Generalized Effects of Conversation Skill Training

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Abstract
Three high school students with severe disabilities were taught to initiate and maintain a conversation independently through a 4-min session with a communication book adaptation. Instruction occurred across a variety of school settings with several regular education students serving as communication partners. For each of the three students, an analysis of the generalized effect of conversation training revealed that conversation initiation and “turntaking” skills generalized to “conversation opportunities” in settings and with partners not included in instructional sessions. Additionally, increases in conversation skills and component behaviors (greeting and commenting) were accompanied by decreases in inappropriate social interaction behaviors.