ABSTRACT
The progress of children with autism is often impeded by overdependence on prompts delivered by other people. Children who have learned to dress, play with toys, complete household chores, or greet other people often fail to display these responses unless teachers or parents prompt them to do so. Between 1979 and 1985, a number of investigators reported using pictorial cues to help children, adolescents, and adults with mild-to-severe retardation engage in self-care, home-living activities, and vocational tasks. Children, youths, and adults with autism who are non-readers and who have very small expressive-language repertoires have learned to use photographic cues that enable them to remain engaged in appropriate and relevant activities, and to enter and leave a variety of home, school, and group-home settings independently. Learning to follow photographic activity schedules is associated with decreases in the disruptive behavior of people with lengthy histories of stereotypies, tantrums, aggression, and self-injury.
