Comparing massed‐trial instruction, distributed‐trial instruction, and task interspersal to teach tacts to children with autism spectrum disorders

Abstract

Although massed-trial instruction, distributed-trial instruction, and task interspersal have been shown to be effective methods of teaching skills to children with autism spectrum disorders, they have not been directly compared. In the current study, we taught 6 children to tact shapes of countries using these methods to determine which would result in the quickest acquisition. Five of the 6 participants acquired the targets in the massed-trial condition before the other 2 conditions.