Understanding and
Implementing
Applied Behavior Analysis and
Discrete Trial Teaching
Information shared by
Chaelah Jenkins & Stacey Martin
Autism/Behavior Specialists
2011 Fall MO-CASE Special Ed Administrators Conference
What Will Be Covered
The Hierarchy of Effective Instructional
Strategies
What is Applied Behavior Analysis?
Common Misconceptions of ABA
Effective Instructional Strategies
Creating a Program from an IEP
What Will Be Covered
Collecting and Using Data
How will I know where to
start?
Is this just a ―school thing?‖
Encouraging generalization
The Hierarchy of
Effective Instructional Strategies
Structuring the Physical Space and Materials
Using Child Preferences for Materials & Activities
Structuring Social Aspects of the Environment
Structuring Routines
Reinforcement Strategies
Naturalistic (Milieu) Strategies
Response-Prompt Strategies
What is ABA?
•ABA is the science in which procedures
derived from the principles of behavior are
systematically applied to improve socially
significant behavior to a meaningful degree
and to demonstrate experimentally that the
procedures employed were responsible for
the improvement in behavior.
•A discipline devoted to the
understanding and improvement of
human behavior.
What is ABA? The ―user
friendly‖ definition…
•A: ―Applied‖ means the behavior
targeted for change is socially relevant
or important
•B: the term ―Behavior‖ refers to events
that are observable and measurable
•A: the term ―Analysis‖ refers to the
process by which the effects of a
behavior change program are
measured.
What Portion of the Hierarchy
is REALLY ABA?
Structuring the Physical Space and Materials
Using Child Preferences for Materials & Activities
Structuring Social Aspects of the Environment
Structuring Routines
Reinforcement Strategies
Naturalistic (Milieu) Strategies
Response-Prompt Strategies
Common Misconceptions
of ABA
•ABA will cure children with autism.
•ABA is just a fad in the literature.
•ABA is based on the work of one individual.
•Behavioral reduction interventions derived
from ABA exclusively utilize punishment.
•ABA is based solely on research with
animals.
Common Misconceptions of ABA
•ABA is not a feasible approach because it takes
too long.
•ABA is not at all appropriate for individuals
with less severe impairments.
•ABA is only appropriate for preschool age
children.
•ABA and DTT are synonymous terms and can
be used interchangeably.
Effective Instructional
Strategies
•Today we will focus mainly on
...
–Reinforcement strategies
–Naturalistic strategies
–Response-prompt strategies
Reinforcement Strategies
•What is positive reinforcement?
–the contingent presentation of
something that is valued or
desired by the individual
immediately after the behavior and
results in an INCREASE or
maintenance of the behavior
What’s the difference?
Every day that Ellen finishes her reading
assignment on time, Mrs. Farmer allows her to take
sports equipment out to recess. If Ellen enjoys
using the equipment at recess, she is likely to
continue finishing her work on time.
Mr. White sends Darrin out of the room because of
disruptive behavior in class. Darrin talks to other
students and teachers who see him, in addition to
avoiding his work. Mr. White finds that Darrin is
disruptive again soon after he is permitted to return
to class.
Reinforcement vs. Bribery
Webster’s Dictionary-
– An inducement for an illegal or
unethical act.
Or . . .
– The giving of a reward to an
individual to stop an inappropriate
or misbehavior
Avoid the bribery trap by being PROACTIVE
rather than waiting until the problem behavior
occurs!
Reinforcement Strategies
• Levels of and Frequency of
Reinforcement
– Skill is difficult or day is proving to be more
challenging
• Reinforcement will need to be more frequent
• Higher level of reinforcer should be used
– Skill is mastered or close to being mastered
• Reinforcement may be less frequent/predictable
• Lower level of reinforcer can be used
Positive reinforcement
strategies included here are
supported by a significant body
of research attesting to their
power in changing behavior in
children.
(Cooper, Heron, & Howard, 1987)
Reinforcer
Survey
Reinforcer Survey
Pairing and Instructional Control
•Pairing is the process by which you establish yourself as a
reinforcer, in order to build a positive relationship and rapport
with a student
–As demands placed on the child increase, be sure to
maintain the positive relationship
–FREQUENTLY pair yourself with reinforcement (not just at
the ―beginning‖ of working with a child, but ALWAYS…)
•Instructional Control is the likelihood that your
instructions will evoke a correct response from your student
If you do not have instructional control, you may describe
the child as ―noncompliant‖ or ―nonresponsive‖
Pairing and Instructional
Control
•Instructional Control is the
likelihood that your instructions
will evoke a correct response
from your student
–If you do not have instructional
control, you may describe the child as
―noncompliant‖ or ―nonresponsive‖
Pairing and Instructional Control
•Two critical components of
Instructional Control:
–The child must associate YOU with the
delivery of reinforcement
–You must develop a history of reinforcing
compliance to your instructions
Differential Reinforcement:
Accentuate
the positive
to eliminate
the negative
Differential Reinforcement –
for Behaviors You Want to
DECREASE
• Differential Reinforcement of Zero Rates of
Behaviors (DRO):
– Provides reinforcement contingent on undesirable,
target behavior NOT occurring for a specific period of
time
• Differential Reinforcement of Lower Rates of
Behavior (DRL):
– Provides reinforcement when the rate/frequency of a
behavior decreases
Differential Reinforcement –
for Behaviors You Want to
INCREASE
• Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior
(DRA):
– Provides reinforcement contingent when more desired
replacement behavior is demonstrated
• Differential Reinforcement of Higher Rates of
Behavior (DRH):
– Provides reinforcement when the rate/frequency of a
desired behavior increases
―Never discourage
anyone who
makes continual
progress, no
matter how slow.‖
-Plato
Behavioral Momentum
•A child is reinforced for demonstrating
a series of behaviors on command,
beginning with behaviors he or she is
likely to display with ease then ending
with a request to perform a behavior
he or she is less likely to perform.
3+5= 12+14= 25+35=
Response Shaping
•Involves reinforcing small approximations of a
desired behavior, then gradually withholding
reinforcement until the child’s behavior more closely
approximates the target behavior.
Guidelines
Develops new responses incrementally with
reinforcement
Reinforcement is withheld for more accurate responses
Results in a change of the behavior in:
the ―topography‖ of the behavior (what it looks or
sounds like, such as ―ba‖ moving towards ―book‖) OR
the duration or intensity of the behavior (increasing
time expected to sit quietly at circle)
Response Shaping
• Guidelines
– Develops new responses incrementally
with reinforcement
– Reinforcement is withheld for more
accurate responses
– Results in a change of the behavior in:
1. the ―topography‖ of the behavior (what it looks
or sounds like, such as ―ba‖ moving towards
―book‖) OR
2. the duration or intensity of the behavior
(increasing time expected to sit quietly at
circle)
Response Shaping
• Critical Component:
You must know the
student’s current skill set
for the task.
Reference the previous day’s data sheet.
(DTT lends itself to incremental shaping.)
Naturalistic Instructional
Strategies
•Also referred to as ―milieu‖ teaching
or natural environment training
•Involve planned episodes of brief
adult-child interactions
•Take advantage of naturally
occurring reinforcers during ongoing
activities and routines
Naturalistic Instructional
Strategies
•Designed to promote
generalization of communication
skills
•It is necessary for the child to
already exhibit:
–Joint attention
–Imitation
–Ability to initiate activities
Naturalistic Time Delay
•During familiar routine, the adult skips a step or
pauses between steps and looks expectantly to the
child and allows wait time. If a child initiates the
response, the routine continues. If not, the adult
models the expected behavior before the routine
continues.
•When a verbal response is expected, this strategy
may also be called intraverbals.
•Variation is ―Violation of Expectancy‖ (Bailey & Woolery,
1992) or sabatoge
Mand-Modeling
•A MAND is a request for something or a
statement related to what is reinforcing
to the child
•Thus, MAND-MODELING is the adult
providing an appropriate response or
mand for the child.
•A TACT is a label
•Thus TACT-LABELING is adult
providing appropriate tact for the child.
Incidental Teaching
•An instructional strategy in which the adult
uses child initiations during ongoing
activities as an opportunity to respond with
either a model or request for more
elaborate behavior.
•Programming examples of this strategy:
–Floortime (Greenspan)
–Relationship Development Intervention
(Gutstein)
–Pivotal Response Training (PRT)
Response Prompting Strategies
•Response prompts are behaviors that assist a
child in performing a target skill or behavior.
•Different forms include: verbal cues, gestures,
demonstrations or models, visual cues, and
partial to full physical prompting
•Used to help children perform tasks that they
otherwise COULD NOT or WOULD NOT do
•Should come before the child demonstrates
an inappropriate response.
Levels of Prompting with Examples
• Full Physical: ―hand over hand‖ assistance
• Partial Physical: partially moving the learner to complete a
task
• Verbal: repeating the direction, giving one word to signal
the correct response, verbally saying ―try again‖, providing
the correct response, giving a ―hint,‖ telling the next step
• Gestural or visual: Gentle tapping toward the correct
response, pointing to or toward the correct response,
modeling the performance of the task, providing a visual
of the expectation
• Positional: moving the correct choice in a way that the
correct choice is obvious to the learner or reducing the
―field‖
• Independent response: No assistance needed
Considerations Regarding Verbal Prompting
• Very difficult to fade
• Is not appropriate for children with verbal deficits
• Can create verbal chaining
• Is not as effective as other options
• Can be difficult to accurately record
Prompting: The Critical
Component
• Before introducing a prompt you must
determine:
How will you get rid of the
prompt?
Have a back-out plan in mind.
Modeling
•Bandura, 1965
•Derived from research suggesting
that typical children tend to imitate the
behavior of children and adults that
are significant to them, especially
when that behavior is reinforced.
Chaining / Task Analysis
•Chaining involves determining
the sequence in which a task is
performed
•Behaviors can be chained
forward or backwards
Chaining / Task Analysis
•Forward chaining: the child completes the
FIRST step in the sequence and the adult
assists / prompts the child through the
remainder of the task (eliminating errors).
Once the child is independent with the
FIRST step, he is prompted to complete
the second step, and so on until the entire
sequence has been learned.
Chaining / Task Analysis
•Backward chaining: the steps are
taught in the reverse sequence
whereas the adult assists or prompts
the child through all steps of the task
but the LAST. Once the child is
independent with the LAST step, he is
prompted to complete the second to
last step, and so on until the entire
sequence has been learned in
reverse order.
www.usevisualstrategies.com
10 Step Task Analysis Data Sheet
Fading
•Fading is the systematic reduction of a
prompt as the child demonstrates success
in learning the target behavior
•Prompts can be faded according to their
intensity, magnitude, frequency, or duration
•When embedding a prompt, consider
restating the original instruction so that the
response will be given under the control of
the instruction rather than the prompt
Avoiding Prompt Dependency
• Be sure you have the child’s attention prior to giving
direction / instruction
• Allow appropriate wait time for independent response
• Use effective reinforcers
• If you repeat the instruction, do it with the prompt
• Fade prompts as quickly as possible
• The more independent the response, the higher the
reinforcement
Prompt dependency is NOT a characteristic of a
disability…it is a sign of poorly planned teaching.
What’s the Difference?
•The difference between SHAPING and
PROMPTING…
–Shaping: the instruction stays the same,
while the response changes to become
more accurate
–Prompting: the response stays the same,
while the level of prompting decreases as
the level of response becomes more
independent
Discrete Trial Teaching is not a
teaching strategy that is used
only for teaching language, nor
is it only employed for young
children with autism.
It is simply good
teaching!!!
(Leaf and McEachin, 1999)
Discrete Trial Instruction Model
SD RC
Instruction Response Consequence
Antecedent Behavior Consequence
Discrete Trial Quick Vocabulary
• Target—the identified correct response
• Distracter—any items/information, other
than the target, presented during the task
• Field of—refers to the total number of
supplies presented at one time, target and
all distracters. (Fo3, Fo2)
Discrete Trial Training
DTT involves:
1. Breaking a skill into smaller parts
(sub-skills)
2. Teaching one sub-skill at a time
until mastery
3. Allowing repeated practice in a
concentrated period of time
4. Providing prompting and prompt
fading as necessary
5. Using reinforcement procedures
Discrete Trial Training Components
•The components of a trial:
–Discriminative stimulus (SD): verbal
direction, instruction, or cue
–Response (R)
–Consequence (C)
•Stimulus Reinforcer (SR+): If response is
correct, the child is reinforced
–Inter-trial Interval: pause between trials
SD RC
Discrete Trial Training
•Initially:
–allow mini breaks where the student is
given a reinforcer (great time to collect
data and prepare materials for next series
in addition to monitoring the child’s
behavior and reinforce appropriate play);
length of mini break should be
proportionate to length of work completed
–trials can be conducted in series of one to
several, depending on the attention span,
need for reinforcement, and difficulty of the
material
Discrete Trial Training
•Schedule as many sessions in a day as is
productive for the child
•Allow breaks between sessions
•Space sessions out through the day
(rather than scheduled back-to-back)
•Intersperse instructions from a variety of
domains (visual, motor, language, math,
motor, visual)
•Evenly distribute sessions throughout the
week
Discrete Trial Training
•As the student progresses, make
the setting as natural as possible
–deliberately allow distractions to
occur
–move to different places for a portion
or all of the therapy session /
teaching opportunity
–gradually provide more complex
instructions
–vary materials
BE ORGANIZED!!
1. Keep everything you need at the learning
area.
2. Each student needs his own set of
supplies.
3. Have data sheets ready before you begin
instruction.
What is Errorless Teaching?
•―Errorless Teaching‖ involves presenting
an instruction with a prompt to ensure a
correct response
–The instruction is not provided without
prompts until the prompts have been
systematically faded
–Appropriate when teaching new skills or
when working with early learners to
minimize frustration and decrease learned
errors
–Uses lowest prompt possible to ensure
correct response
Dealing with Errors
• Errors will happen, especially when you
test the waters for lessening a prompt.
• Errors over 20% for the day indicate the
student needs more instructional support
More about this in the data collection section.
Error Correction Procedure
•Is consequence for an incorrect
response or lack of a response to
an instruction
•Involves systematic prompting
and fading
•Goal is to obtain a correct
response to an unprompted
instruction
Positional Preferences and the Target’s
Position
• Errors occur when the student makes a
selection because of a positional
preference and not an informed choice.
• Teachers can accidentally create or
solidify this error pattern.
• Be sure data contains target
position information!
Reasons to Collect Data
•To determine a baseline
•To prepare for an IEP or
progress reporting
•To support the effectiveness of
the program OR guide you to
needed modifications to the
program
Prompting & Data Collection:
Create a System
The Simpler, the Better!
--Use abbreviations for different prompts and
errors.
--Use tally marks for frequency counts.
--Create templates that allow for checkmarks.
Keep in mind, others will use/interpret your
system, too.
Some Abbreviation Examples
• + = successful trial • Po = positional prompt*
• P = full hand over hand prompt • KD = known distracters
• Wp = wrist prompt • G = gesture prompt
• Fp= forearm prompt • V = verbal prompt
• Ep = elbow prompt • PV = partial verbal
• M = model • E = error
Types of Data
Frequency (How often?)
Students # of Occurrences
Buddy 111
Sally 1111 1111
Susie 1
Types of Data
Time Interval
Involves recording occurrences of a targeted
behavior in a given time frame
Can use whole or partial intervals depending
on behavior
Data can provide an estimate of frequency
and/or duration of behavior
Y NB H ND
Y NB H ND
Y NB H ND
Y NB H ND
Y NB H ND
Y=yelling; NB=No Behavior Observed;
H=Hitting; ND: No Data Recorded
Y NB H ND
Y NB H ND
Y NB H ND
Y NB H ND
Y NB H ND
Y=yelling; NB=No Behavior Observed;
H=Hitting; ND: No Data Recorded
www.habitchange.com
Types of Data
Latency
Involves recording time elapsed between a
given direction and the student’s response
Examples –
Lining up
Beginning a work task
Verbal responding
Types of Data
Duration
Involves recording the length of time a
behavior lasts
Examples –
Tantrums
On task behavior
Time needed to calm down and return to
regular schedule
Types of Data
Accuracy/Percent Correct
Involves recording the number/percent of
correct responses for a given task
USE WITH CAUTION!
Not all tasks lend themselves to this type of
data!
Collecting Accurate Data
Additional Info You May Want to Record
• Prompt positions
• Record number of items in the learning field, if
you are using fewer than the mastery criteria
(typically three): Fo1, Fo2
• Record the position of the target: R, M, L,
Vert, etc.
• Data may look like this:
Fo2 Po KD Wp
L M R L
5 Trial Self
Graphing
All In One
Data Sheet
Data Sheet for
Tracking Work
Baskets with
Multiple
Students
When to Collect Data
•At your professional discretion
•At predetermined times
-every three days
-every Tuesday and Thursday
-10:00 and 2:00
-first 10 minutes of every therapy session
•Determine this prior to giving a
task or assignment (not after)
Who Can Collect Data and How
Much Should Be Collected
•WHO Should?
–Teachers, Paraprofessionals, Therapists
•WHO Should Not?
–Substitute Teachers (unless long term), Peers,
Parent Volunteers
•HOW MUCH?
–VERY student and goal specific!
–Not so much that it’s overwhelming and you’re
not sure what to do with it!
How to Use Data
•WHO has access to it?
–The IEP team should have access to the
data, but it should be maintained and
viewed regularly by the school staff
•Needs to be charted or graphed if
appropriate
•Decisions to make program changes
should be based on trend lines
•Program changes should be noted
on graphs
Figuring the Daily Success
Rec Lbl Fo2 pp G + E Fo1 Po IC 16% E 16%
Imit Clap Hnds P E P pp + IC 20% E 20%
Intraverbal Song
―Round‖ V V + IC 33% E 0%
Exp Fnctn
―cut‖ + + IC 100% E 0%
Use Percentages to Predict Level of
Prompt (you are avoiding errors!)
• Look at previous day’s percentage to
determine how heavy your prompt should
be for the first trial of the new data day.
• Anything less than 80% needs some kind
of prompt.
• Adjust prompt strength according to
previous trial’s data
65% G---+---+---+ 75%
Frequent Data Usage for
Prompts
Previous Day Level of prompt for first trial of
day (low, medium, high, or
none).
32% H
87% None
65% M
75% L
42% H
How to Use Data
•Neutral Trend
_______________’s Target Behavior Sheet Date:
Schedule/ AM 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th PM
Target Behaviors Check hour hour hour hour hour hour hour hour check
I can follow directions the
first time.
I can stay on task.
I can be respectful to
others.
I can do my best work.
I can keep my hands and
feet to myself.
Turn Around Points
Teacher Agreement
Circle if turned in: TB Sheet Homework Transportation
Teacher Comments:
Parent Comments:
Parent Signature:
Example Target Behavior Sheet Graph
Target Skill Percentages
100%
94%
95%
90% 90%
90% 87%
85% 83%
80%
75% 72%
70%
70% 68%
Percentage of Points Earned
64%
65%
60% 57%
55%
Last Quarter Percentages
50%
Current Quarter Percentages
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Ignore acting out Safe w ords and Follow Directions Stay on Task Treat Others Nicely
actions
Target Skills
16
-M
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
55%
60%
65%
70%
75%
80%
85%
90%
95%
100%
a
18 r
-M
a
25 r
-M
a
27 r
-M
a
31 r
-M
ar
2-
Ap
r
6-
Ap
r
8-
Ap
10 r
-A
p
14 r
-A
p
21 r
-A
p
23 r
-A
p
27 r
-A
p
29 r
-A
p
1- r
M
ay
5-
M
ay
7-
M
a
11 y
-M
a
13 y
-M
a
15 y
-M
ay
Example Target Behavior Sheet Graph
Example Frequency Data Graph
Example Frequency Data Graph
12
10
8
# of occurances
Hits
Kicks
6
Bites
Scratches
4
2
0
9/20/2006 9/21/2006 9/22/2006 9/23/2006 9/24/2006
Date
Data Management Systems
•Goal Tracker
(www.goal-tracker.com)
•Chart Dog 2.0
•Excel
•Hand graphing
―If a child benefits in terms of learning
(generalization, independence,
integration, engagement, and
efficiency) are EQUAL, then the more
natural, more normalized, less
restrictive, and less intrusive
interventions and arrangements
should be used.‖ (Baily and Wolery, 1992).
How Do I Know Where to Start?
•Consider the child’s skills related to:
–Acquisition
–Fluency
–Maintenance
–Generalization
•Does the strategy promote independence
and/or increased participation?
How Do I Know Where to Start?
•Can the strategy be integrated into the
child’s daily activities and routines and
across developmental domains?
•Does the strategy promote active
engagement by considering the child’s
preferences?
•Is the strategy efficient? (produce the
most effective results in the most natural
setting in the least amount of time)
How Do I Know Where to Start?
•Use a curriculum that is wide ranging
in scope (language, play, social, self-help)
–A Work in Progress, Leaf &
McEachin
–Behavioral Intervention for Young
Children with Autism, Maurice, Green,
and Luce
–Making a Difference: Behavioral
Intervention for Autism, Maurice,
Green, and Foxx
How Do I Know Where to Start?
•Use a curriculum that is wide ranging in
scope (language, play, social, self-help), cont’d
–The Assessment of Basic Language and
Learning Skills-Revised (The ABLLS-R),
Partington
–The Verbal Behavior Milestone
Assessment and Placement Program (The
VB-MAPP),
Sundberg
–Do-Watch-Listen-Say: Social and
Communication Intervention for children
with Autism, Quill
Components of a Well Written Goal
(LaTempt, 2007)
•Name
•Direction (increase, decrease, maintain)
•Specific skill or behavior
•Action (what is the student going to do?)
•Condition (ex., in structured setting, during free play, given a
teacher directed activity, )
•Measurement (ex. 4/5 opportunities, on 3 consecutive paragraphs,
for 5 minutes, 80% accuracy)
•Duration (how long do you want to see behavior/skill continued
before you move on?)
Example Goal
Given a field of 6 picture cues, Ted will increase his
expressive language skills by verbally labeling items with
75% accuracy on 4 out of 5 consecutive data days.
•Name -
•Direction -
•Specific skill or behavior -
•Action -
•Condition
•Measurement
•Duration
Is This Just a ―School Thing?‖
•The family’s role is CRUCIAL…
–Direct therapy delivered from a
parent or other adult in the home and
community will encourage
generalization
•Home and school must work
collaboratively
Is This Just a ―School Thing?‖
•The family’s role is CRUCIAL…
–Involve the child in the daily routine
of living
•Outings to the park, grocery shopping,
mailing a letter, visiting a relative’s home
serve as opportunities to generalize skills
and work on improving behavior
•Bath time, dinner, getting dressed, feeding
the cat, and other everyday home routines
serve as opportunities for teaching
Encouraging Generalization
•Vary settings
•Vary instruction (―What is it?‖, What do
you see?‖, ―Tell me about this.‖)
•Provide opportunities for
maintenance
•Vary materials
•Vary instructors / people
Encouraging Generalization
•Intersperse tasks
•Use varied and natural reinforcers
•Use language that is as natural as
possible
•Reduce structure as much as
possible (sometimes work on the floor
instead of in the chair)
Discrete Trial Teaching is not a
teaching strategy that is used
only for teaching language, nor
is it only employed for young
children with autism.
It is simply good
teaching!!!
(Leaf and McEachin, 1999)
Contact Info
Chaelah Jenkins, MA
cjenkinsaba@comcast.net
Stacey Martin, MA, MAC
Stacey.martin@leesummit.k12.mo.us