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Incidental Teaching and Autism Ranking: Insufficient/Mixed evidence

Future Research

Summary of Existing Research

There is enough evidence to suggest that incidental teaching can increase and improve social communication, including both spoken and sign language, in some autistic children and young people, but only when used as part of a comprehensive, multi-component programme.

There is insufficient evidence to determine if incidental teaching provides any benefits when used as a focused (stand-alone) technique. 

Recommendations for Future Research

Future research should use randomised controlled trials to investigate the effectiveness of incidental teaching against active control groups (for example, by directly comparing incidental teaching with other interventions, relative to a no-treatment control group) using larger sample sizes.

It would also be helpful to identify the effectiveness of incidental teaching, where incidental teaching is a part of a wider programme, investigating whether and how incidental teaching adds value to the programme (for example, are there particular skills that are more receptive to being taught using incidental teaching techniques than others?).

There is also a need for research which involves autistic people to review the efficacy and ethical basis of incidental teaching including individuals who may be non-verbal.

Updated
17 Jun 2022
Last Review
20 Jul 2016
Next Review
01 Apr 2023