The Effect of Gestural Facilitation on the Acquisition of Noun-Verb Labeling Responses with Severely Retarded Individuals

It is often stated that pairing of verbal stimuli and gestures may facilitate the acquisition of verbal responses. This hypothesis was tested with three severely developmentally retarded individuals. It was found that verbal training only and verbal training plus gestures both resulted in the acquisition of noun-verb labeling responses. So, the procedures did not differentially influence the percentage of correct verbal labeling responses. The finding that gestural responses, although never explicitely followed by reinforcement, were shown across all conditions was discussed in terms of their potential role in maintaining verbal reponses.