Stimulus-Stimulus Pairing of Vocalizations: A Systematic Replication

The current study replicated an enhanced stimulus-stimulus pairing (SSP) procedure used by Esch et al. (Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis 42: 42–225, 2009) for increasing vocalizations in children with autism. The enhanced SSP procedure consisted of pairing target vocalizations with high-preference items, interspersed target and nontarget trials, an observing response, and the presentation of the vocalizations in “motherese” speech. Results showed substantial increases in target vocalizations above baseline levels and above nontarget vocalizations for two of three participants.     

Stimulus-Stimulus Pairing to Increase Vocalizations in Children with Language Delays: a Review

Stimulus-stimulus pairing (SSP) is a procedure used to increase vocalizations in children with significant language delays. However, results from studies that have examined the effectiveness of SSP have been discrepant. The following review of the literature summarizes the results from 13 experiments published between 1996 and 2014 that used this procedure with children with language delays. Studies were analyzed across various participant and procedural variables, and an effect size estimate (nonoverlap of all pairs) was calculated for a portion of the participants in the studies reviewed. Results indicated an overall moderate intervention effect for SSP of speech sounds. Recommendations are provided for future researchers about information to report and potential avenues for future studies.