Visual symbol acquisition by students with autism

Abstract

Given the need to help develop communication skills in individuals with autism, an examination of visual symbol systems is critical. In this study, I focused on the exploration of a hierarchy of visual symbol systems that may aid practitioners in selecting more readily acquired symbol systems. Although evidence suggests that persons with cognitive disabilities attach meaning more readily to symbol systems that display higher levels of iconicity, it is not clear that this same hierarchical progression exists for persons with autism. I used a modified multiple baseline with four students with autism, ranging in ages from 7 to 13 years, to investigate the number of trials to criterion for five visual symbol sets: (a) photopictorial, (b) rebus, (c) Blissymbolics, (d) orthography, and (e) Premack‐type tokens. All four students reached criterion with fewer trials in systems that had a higher degree of iconicity.