Importance of Fostering Early and Ongoing Imitation Skills

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Guest Blog Authored by: Mary Halbur, PhD, BCBA-D, Jessica Gormley, PhD, CCC-SLP, Angelina Frohberg, MS, BCBA, Garrett Nathan, MS, CCC-SLP

Mary E. Halbur, PhD, BCBA-D, LBA, is an assistant professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Munroe-Meyer Institute and a board-certified behavior analyst in the integrated Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders where she also serves as the director of the Autism Care for Toddlers Clinic in North Omaha that provides early intensive behavioral intervention services to young children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. The majority of her research and clinical experiences include early behavioral intervention, language acquisition and treatment team member (i.e., teacher, caregiver) involvement in behavior analytic and interdisciplinary service delivery.

Jessica Gormley, PhD, CCC-SLP is an Assistant Professor and Research Coordinator at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Munroe-Meyer Institute for the Speech-Language Pathology Department. She practices in the acute care and outpatient setting, providing clinical services, mentoring, and program development with an emphasis on supporting the speech, language, and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) skills. Through clinical research, she aims to develop and evaluate tools, strategies, and programs to equip people with communication disabilities, especially those who use AAC and their interdisciplinary partners to interact effectively in healthcare and community settings. Jessica is also the President and Co-Founder of the Patient-Provider Communication Network Non-Profit.

Angelina G. Frohberg, M.S., BCBA, LBA-NE is a doctoral student in the Applied Behavior Analysis program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Munroe-Meyer Institute. She earned a MS in Applied Behavior Analysis from Florida State University and a BA in Elementary and Exceptional Student Education from Flagler College. Angelina is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst at the Autism Clinic for Toddlers in North Omaha, where she is a clinical supervisor. Her research interests include skill acquisition, teaching health and self-care skills, school-based applications of ABA, and interdisciplinary collaboration strategies to enhance service delivery in clinical settings.

Garrett Nathan, M.S., CCC-SLP is a Ph.D. student at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Munroe-Meyer Institute, where he also serves as Supervisor of Pediatric Outpatient Services in the Speech-Language Pathology Department. He provides clinical care, teaching, and leadership with an emphasis on fluency disorders and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) across populations. Garrett’s research also focuses on the development of innovative interprofessional training models to strengthen clinical outcomes. He is the Founder and Chair of the Men’s Constituency Caucus of ASHA, a non-profit and official constituency caucus dedicated to advancing equity, leadership, and representation for men in speech-language pathology and audiology.

Think about the last thing you learned by watching someone else. Maybe following a yoga tutorial, trying out a new recipe, picking up words in a new language, or even attempting to fold a fitted sheet (although some of us may still be working on that one…). Learning all those skills often involves imitation, and it doesn’t stop there; imitation is a skill we use throughout our lives, so building a strong imitative repertoire is crucial.

Photo from Pexels Stock by Ketut Subiyanto.

What Is Imitation and Why Does It Matter?

Imitative behavior is an operant sensitive to reinforcement contingencies. From a behavioral lens, imitation includes multiple criteria (Cooper et al., 2020), including physical resemblance to a model and close temporal proximity to the model. However, the definition and classification of imitation may vary slightly across (and even within) disciplines. For example, in education and social learning theory (Ishikawa, 2024), imitation is defined as modeling behavior after another to reach an outcome. In contrast, in developmental psychology, imitation is defined as the reproduction of observed actions, both immediate and deferred or after a delay (Katus et al., 2022). Nevertheless, across scientific fields and definitions, the guiding principles of watching/attending, copying, and learning from others are at play.

Imitation skills are valuable to foster communication (Gregory et al., 2009) as well as play and social skills (Stone et al., 1997). Learners imitate modeled instructions (e.g., tracing letters, math steps), communication (i.e., vocally, with a speech device, or picture exchange system), pre-academic and academic readiness skills (e.g., copying from the board, following a modeled math problem, learning how to hold a pencil correctly), social skills (e.g., greetings, turn taking), and play (e.g., building toys, engaging in play sequences). Further, imitation is fundamental to building independence through ongoing observational learning (see Taylor & DeQuinzio, 2012).  

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Imitation and Verbal Behavior

Imitation is all around us, and early imitation skills (e.g., gross motor imitation with or without objects, fine motor imitation, facial imitation) can build a generalized repertoire. By generalized repertoire (Holth, 2003), we mean that once a learner acquires the underlying skill of imitating, they can more readily copy a wide variety of novel actions across people, settings, and materials, even ones they have never been directly taught.

Imitation teaching can begin by encouraging attention to models, which may later support the development of gesture-based communication (such as signing requests), leading to access to preferred items or activities. Additionally, the refinement of fine motor imitation can help prepare learners for the precise motor movements needed for communication, such as producing sign actions, pointing to pictures, or using and navigating an augmentative and alternative communication device. Other skills, such as facial or oral motor imitation (e.g., copying a mouth, lip, or tongue movement), can serve as a prerequisite for echoic teaching (i.e., vocal imitation). Finally, learning to echo is accomplished when a learner attends to a vocal model and produces a matching response. Echoics also have point-to-point correspondence and are typically within the same modality as the vocal antecedent (Skinner, 1957). Echoic teaching procedures involve reinforcing accurate sound production while also targeting the gradual combination of sounds (e.g., “m” to “ma” to “mom”) and improving intelligibility. When a learner can reliably echoes words, they can then acquire new sounds or words by hearing and repeating them in various contexts.

How Do We Assess Imitation Skills?

Behavior analysts can use a variety of assessments to assess imitation skills. One assessment is the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP). The VB-MAPP can be used to evaluate many skills, including gross motor imitation (e.g., jumping), fine motor imitation (e.g., pointing), imitation with objects (e.g., rolling a car), and multi-step imitation (e.g., clapping your hands, jumping, then touching your nose) (Sunberg, 2008). The Early Echoic Skills Assessment (ESSA) is a tool used to assess vocal imitation with the domains of simple (e.g., “ah”) and reduplicated syllables (e.g., “mama”), 2 syllable combinations (e.g., “baby”), 3 syllable combinations (e.g, “peek a boo”), and prosody (e.g., “no-WAY”) (Esch, 2008). We also refer authors to the Early Echoic Skills Assessment – Revised (EESA-R; Esch, 2024) for evaluating echoic skills. Another assessment that is commonly used Motor Imitation Scale (MIS), which measures the level of imitation across meaningful actions, non-meaningful actions, gross motor imitation, fine motor imitation, and imitation with objects (Stone et al. 1997). These assessments allow behavior analysts to identify a learner’s strengths and areas for growth, guiding decisions about where to begin when teaching imitation skills. See Figure 1 for an overview and examples of imitation assessments and the skills they help evaluate.

Table created in Canva Pro by the authors.

How Do We Teach Imitation Skills?

Teaching Format

After imitation skills have been assessed, a variety of strategies can be used. Imitation skills can be taught using a structured approach, a naturalistic approach, or a combination of both. A more structured approach consists of prompting and reinforcement procedures (Striefel, 1974). The instructor may begin by immediately prompting the learner to engage in the correct imitation response. As the child learns, the time the instructor waits before prompting may gradually increase, or the prompt may be faded. For example, if you are teaching a child to imitate clapping hands, you might model the action and then immediately use physical prompting to guide the child’s hands together and apart. After some practice, you may only need to demonstrate the model, and the child will begin to clap their hands independently.

If you want to teach imitation skills using a more naturalistic approach, reciprocal imitation training (Ingersoll et al., 2008) may be a good fit. When using reciprocal imitation training, the child and instructor take turns imitating each other. The instructor first imitates the child’s actions, then models new actions, and uses prompting to support the child in imitating those actions. This approach embeds the child’s preferences for items, activities, and actions into teaching. Because the instructor models imitation with items and activities that the child already prefers, the interaction emphasizes the reciprocal nature of imitation. Additionally, Contingent imitation, a form of naturalistic reinforcement, can be used with children as young as a few months old to increase vocal imitation (Pelaez et al., 2018). While not always labeled as reinforcement, the contingent imitation approach relies on waiting for a child to emit vocalizations, then responding immediately to a child’s vocalizations by imitating them, which can serve as a social reinforcer. Because this procedure is naturalistic, it can be embedded in everyday caregiver–child interactions, making it both practical and powerful.

Prompts and Prompt Fading

Procedures commonly used to teach imitation skills are most-to-least prompting and least-to-most prompting (Libby et al., 2008). In most-to-least prompting, the instructor starts with the most intrusive prompt, which will vary based on the learner (e.g., partial physical prompt or full physical prompt) and fades to less intrusive prompts across sessions or trials (e.g., a verbal prompt, gestural prompt, model prompt). In least-to-most prompting, the instructor starts with the least intrusive prompt (e.g., a verbal prompt, gestural prompt, or model prompt) and gradually works up to a more intrusive prompt (e.g., a partial physical prompt or full physical prompt) depending on the learner’s response. See the figure below for a visual on how most-to-least and least-to-most prompts are sometimes faded (note: there are multiple ways to fade the prompts, and this is just an example). Error correction procedures can also be used when a child engages in an incorrect or incomplete response (Carroll et al., 2015). For example, when the instructor models clapping hands, a child raises their hands but does not make contact between them. The instructor could provide a prompt to guide a more accurate response, followed by another opportunity for the child to re-practice the correct action.  

Table created in Canva Pro by the authors.

Something else that should be considered when teaching imitation skills is how the model is presented. The type of model and its arrangement can influence the learner’s acquisition of imitative behavior. Researchers have compared fixed versus repetitive model presentations when teaching object imitation to children with autism (Deshais & Vollmer, 2020; Halbur et al., 2023). For example, a fixed model may consist of modeling the target movement once and leaving behind a visual representation of the completed action (e.g., stacking a block on top of another block). In contrast, a repetitive model involves modeling the target movement several times and returning the object to their starting position with no visible outcome (e.g., stacking the block a few times and then removing the blocks to the starting position). Results were idiosyncratic across studies and highlight the importance of not only selecting prompting and reinforcement strategies, but also carefully considering the model format as a variable that can be tailored to individual learners.

A Special Case: Unique Considerations for Teaching Vocal Imitation

Echoics open the door for the child to practice other skills, such as requesting (mands), labeling (tacts), and social skills. To teach echoics, a practitioner can employ some of the strategies discussed above, along with several additional strategies specifically designed for vocalizations.

One such strategy is stimulus–stimulus pairing (Cividini-Motta et al., 2016). The goal of this procedure is to establish vocal sounds as reinforcers. For example, the instructor says the selected target sound, such as “ma”, and immediately delivers the child’s preferred item (e.g., bubbles). These pairings are repeated, and if the learner attempts the sound at any point, a highly preferred item may be provided.

Another strategy is the mand-model procedure (Cividini-Motta et al., 2016), in which the child’s interests are incorporated into the selection of targets. For instance, if a child’s preferred activity is bubbles, the instructor waits for the child to attempt to access them and provides a prompt (e.g., “What do you want?”). If the child does not respond, the therapist provides an echoic prompt. To obtain the bubbles, the child must engage in some variation of the target sound.

A third strategy is vocal imitation training (Cividini-Motta et al., 2016), in which the instructor models a sound (e.g., “mama”) and prompts the child to engage in the sound. Reinforcers are delivered contingent on the child’s echo (e.g., “mama”) or approximation (e.g., “ma”).

What’s in Your Imitation Teaching Toolkit?

There are so many ways to teach imitation, so how do I make an informed choice? We refer interested readers to our Imitation Teaching Planning Tool (Appendix A) for questions to ask themselves and resources to consider, as they plan imitation teaching procedures. Other examples of supplemental considerations might include using mirrors to provide additional visual aid for the learner to attend to and observe how their imitation of a behavior appears, or adding in hand cues to help show the expected response. Additionally, instructors may consider including videos that focus on imitating sequences or more discrete steps (see the examples below).

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Imitation Across Disciplines: Teamwork Is Key

When people have lots of practice opportunities and personalized, timely feedback, imitation skills can quickly advance. You may be thinking, “How in the world can I offer lots of opportunities – I only work with this child a few times a week?” You don’t have to do this alone – leverage the skills and resources of your teammates!

Example 1: Teaching sounds and AAC words

For example, a child might have goals to say new sounds and learn new words on their AAC device. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs), behavior analysts, and educators can all play a role in building imitation skills in these areas. That collaboration might look like:

  • Collaborative Assessment Processes: The Behavior Analysts administering an assessment tool listed above (e.g., the ESSA) and the SLP evaluating the child’s speech and language skills (e.g., the Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation [Goldman & Fristoe, 2015], the Preschool Language Scale [Zimmerman et al., 2011]) to determine what skills are emerging and what needs support.
    • The SLP can contribute valuable insights into speech and language developmental milestones, which can guide which sounds and language concepts to select as targets.
    • The behavior analyst can also contribute valuable insights to select and design what teaching format, prompts, and reinforcement systems can be used to set the child up for successful learning.
  • Collaborative Intervention with Lots of Practice Opportunities:
    • During individual sessions, the SLP could model target sounds and words on the AAC device and coach the team to embed these targets into daily routines.
    • The behavior analyst can design and implement the teaching format, prompts, and reinforcement systems in structured activities and play tasks.
    • The classroom teacher could incorporate strategies and targets identified by the behavior analysts and SLPs into classroom activities such as circle time, storybook readings, and group time.
    • Paraprofessionals could use strategies and targets during snack time and play time.
    • Parents and caregivers can practice strategies at home based on the strategies shared by the team.
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Now let’s check out a different example of how a team can work together to support imitation skills!

Example 2: Teaching Toothbrushing

To build greater independence in toothbrushing, an SLP and behavior analyst turned to GoVisual™, an AAC app designed to create step-by-step visual models of everyday routines. The team first broke the sequence down into simple, clear actions, like picking up the toothbrush, applying toothpaste, brushing the top and bottom teeth, and rinsing. Each step was paired with a photo or short video, giving the learner a context-rich model to watch and imitate. To support communication, text or voice output was added so the visuals not only guided action but also connected the steps to meaningful language. A most-to-least prompting hierarchy ensured early success, with prompts gradually fading as accuracy improved. Over time, the learner moved from imitating individual steps to smoothly chaining the routine together. Eventually, they were able to complete the entire toothbrushing sequence with only minimal support, highlighting how GoVisual™ can blend visual modeling, imitation skills, and systematic prompting to make daily living skills more accessible, functional, and independent. This app allows for the use of static visual scenes (e.g., a photo) and/or dynamic video-based visual scene displays. This app has been used to support children, adolescents, and adults in imitating task sequences. For more information on these research projects, check out this website (https://rerc-aac.psu.edu/research/r1-video-visual-scene-display-vsd-intervention/).

Photos created with the GoVisual™ application by the authors.

Imitation as a Life Span Skill

Imitation is not only a critical skill in childhood, but also one that continues to shape how we learn and adapt as adults. What’s the newest thing you learned to do? Chances are imitation played a role. For example, have you ever joined a group fitness class you had never done before? You likely picked up the routine by imitating the instructor’s movements or even glancing at peers to make it through the workout successfully. That’s imitation in action. Even in the kitchen, imitation guides us. When trying a new recipe, many of us turn to the internet. Watching a cooking video provides a model – we chop, stir, and season step by step, imitating what we see on the screen, and hoping our dish turns out even half as good as the original. Imitation, then, is more than a childhood developmental milestone; it’s a skill we continue to rely on across our lifetime to learn, connect, and navigate new experiences.

Conclusion

The procedures to assess and teach imitation are not one-size-fits-all, and practitioners, educators, caregivers, and interdisciplinary teams can select, combine, and individualize approaches, whether structured or naturalistic, basing interventions on the learner’s needs, preferences, and current skill set. We suggest that instructors consider the following:

  • Consider using the Imitation Teaching Planning Tool: ask yourself the guiding questions during lesson planning.
  • Imitate the learner: spend time joining them in play or social contexts, while also imitating them (even during trial-based instruction).
  • Make teaching fun: embed preferred items and activities.
  • Choose functional imitation actions and behaviors.
  • Collaborate across disciplines and with families to maximize impact.

When we teach imitation, we’re not just focused on teaching one behavior; instead, the team is working towards laying the foundation for a learner to grow, observe, and ultimately connect with the world. Whether you’re a provider, parent, or educator, understanding imitation is a key to unlocking potential across various skills.

Appendix A

Imitation Teaching Planning Tool
This tool is designed to get instructors (practitioners, caregivers, teachers) to think systematically and to plan and individualize imitation instruction by considering the many instructional variables.
VariablePossible Options/SkillsQuestions to Ask YourselfRelated Articles and/or Resources
Skill TypeSee examples in the imitation assessment in Figure 3.

Gross motor imitation

Fine motor imitation

Imitation with objects

Vocal imitation (Echoics)

Facial imitation		What specific imitation skill or domain are you targeting?Kodak & Halbur, 2021 Some research suggests considering gross motor skills, then progressing to motor imitation with objects.  
Ledford & Wolery, 2011
Teaching FormatStructured/trial-based

Naturalistic/play-based

Combination/hybrid		Where will instruction occur?

Will you embed in play, use discrete trials, or do a combination?		Ingersoll & Schreibman, 2006  
Some programs (e.g., Early Start Denver Model: Rogers & Dawson, 2010) combine both structured prompting within play routines.
TargetsIndividual or sets of targets (e.g., 3)

Following learners’ lead, embedding naturalistic targets		What behaviors or actions will you teach?

How many will you teach at once?

What encompasses a set/group?		Practitioners may consider the  salience/disparity by choosing targets in a set that look and feel clearly different: Halbur & Kodak, 2021  
Model PresentationFixed (a representation available to look at)

Repetitive (multiple models of the same action)

Other		Will you combine model presentation types or stick with one?Dehais & Vollmer, 2020   Halbur et al., 2023
Prompt Fading StrategyMost-to-Least (MTL)

Least-to-Most (LTM)

Time delay/other		How will you fade support to promote independence?Seaver & Bourret, 2014
Error CorrectionSee research literature for examples, including repeat until independent, repeat up to X times, etc.Will you use remedial trials or error correction procedures?

If so, which one will you select?		Carroll et al., 2015   McGhan & Lerman, 2013  
Supplemental SupportsVideo modeling

Mirror use

Hand cues/gestures

Robotics or AI use

Others!		Will additional aids help increase attention, accuracy, or motivation? If added, how will they be faded?Apps that support video model creation GoVisual™ app (see example in blog)

Scene and Heard Pro app

Mirrors as supplemental supports: Leaf & McEachin, 1999

In collaboration with an SLP, you may consider the use of Phonetic hand cues: Document Library – Kasper Enterprises, LLC.

Robotics Example: https://luxai.com/blog/how-to-teach-imitation-to-children-with-autism/  
Generalization & MaintenanceAcross settings
Across people
Across materials		How will you plan for the targets acquired or general skills to carry over into natural environments and last over time?Stokes & Baer, 1977

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Disclosure: AI tools (M365 Copilot, Chat CPT5, Grammarly, Canva Pro) were used to support language editing and photo editing/creation.

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