Abstract
In the present study, spontaneous production of requests for clarification of others' ambiguous utterances was taught to a child with autism, using joint action routines composed of a snack activity and a craft activity. The participant was an 8-year-old boy who had a diagnosis of autism. When the intervention began, the boy did not respond to ambiguous utterances like “Please take it,” and he gave the therapist objects that he preferred, without first asking, “Do you want this?” During the intervention, if the boy did not produce a spontaneous request for clarification, the therapist prompted him to make one. After further training, the boy could voluntarily produce a request for clarification. Spontaneous production of requests for clarification generalized to other settings. In addition, the boy's requests for clarification appeared to relate to his guessing what the therapist wanted, using the direction of the therapist's gaze as a cue. In the latter half of the sessions, the boy's parent reported that he had produced a spontaneous request for clarification at home. The present results suggest that an intervention using joint action routines may be effective for promoting spontaneous production of requests for clarification of other people's vague utterances. In addition, the results suggest that there may be a relation between making a request for clarification and understanding others' wishes.
