10/7/2014

PROMPTING IS GOOD: FADING IS INDEPENDENCE!! MASSW Conference November, 2014

Rose Dore LMSW SSW BCBA Intervention Specialist SCC RESA [email protected]

Information 

AGENDA Mastered Tasks



Pairing Procedure



Teaching New Skills



Reinforcement



Prompts



Fading



Materials 

Item 1: Spooner, F., Browder, D., & Mims, P. (in press). Chapter four: Using evidence-based instructional strategies. In D. Browder, & F. Spooner (Eds.). Curriculum and instruction for students with moderate and severe disabilities: Finding the balance.



Item 3: Emily Bellovin, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with Scholastic Intervention Solutions.



Item 1pdf: June 2010 Copyright © 2010, Texas Education Agency. All rights reserved. Reproduction of all or portions of this work is prohibited without express written permission from the Texas Education Agency.



Item 4: J Woods, MCESA Behavior Specialist



April 2007 Item 5: Adapted from materials created by Jean Brodie

1

10/7/2014

Introduction/Course Description 

Introduction 

Prompting is very helpful when teaching a new skill



Prompting should always include a reinforcer or correction process



Fading should be considered with the very first prompt

Objectives and Results 

Objectives   



Results  



Understand skill development Recognize the importance of prompting and fading Learn how reinforcement is used during prompting to increase skill development Increase Student‟s Independence Decrease Prompt Dependent Students

Skills developed   

Appropriately prompting and reinforcing behaviors The use of data to adjust and fade prompts Use of Cues vs. Prompts

Vocabulary 

Definitions: Stimulus Antecedent  Reinforcers  Conditioned Reinforcers  Establishing Operation  Discriminative Stimulus  Three Term Contingency  Stimulus Control  

2

10/7/2014

Mastered Tasks

Mastered Tasks An item that has already been learned 



Tasks for which the person has met the performance criteria set for the specific task within specific conditions. Mastered tasks usually can be performed correctly at least 80% of the time. Usually the performance criteria is set at 90% to 100% of the time.

Acquisition Tasks The item being learned 

Acquisition tasks are skill deficits



An individual cannot do these tasks even Environmental events that under the most powerful antecedent or occur before a behavior reinforcements or the most specific and clear instructions.

3

10/7/2014

Examples of Acquisition Tasks 



Esther cannot swim even though she is about to drown and die Paolo cannot cook lamb ossobucco even though he was given all the ingredients to make it and the recipe. And even though he was offered $100,000 if he could cook it for tomorrow night’s dinner party

Reasons for Selecting Target Behavior 

Helps individual achieve outcomes.



Behavior deficit makes the person too dependent on others.

Problems with Behavior 

Can’t Do: Skill Deficit 

Does not do this at all Does, but not independently



Does, but does not initiate



 Only

with assistance

 Only

does when told to do

 May

be Performance Problem

4

10/7/2014

Problems with Behavior (continued) 

Problem with strength 

•

Lacks mastery  



Does, but not well enough Does well enough, but lacks fluency Does well enough, but not frequently enough

Won’t Do: 

Performance Problem

Problems with Behavior (continued)



Does, but only under limited circumstances



Does at the wrong time or in the wrong place





Problem with Generality or an Control Problem with Anything Stimulus event

Adaptive Behavior Competencies “Adaptive behavior competencies will get you through times of no academic skills; better than academic skills will get you through times of no adaptive behavior competencies.” (Gerhardt, 2012)

5

10/7/2014

Adaptive Behavior 

“Adaptive Behavior is defined as those skills or abilities that enable the individual to meet standards of personal independence and responsibility that would be expected of his or her age and social group….

Adaptive Behavior (Continued) 

“…Adaptive behavior also refers to the typical performance of individuals without disabilities in meeting environmental expectations. Adaptive behavior changes according to a person’s age, cultural expectations, and environmental demands.” (Heward, 2005) Can I have a cookie, please?

Pairing Procedure

6

10/7/2014

Pairing Procedures to Establish New Conditioned Reinforcers 

Pair yourself with reinforcers!  Examples



Pair significant others with reinforcers!  Examples



Pair praise with reinforcers!  Examples

Pairing Procedures to Establish New Conditioned Reinforcers 

Pair tokens with reinforcers!  Examples



Pair other tangibles, activities, etc. with reinforcers.  Examples

Teaching New Skills

7

10/7/2014

Teaching a New Skill  Before you begin teaching…  you must know what you want the learner to do, and  the conditions under which you want her to do it…

 This will help you distinguish cues from prompts  and, become a much more effective teacher…

Teaching a New Skill (continued)  For example:  “Retrieving silverware from the cupboard and setting the table” can be a listener or a daily living skill…  The cue for a listener skill is, most likely, a spoken-word direction…  Whereas, the cue for a daily living skill is, most likely, someone cooking dinner…

 Any antecedent stimuli that are added to either skill are prompts…

Teaching a New Skill

Cues: antecedent stimuli that should, after teaching, evoke the correct or an appropriate response, that is, become discriminative stimuli -- SD Motivating Operations: antecedent stimuli that may temporarily increase or decrease the value of a reinforcer and evoke the correct or an appropriate response -- MO

8

10/7/2014

Teaching a New Skill Prompts: additional antecedent stimuli that, if effective, result in the learner making the correct or an appropriate response If prompts are effective, they must then be faded… Artificial Consequences and Schedules: consequent stimuli or schedules of presentation that may result in the learner making the correct or an appropriate response more frequently– SR These consequences and/or schedules must be faded (thinned) to naturally-occurring ones…

What is the difference? Cueing  

A hint Does not lead the student to a direct answer

Cueing (general assistance) is an action intended to encourage a student to initiate or continue a task that he or she 2nd Step had previously executed. A cue is a hint or a nudge in the right direction that does not provide a direct answer.

Prompting 



Step by step through the task Leading to a direct answer

Prompting (specific assistance) is an action intended to directly assist a student with the completion of a task. A 3rd Step prompt pulls the student through each step to the end of the task and directly leads to the answer.

INQUIRY 

Why is it important to distinguish cues from prompts? a. so that you can teach others to do so b. so that you have a better understanding of the process of teaching c. so that you know which stimuli to fade d. so that you understand the relationship between antecedent and consequent events

9

10/7/2014

Reinforcement

Why Use Reinforcement? 

“Why should I reinforce things he „should‟ be doing?” Need to reinforce to establish a behavior if the person isn‟t doing what they “should” be doing  Will thin the schedule of programmed reinforcement as behavior is strengthened and begins to contact naturally occurring reinforcement 

Typical Example Child engages in minor disruptive behavior and the teacher provides a verbal reprimand, “Hands to yourself!”  Child hits a peer and the teacher places him in “time-out”  Both of these behaviors continue to occur (maintain) 



These behaviors are being REINFORCED!

10

10/7/2014

Reinforcement Defined Reinforcement is the presentation or removal Anything of a stimulus following a response, that or event increases (or maintains) the future frequency of that response.  Reinforcement “works” by definition!  Reinforcement can be positive (appetitive Anything added) or negative (aversive orstimulus event Anything stimulus removed). or event  Can be automatic or socially mediated 

Appropriate Use of Reinforcement 



Reinforcement occurs in nature (everyday life), but reinforcement can also be planned (programmed) Reinforcement should be used to: Get behavior going Strengthen a dimension of an already acquired skill  Keep behavior going (maintenance)  

Why Use Reinforcement? 

“Why should I reinforce things he „should‟ be doing?” Need to reinforce to establish a behavior if the person isn‟t doing what they “should” be doing  Will thin the schedule of programmed reinforcement as behavior is strengthened and begins to contact naturally occurring reinforcement 

11

10/7/2014

Using Positive Reinforcement   

Identify potential reinforcers Collect baseline data Deliver the potential reinforcers contingent upon the target response  



Quickly after the response! Deliver according to schedule of reinforcement

Continue to collect data. Did the behavior increase/maintain? If not: Reevaluate the potential reinforcers Ensure delivery is quick and contingent  Check for treatment integrity issues  

Using Negative Reinforcement   

Anything Identify aversive stimuli/conditions or event Collect baseline data Remove the aversive condition contingent upon the target response

  

Quickly after the response! Remove according to schedule of reinforcement

Continue to collect data. Did the behavior increase/maintain? If not: Reevaluate the aversive stimulus/condition Ensure removal is quick and contingent  Check for treatment integrity issues  

Using Negative Reinforcement (continued) Do we really do this? Yes, we do, BUT… There are Ethical issues!  Practical example: Allowing a break (removal) from an academic task (aversive condition) contingent upon completion of 3 math problems (behavior targeted for maintenance or increase)  

12

10/7/2014

Schedule Appropriate Behavior Behavior is exhibited in predictable patterns according to the schedule of reinforcement in effect.  Generally, continuous (FR1) schedules are appropriate for building or strengthening a skill  Variable schedules are best for maintaining a behavior over time 

Schedules of Reinforcement and Behavior 

 

Fixed schedules tend to produce unsteady responding (pause and burst) Variable schedules produce steady responding Ratio schedules tend to produce higher rates in comparison to interval schedules

Schedules of Reinforcement and Behavior    

Fixed Ratio: Very high rates Fixed Interval: Scalloped responding Variable Ratio: High steady rates Variable Interval: Low to moderate steady rates

13

10/7/2014

Selecting a Schedule 

When selecting a schedule of reinforcement you must attend to the starting point and the goal.

Example 

Luke can‟t ask for attention. He needs to learn to make appropriate requests at an appropriate rate (that is, he should not be requesting attention every few seconds). Use an FR1 schedule during acquisition of this skill, then switch to a variable schedule to maintain the behavior at an appropriate rate.

Reinforcement 



Reinforcement is a critical component to ANY behavior plan. Whether skill acquisition or behavior reduction, reinforcement SHOULD be a part of the plan.

14

10/7/2014

Prompts

Prompts 

Prompts are supplementary antecedent stimuli (anything or event) used to evoke a correct response in the presence of an EO and/or SD that will eventually control the behavior. EO

Deprivation will increase th effectiveness of edible reinforcers

SD

Any event in the presence of which a target behavior is likely to have consequences that affect its frequency.

Teaching a New Skill Response Prompts Types… Hand-over-hand (does not require imitation) Demonstration (requires vocal or motor imitation) Degree… FP: Full Physical PP: Partial Physical M (Dem): Demonstration G: Gestural V: Verbal: Direct or Indirect I: Independent Stimulus Prompts -- Fading a stimulus in or out…

15

10/7/2014

Verbal Prompt Most Intrusive A step by step narration is given to the student In order for the task/direction to be completed

Dependent

Full Physical Prompt

An adult offers hand over hand manipulation Of the student to control/direct motor movements

16

10/7/2014

Partial Physical Prompt

An adult moves a student‟s body in the direction he needs to go or towards the targeted object

Model Prompt

An adult or another student demonstrates the task/ directions that is requested of the student

Gesture Prompt

An adult points or makes an action to indicate the next step of a task/direction

17

10/7/2014

Visual Prompt Least Invasive An Adult points to a visual or an object that is the next step of the task/direction

Independent

In a discussion of teacher-training strategies, Koegel, Russo, Rincover and Schreibman (1982) suggested that (a) a prompt is only a prompt if it works (i.e., it must produce a correct response ), and if it does not it should be replaced, (b) prompts must be removed and the child or adult must respond to the relevant stimulus in the natural environment.

Fading

18

10/7/2014

Fading 



Fading is a technique used to gradually transfer stimulus control from supplementary antecedent stimuli (prompts) to naturally occurring EO’s and/or discriminative stimuli. Specific procedures for transferring stimulus control include:

Fading Response Prompts

  



Most-to-least prompts (fading out) Least-to-most prompts (fading in) Time delay (constant or progressive) Graduated guidance

Most-to-least prompts (fading out) Decreasing Assistance (Most-to-Least Prompts) In most-to-least prompt systems, learners receive whatever assistance (prompts) they need to successfully perform a new skill when instruction begins (cooper, 1987a). Over successive teaching trials, the amount of assistance is gradually reduced until no prompts are provided. Most-to-Least prompt systems often include complete physical guidance, partial physical guidance, modeling, gestural prompts, and verbal instructions.

19

10/7/2014

Least-to-most prompts (fading in) Increasing Assistance (Least-to-Most Prompts) When using increasing assistance, the instructor provides a sequence of prompts that begins with minimal assistance and progresses to more assistance. Initially, the naturally occurring stimulus- that is, the stimulus that should ultimately control the behavior- may be presented without prompts. The teacher provides more help only if the students does not respond correctly within a specified time (often 5- 10 seconds). Increasing assistance is provided until the student makes a correct response. A common least-to-most prompts system includes verbal prompts, gestures, modeling and manual prompts.

Time Delay (constant or progressive) Time delayed prompting procedures fade prompts by imposing a brief period of time between the presentation of the naturally occurring stimulus that should ultimately control behavior and the delivery of a prompt (Oppenheimer, Sanders, & Spradlin, 1993). Researchers have repeatedly demonstrated that delayed prompting procedures can be effective, efficient ways to transfer stimulus control from prompts to appropriate environmental cues rapidly and with few errors (Gast, Ault, Wolery, Doyle, & Belanger, 1988: Handen & Zane, 1987; Jones-Ault, Wolvery, Gast MunsonDoyle & Eizenstat, 1988; Touchette, 1971; Wolvery et al., 1992).

Graduated Guidance 



Involves hand-over-hand assistance and the combined use of physical prompting and fading, resulting in a systematic gradual reduction in the intensity or intrusiveness of the physical prompting. Moving in when needed and out when possible

20

10/7/2014

Conclusion 





Prompt dependency occurs when too many prompts are in place or are not being faded quickly enough. When the desired skill is occurring reliably with the prompts given, it is time to gradually fade the support. When fading support, it is crucial to monitor the student's performance carefully to determine whether supports are being withdrawn too quickly or not quickly enough. If prompts are removed too quickly the student may begin to make errors. If this occurs, return to the prompt level that the student was successful with for a while longer then try fading the prompts again. (Alberto & Troutman, 2003)

Questions/Discussions 

Question One  

Discussion Discussion



Question Two



Questions Three





Discussion Discussion

References  Grandin, T. (2006). Thinking in pictures: My life with autism. Knopf Publishing Group. Alberto, A.A., & Troutman, A.C. (2003). Applied behaviour analysis for teacher. (6th edition). NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall. Earles, Carlson, & Bock, 1998 Instructional strategies to facilitate successful learning outcomes for students with autism. Educating Children and Youth with Autism. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed. Erinoak Kids Center for Treatment and Development; ABA for Educators. 2007 MacDuff, Kranz, McClannahan Prompts and Prompt-Fading Strategies for People with Autism Rutgers.edu. 2004

21