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Teaching Communication to Learners with Severe Disabilities: Motivation, Response Competition, and Generalisation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2016

Erik Drasgow ,
James W. Halle  and
Jeff Sigafoos
Erik Drasgow*
Affiliation:
University of South Carolina
James W. Halle*
Affiliation:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Jeff Sigafoos*
Affiliation:
University of Sydney and Children’s Hospital Education Research Institute (CHERI)
*
Correspondence to : Erik Drasgow. Department of Educational Psychology. University of South Carolina. 235-I Wardlaw. Columbia. SC 29208. USA.
James W. Halle, Department of Special Education, University if Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1310 S. Sixth Street. Urbana, IL, 61820-6990, USA.
Jeff Sigafoos, Faculty of Education, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
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Abstract

The generalisation of new language targets has been an elusive outcome for learners with severe disabilities. We analyse generalisation and generalisation failures by examining the influence of motivation and response competition, specifically within the context of communication targets serving a requesting function. Our examination includes a discussion of establishing operations (Michael, 1982), fluctuating reinforcer value, the emergence of communicative functions and forms, response competition, and response class phenomena. We end by offering a novel conceptualisation of generalisation with implications for clinical application.

Type
Research Article
Information
Australasian Journal of Special Education , Volume 23 , Issue 1 , 1999 , pp. 47 - 63
Copyright
Copyright © The Australian Association of Special Education 1999

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