USING THE MAND-MODEL INTERVENTION STRATEGY TO INCREASE VERBAL OR AUGMENTATIVE AND ALTERNATIVE (AAC) TWO-WORD UTTERANCES FOR REQUESTING ITEMS IN A NATURALISTIC SETTING

This project examined the effectiveness of the mand-model milieu teaching strategy for increasing two-word verbal or augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) requests in a classroom. Three students participated. All students demonstrated increased mean length of utterance in words (MLUw) when requesting preferred items. For all students, correct two-word requests improved following a model prompt. Two students showed limited independent requesting following only a mand, while one student met criterion for consistent independent requesting. Other observed outcomes included improved communicative confidence, reduced frustration behaviors, and increased AAC acceptance and generalization across settings for one participant. Findings suggest that the mand-model strategy is an effective and practical naturalistic intervention for early communicators and can support foundational expressive language skills within everyday classroom routines.