Little empirical treatment outcome research exists for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). There is a critical need to understand the nature of learning in children diagnosed with ASD so effective treatments can be designed and implemented. This study demonstrated the differential effects of two intervention conditions on verbal and nonverbal learning within the context of a novel event structure. The two treatment conditions were labeled as the observation and the participation conditions. Thirty-four children, diagnosed with ASD, were matched and randomly assigned to one of two teaching conditions. The seventeen children assigned to the observation condition received visual and auditory input while observing a juice-making task. The seventeen children in the participation condition received visual, auditory, and tactual-kinesthetic input while they participated in making orange juice. Six measurements were used to evaluate participant learning. Four of them evaluated verbal learning and two evaluated nonverbal learning. The verbal measures, obtained at four different points in time, were comprised of three types of questions: (1) confrontational naming, (2) recognition, and (3) WH-questions. Two nonverbal measures, a nonverbal score and a nonverbal rating, were obtained at two points in time. Significant differences found between the two treatment conditions were observed on both the verbal and nonverbal measures. Analyses revealed that the participation group scores were significantly higher than the scores of the observation group on all four composite verbal measures across time. An item analysis revealed further that the participation group scored significantly higher than the observation group on every question type. Additionally, on both the nonverbal score and rating measures, significant differences were demonstrated, favoring the participation group. It is concluded that the type of sensory input impacts both verbal and nonverbal learning for children with ASD. The findings suggest that one cannot dismiss the relevance of manually guided experiences for the child with ASD. These outcomes are promising for continuing to explore the possible learning gains that can result when children with ASD bodily participate in learning events.
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