge and skills to capitalize on their services in schools, including collaboration skills that can result in goals, intervention procedures, and outcomes that are not socially and ecologically valid. The current article provides a transdisciplinary model of school-based collaboration for BCBAs to maximize the effectiveness of behavioral interventions in schools. Adapted for school-based BCBAs from Boyer and Thompson's (2014) transdisciplinary model, the current model includes the elements of (a) extending BCBAs’ knowledge regarding school systems, (b) establishing rapport with team members, (c) enriching team members’ understanding of everyone’s role and expectations, and (d) exchanging feedback and praise.