A comprehensive analysis of mand training.

Introduction In 1957, Skinner expanded the contention that individuals act on the environment and included the notion that individuals act in two distinct ways: namely on the environment and upon others. It is the action of individuals on others he considered under the umbrella of verbal behavior (1). In his 1957 analysis, Skinner provided a framework for "understanding" verbal behavior. According to Skinner, one understands verbal behavior when we "can predict the occurrence of specific instances" and "can produce or control such behavior by altering the conditions under which it occurs" (pg. 3). It is this prediction and control of verbal behavior that will allow us to not only understand communication disorders but also inform the way in which treatments are developed and implemented to overcome such deficits. Speech and language disorders (i.e., disorder related to verbal behavior) refer to problems in communication and related areas and are among the most common disabilities in the United States (US) (Van Dyke & Holte, 2003). Speech disorders are characterized as an impairment of the articulation of fluency, speech sounds, and/or voice; whereas language disorders are characterized as an impairment in comprehension and/or use of spoken, written, or other symbol systems involving either the form, content, or function (American Speech and Hearing Association, 1993). According to the U. S. Department of Education (2004) of the six million plus students served in the public schools' special education programs in 2002, over a million (21.6%) received services for speech and language disorders. However, this is likely to represent an underestimation of actual prevalence of speech and language disorders given that it does not include children who have speech and language delays secondary to other conditions or children who have not started formal education. Moreover, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), one of the most concerning disorders faced by parents of children in America is Autism Spectrum Disorder, which is characterized by a significant impairment in social interactions and communication (Strock, 2004). These delays not only represent an important area of human development (i.e., ability to communicate), but research has also documented that children with speech and language delays demonstrate persistent impairments in developmental and functional skills in school not limited to language (Fox, Dodd, & Howard, 2002). In addition, children with speech and language delays have also been shown to experience long-term problems affecting learning, school achievement, and behavior (Laing et al., 2002; Chaimay, Thinkhamrop, & Thinkhamrop, 2006). In fact, problem behaviors are more prevalent among children with language delays than typically developing children (Willinger et al., 2003). Given the prevalence of speech and language delays as well as the comorbid issues related to academic and behavioral achievement, it is not surprising that communication (i.e., verbal behavior) in and of itself is a pressing area in need of evaluation. More specially, a comprehensive analysis of how we can predict and control verbal behavior related to speech and language delays is warranted. Skinner (1957) provided a theoretical analysis of verbal behavior wherein a number of different functional relations were described in terms of their controlling antecedent and consequent events (e.g., tacts, mands, intraverbals, autolitics, echoic, and textual) in an attempt to provide a framework for the predication and control of said behavior. Much research has been subsequently conducted to elucidate these relations. Thus, the intent of this article is to expand upon Skinner's analysis by synthesizing the current research and to provide a detailed analysis regarding the functional relations related to one specific form of verbal behavior, the mand. More specifically, to elucidate the variables related to teaching individuals to mand. …