ABSTRACT
Children with autism can learn set phrases, for example, for greeting people and
saying goodbye, or for asking for and naming things. The Lovaas method uses
this approach, requiring ‘verbal imitation’ from a child, the repetition of set
phrases for which he is rewarded (Trevarthan et al, 1996). Through this
conditioning, the child learns to perform certain behaviours, including speech,
in certain situations. Language programmes based on this approach employ
strategies such as providing the beginnings of set sentences which the child is
asked to complete, as in ‘My name is ___’ and ‘I like to play with ___’.
