Teaching in a Language-Based Environment

What constitutes a languagebased environment?

·      Everyone views language as the key feature of the intervention. (ie Even Aunt Suzie buys into "doing tricks" when you teach child to say "Aunt Suzie" with ice cream)

·      The educational plan (IEP/IPP, if appropriate) is coordinated with all daily activities

·      Language training is incorporated into all other activities.

·      There are a large number of daily trials under a variety conditions.

·     All program staff and family members are trained in languageinstruction techniques.

·     Trainers know how and when to reinforce and how to fade contrived reinforcers so natural reinforcers take over.

·     Trainers know what response approximations to accept and how to shape better approximations.

·     Trainers know what level of prompt to provide and how to fade those prompts as quickly as possible.

·     Trainers are consistent in their implementation of the program.

·     Trainers capture and arrange opportunities to communicate.  

·     It is not necessarily the number of trials that is critical, but rather the type of trials.

·     All relevant types of language training trials are conducted                    

·     Trainers arrange for frequent opportunities to generalize.

·     A plan or curriculum of skills for orderly progression to more complex forms of verbal behavior is in place.

·     Data is collected on performance.

 

 

Trainer Skills: An effective shaper... (take skills child has now and shape it closer to what it should be)

 

• 80% maintanence, 20% new skills
• Captures and creates motivation
• Reinforces and shapes behavior
• Presents instructions
• Fades prompts
• Teaches specific language skills
• Runs correction trials
• Intersperses easy and difficult tasks
• Identifies natural teaching opportunities
• Teaches for generalization
• Reinforces spontaneity

 

Tips for all teaching situations:

 

• Keep the child successful. Behavioral Momentum - success breeds success
• Keep the rate of reinforcement high with lots of opportunities for responding.
• Children will respond to those whom they enjoy  pair yourself with "good things."
• If a behavior continues to occur, it is being reinforced
• Motivation can change moment to moment.
• Teachable moments can occur hundreds of times per day .... Capitalize on them.
• Contrive or "set up situations."
• Make sure you have your student's attention!
• The likelihood of responding in the future will increase with each success!!!!!

 

 

THE BEHAVIORAL CLASSIFICATION OF LANGUAGE

 

Mand - Asking for what you wantitems, activities, information, etc. - to get something (de - mand, com - mand)

 

Imitation - Copying someone's motor movements

 

Echoic - Repeating exactly what you hear (different function from imitation but same form)

 

Receptive - Following instructions or complying with the requests of others, including nonverbally identifying specific items when asked to (touch the …, find the …., pet the …., give me the …)

 

Tact - Verbally identifying objects, actions, events, etc. (labeling, function of language that "contacts" environment) (what is it?)

 

RFFC - Receptively identifying specific items when given some description (its functions, features, or class) of the item (respond to request about attribute of product, find the one that says meow)

 

Intraverbal - Answering questions or conversations where your words are controlled other words. (greetings, social situations, animal sounds, songs, filling in blanks)

 

Textual - Reading written words.

 

Writing - Writing and spelling words when spoken to you

 

 

REINFORCEMENT KEY ISSUES TO INTRODUCE

 

What is reinforcement?

 

• Reinforcer:  any consequence that follows a response and increases the likelihood that the response will occur again in the future under similar circumstances.
• Reinforcement: the process in which a consequence  follows a response and increases the likelihood that the response will occur in the future under similar circumstances.

·         Any behavior can be reinforced, both appropriate behavior and inappropriate behavior.

·         Reinforcement can occur when you add a positive event or remove an aversive event.

 

What can you use as reinforcers?

 

• Typically, highly preferred items and activities serve as reinforcers.
• Use whatever the student currently wants at the particular time as a reinforcer.

 

Why do you need to use reinforcers?

 

• Reinforcers are essential in teaching a child new skills because they are what increases the behavior (the correct response). Without reinforcement, the child will not necessarily make the correct response again. Reinforcers motivate the child to learn; it is difficult to teach a child who is unmotivated.

 

When should you give the child a reinforcer?

 

• Only provide access to reinforcers when the child has earned them, such as when a child complies to a request or correctly responds to an instructionor when the child is behaving appropriately without you instructing him to do so.
• Do not allow the child to have free, uncontrolled access to the reinforcers.
• Provide reinforcement immediately following a desired response.

 

BEFORE LANGUAGE TRAINING SESSIONS START

 

What is "pairing"?

 

"Pairing" refers to associating yourself with the delivery of reinforcing items and events. Through pairing you establish yourself as a reinforcer.

 

 A reinforcer is any item or, event that increases the rate of a behavior when it is presented following the behavior. An, Anything that is consistently a reinforcer. will become reinforcing itself (a conditioned reinforcer).

 

Why do you "pair"?

 

How do you pair yourself with reinforcement?

 

• have a number of reinforcing items and activities that are currently effective for your child
• present yourself or your words with or immediately before the delivery of reinforcement
• offer ways to access other reinforcers that your child could not access independently
• ensure that you are not associated with the termination of ongoing reinforcing activities or other negative events
• don't place demands upon your child initially
• gradually increase demands once the training relationship has been established
• set up playing so that you are required to make things fun (car goes down slide, you control car and don't give it to child until mand)
• establish yourself as a reinforcer

 

 

DO:

Don't

Narrate (vs instruct) Use natural language Present yourself and words followed by reinforcer Reinforce engagement & interaction Wait for interaction before reinforcement (don't do a whole bunch of stuff) Reinforcers During Pairing Follow child's motivation Control access to reinforcers (deliverable in small amounts, go away by themselves) You are critical for activity Types of reinforcers Edibles Tickles Praise Bubbles Squirt guns Wind up toys Videos Balloons Blankets/pillows Swinging Trampoline

No demands - depends on child's capability - lots of reinforcement Don't turn reinforcer into task (read book "what's this?") Be silent, play next to child w/o engaging child

 

How do you know if trainers have paired themselves effectively?  Does your child run to them or from them?

Giving up reinforcer doesn't mean its gone forever.

 

Pairing should continue to occur at the beginning of and during each session  whenever instructors interact with the student.

 

Pair every 20 minutes (per session) or at least the first and last 20 minutes.

Gradually increase expectations.

Give me beads (history of just touching) -> then pick up for 1 second -> then hold -> then remove for longer periods

PAIRING -> EASY TASK -> HARD TASK -> EASY TASK -> HARD TASK -> EASY TASK -> PAIRING

 

TEACHING TECHNIQUES DISCRETE TRIALS

 

What are discrete trials?

 

Sd  ----> R----->Sr

 

discriminative stimulus - the instruction, question, relevant item or materials, etc.

 

response

 

consequence - Consequences can increase rates of            behavior (reinforcement) or decrease  rates of behavior (punishers or extinction)

 

discriminating stimulus is a particular stimulus that        evokes a particular response due  to a history of reinforcement.

 

 

Why use discrete trials?

• correct response is clear to student and instructor
• enables consistent teaching methods
• enables datacollection
• enables a high rate of training trials

 

 

 

How do you teach with discrete trials?

 

Use 12 Aides

2 Head teachers

1 ABA person

1 Speech person

22 kids

 

Use name -> pair with reinforcement -> they run to you when calling their name

 

1  Present the Sd

• when the student is attending
• clearly and consistently
• only state once

 

2  Know the correct response.

·         Ensure that the correct response is not chained with any extraneous behaviors or multiple responses.

·         There should be a short latency from Sd         to response, approximately 1  7 seconds.

 

3. Provide immediate reinforcement when the student is correct.

·         Reinforcers should be a small quantity and varied over time.

·         Provide higher level reinforcers for more independent and higher quality responses.

 

Ways to get a student's attention:

• ensure you have a reinforcer and it is visible
• present a mastered trial
• change your positioning

 

Correction Procedure:

If the student is incorrect, or makes no response, repeat the Sd and prompt the correct response, then fade the prompts so that the student is reinforced for responding correctly to the original Sd without prompts.

 

Prompt dependence -> games with self correcting

First Intro - New skill -> quick response with quick prompt

Acquisition -> 5-7 seconds for response -> if attending wait for accurate response

After acquisition -> require faster, more fluent responses after acquisition

 

TEACHING TECHNIQUES II: NATURALISTIC TRAINING

• Not same rate as DTT
• Higher quality of responding
• Intensive DTT when run into problems or not picking up from less structed DTT - easier to teach in controlled setting

 

Naturalistic "discrete trials"

 

• Discrete trial training may be conducted much as presented previously, however, it should be done in the context of a motivating activity.

·         Many different types of language should be trained within the activity.

·         Naturallyoccurring reinforcers should be used as much as possible.

·         MotivationaL interactive activities using materials that are meaningful to the use in a reinforcing, manner are the key to skill acquisition. Your observation skills will need to be extremely keen in order to identify materials and, items that, are motivating, and you will need to be creative in your use of them.

 

Activity & Materials	Skills/Words	Reinforcers
Walking with partner	Jump, come back, walk	Good job
Coloring eggs for easter Sitting on counter Brother sitting next to child, child could see items but not access them	Put spoon in cup, want egg, what are these (stickers), who wants the egg	Good talking (got marker) Given sticker Given Egg
Kitchen making cookies	Imitation Receptive instruction Compliance Discrimination, given choices (nuts?), I'm stirring, what are you doing? Narrating and requiring responding Tacting actions - kitten items Motor skills - stirring	Cookie dough to eat Good job We're all stirring, good job stirring Put in, pour Find thing you need to stir with Make it sweet, what do you need to add Need 1 cup flour Set timer (environmental sounds - timer)

 

Present Sd 1st time gets it right - Huge Reinforcer

Present Sd with prompts 1.       Little reinforcer (specific praise) 2.       Imitative over physical 3.       Partial physical over hand over hand 4.       Fade prompts over longer period of time 5.       Knows one of the receptive cards but not other 6.       Make receptive card closer (easier to pick right one)

Present Sd no prompts Medium Reinforcer

 

1.       Get it independently first then move on

2.       If can't then move onto something guaranteed success then go back

 

 

TEACHING MANDS

 

What is a "mand"?  a verbal response that is reinforced by a characteristic consequence and is under the control of motivational variables