Chapter 13 (Cooper) Chapter 17 (Sulzer-Azaroff) Prompting

Effective Goal Setting Be realistic Shape Goals should be SDs

Prompting and Prompt Fading Prompts: supplemental stimuli that control the target response but are not a part of the natural SD that will eventually control the behavior (Touchette & Howard, 1984) Prompts are given before or during the performance of a behavior; they help behavior occur so that the teacher can provide reinforcement Only introduced during the acquisition phase of instruction Prompt Fading: technique to gradually change the antecedent stimulus: Stimuli are faded in or out. Transfer of Stimulus Control :technique used to fade response and stimulus prompts

2 Types of Prompts Response Prompts: stimuli added to a child’s response Verbal Directions Modeling Physical Guidance Stimulus Prompts: Stimuli used in conjunction with the task stimuli or instructional materials Movement Cues Position Cues Redundancy Cues

Response prompts: stimuli added to a child’s response Verbal directions: can be one word or several in length and are used very often in typical classrooms e.g., When teaching a child to tie a shoe –can say remember to make the bows big e.g., remind the student what they need to do –Remember do your math worksheet and then we can go to the party but can be used with children with autism Child must have responding that is rule-governed or use familiar language Make sure they are not prompts but critical variables of concern E.g., instructions –can be taught to response to these pair with modeling

Response prompts: stimuli added to a child’s response Modeling prompts a behavior can be modeled by demonstrating the desired behavior so that it can be imitated. It can be used in combination with other prompts Child must have genrealized imitation e.g., words on a card to be copied – writing activity schedules e.g., videotaping the actions of a play script e.g., drawing the components for an art script E.g., posture and attention

Response prompts: stimuli added to a child’s response Physical guidance: an instructor manually guides a child through the entire target response e.g., teaching a child to dress –not pulling the pants up for a child but putting your hands over the child’s and guiding them pull them up

Ways to Fade Response Prompts Wolery and Gast (1984) Most-to-Least Prompts Graduated Guidance Shadowing and spatial fading Least-to-Most Prompts Time Delay

Response Prompt Fading Most-to-least : the instructor initially guides the student physically through the entire performance then gradually reduces the amount of physical assistance provided as training progresses from session to session. e.g., dressing Graduated guidance is defined as the teacher provides a physical prompt only when it is needed and then it is faded immediately whenever the student responses correctly.

Response Prompt Fading Foxx and Azrin (1973) recommend using shadowing and spatial fading with the graduated guidance procedure as soon as the student is performing the skill independently. Shadowing has the teacher following the student’s movements with her hands very near but not touching the child. The teacher then gradually increases the distance of her hands from the student. Spatial fading involves gradually changing the location of the physical prompt. e.g., if the physical prompt is used for a hand movement, the teacher can move the prompt from the hand to the wrist, to the elbow, to the shoulder, and then to no physical contact.

Response Prompt Fading Least to most prompts involves giving the student the opportunity to perform the response with the least amount of assistance on each trial. Greater degrees of assistance are provided as successive opportunities are required. This procedure requires that a latency interval (frequency 5 seconds) occur between the presentation of the natural SD and the opportunity to emit the response.

Least-to Most Advantages: Disadvantages Wolery and Gast (1984) List 4 basic Guidelines to be followed The natural SD to which stimulus control will be transferred is presented at each prompt level a constant latency interval follows the presentation of each natural SD or prompt within which time the student has an opportunity to response without additional assistance Increased assistance is presented at each prompt level Each correct response is positive reinforced even if prompted Advantages: the student always has an opportunity to response and the student’s behavior determines the level of prompting needed for a correct response increasing assistance as necessary. Disadvantages multiple errors.

Example e.g., “Joe point to the number 8 “ no response “Joe point to the number 8. It’s the one between 7 and 9 on your number line.” No response “Joe want me point to the number 8 on your paper. Now you point to the number 8.” He points to the 9 “Join point to the number 8. The tutor placed his hand on top of Joe’s and moves his hand close to the number 8” He points to 9 “Joe, point to the number 8. The tutor guides Joe’s fingers to the number 8”

Response Prompt Fading Time delay delays the presentation of the prompt after the natural stimulus has been presented. Snell and Gast (1981) describe two time delay procedures: Progressive time delay: starts with a zero time delay between the presentation of the natural stimulus and the response prompt. The time delay is then gradually and systematically increased usually in 1-second intervals. The time delay can be increased after a specific number of presentation after each session or after a specific number of sessions. Constant time delay: begins with several trials using a zero second delay. Then for all other trials the response prompt is delayed for a fixed time interval after the presentation of the natural stumbles.

Stimulus prompts: stimuli added to an SD prior to a child emitting a response. Movement prompts pointing to or looking at the target stimulus. e.g. when teaching a student to discriminate a penny from a dime you might point to correct coin. Positional prompts moving the target stimulus closer to a child. e.g., if asking for a dime –move it closer Redundancy prompts when additional dimensions (e.g., color, size shape) of the target stimulus are exaggerated. e.g. prompt is exaggerating the lettering on a dime –criterion related e.g., placing the correct coin on a white sheet of paper –non-criterion related

Fading Stimulus Prompts Stimulus prompts are typically faded through errorless learning procedures such as stimulus shaping, transposition, and stimulus fading (LaBlanc & Etzel, 1981)

Fading Stimulus Prompts -Stimulus fading: highlighting a physical dimension (e.g., color, size, position) of a stimulus to increase the likelihood of a correct response. The highlighted or exaggerated dimension is faded gradually in or out. e.g., fully highlighting a letter “A” to teach handwriting –criterion related prompt e.g., 17 and 71 –in puzzles –give them a one and have them place the one in the correct position to make 17 or 71 –eventually fade this to a writing task –criterion related prompts ensure that the child is attending to the relevant dimension of the stimulus.

Fading Stimulus Prompts Superimposition of stimuli is Frequently used with stimulus fading. Two specific classes of stimuli are presented to prompt a response. In one instance the transfer of stimulus control occurs when one stimulus is faded out; in another application one stimulus is faded in as the other stimulus is faded out.

Fading Stimulus Prompts E.g. Terrace (1963): colored lights (red & green) Lines superimposed on lights Lights faded out e.g., 5 + 2 = 7 1-2-3-4-5- 6-7 E.g., Pg 320 –criterion related?

Fading Stimulus Prompts -Stimulus shaping occurs when the overall configuration or topography of the stimulus is changed. e.g., picture of a car –gradually changing to the written word car –criterion related

Discriminative & Motivational Functions of Stimuli To demonstrate stimulus control A response characteristic such as probability of occurrence is altered whenever a change is made in a particular property of an antecedent stimulus A response in the presence of an antecedent stimulus is followed with reinforcement

Discriminative & Motivational Functions of Stimuli To demonstrate stimulus control 3. The SD condition is correlated with an increased frequency of reinforcement as opposed to the S -differential reinforcement is critical! -Sometimes, a stimulus change alters the rate of probability of a response occurrence and appears to have an SD effect without any history of effective differential reinforcement correlated deprivation and satiation states Michael uses the terms “establishing operations” and “establishing” stimuli to distinguish the discriminative and motivational function of stimulus

Contextual Variables Setting Events Establishing Operations Establishing Stimulus

Setting Events Setting Events (Conditional Discrimination) the presence or absence of an SD that alters the function of any other SD in a general way SD : Context : Movie Theatre S  R  SR See Minimal Avoid friends Conversation Complaints

Setting Events Setting events acquire their function through a history of differential reinforcement, just as any other sort of discriminative stimulus does. Examples of contextual stimuli related to classroom performance E.g., faster rates of presentations of instructional stimuli are associated with both lower rates of disruption and higher rates of correct responses that are slower-paced presentations. So too are frequent praise, clear signals, consistency within a setting, and immediate feedback.

Establishing Operations Any change in the environment which alters the effectiveness of some object or event as reinforcement and simultaneously alters the momentary frequency of the behavior that has been followed by that reinforcer. E.g., salt ingestion, perspiration and blood loss are establishing operations for water consumption Others? Note that establishing operations resemble events that other learning theorists might have labeled “drives” or “motivational” variables.

Establishing Operations A history of differential reinforcement is much less relevant with establishing operations than with setting events. Establishing operations is less dependent on learning than setting events e.g, first time a bay is nauseated he or she will refuse food. The b aby does not have to have learned previously that eating will be punished. Establishing operations is not the same as a discriminative stimulus and does not obtain it controlling properties in the same way.

Establishing Stimulus The effectiveness of conditioned reinforcement is altered but not the effectiveness of unconditioned reinforcement If there is an increased likelihood of the occurrence of behavior that in the past has produced the conditioned reinforcement associated with the second stimulus change

Establishing Stimulus Michael (1982) describes an establishing stimulus as a form of conditioning that produces an evocative relation similar to that of an establishing operation. That is an antecendent-response relation between when you find yourself “desperately seeking” or “needing” an item or event, person, tool, or different environment and when you respond according to your prior experiences A response cannot occur unless some stimulus change enables it to happen E.g., you cannot drive your car unless you have the key, but you have misplaced it. So you look in all the familiar places until you find it. Locating the key is a conditioned reinforcing event, whereas hunting for it was evoked by the stimulus event –no key.

Differences? An establishing operation alters the effectiveness of reinforcement for all members of a species. Not affected by individual history E.g., water deprivation for humans An establishing stimulus does depend on individual history in altering the effectiveness of reinforcement. Does not effect all members of the species in the same way E.g., teacher tell student to complete math worksheet 4. One student lost his worksheet so asks the teacher for another copy Student cannot complete worksheet and then receive reinforcement, if does not have a worksheet. Establishing Stimuli are the worksheet and thus asking the teacher for a worksheet –worksheet then becomes conditioned reinforcer because completion of it leads to reinforcement.

Questions to answer when selecting a prompt: What is the target response? Does my prompt lead to the target response? What is the natural stimuli that should control this behavior? Does my prompt lead to that stimuli controlling the behavior? Order your SDs in a hierarchy from the most natural to the most artificial and select from there E.g. eye contact –why you wouldn’t say “look” or “hands down” E.g., teaching a student to discriminate “b” and “d” Extra stimlus prompt-non-criterion related prompts Within-stimulus prompts –criterion related prompts –magnified critical features

Information to remember when fading prompts: Am I producing a shift in attention from my prompt to the relevant discriminative stimuli? Am I decreasing the likelihood of prompt dependency while preventing errors? -e.g., fading prompts in a timely fashion Am I using an error-correction procedure if the child makes a mistake? Am I reinforcing only when I reduce my level of prompt –giving the child an incentive to independently perform the response?

Coping with Stimulus overdependence and overselectivity Children with autism’s behavior may be controlled by a limited number of even just one –often non-relevant stimulus -of the complex stimulus E.g., placement of an object, its color, person doing the teaching Can recall someone’s name when they are sitting in their seat in the classroom –pass them on the street and I’m in trouble How do you fix this?

Correcting Overselectivity Control has to be transferred over to the critical features of the SD Alternate trials involving single components of the complex stimulus with trials containing the intact complex stimulus Use intermittent schedules of reinforcement –may promote attending