TEACHING VOCAL WORDS AS MANDS:
Echoic-to-Mand Transfer Procedure
Procedure:
• Make sure that the student has an EO (motivation) for the item/activity and that it is in view (ex. reach for it,
grab it, look at it, etc.).
•
Say the specific name of the item/activity.
•
Student echoes (vocally imitates) the name of the item/activity.
•
Deliver the item/activity while saying the name again.
Prompt-fading procedure:
• After several successful prompted trials (procedure above), try to use a brief time-delay procedure (3
seconds) to see if the student will say the name of the item by himself/herself. If so, say and deliver the
item immediately. Because the student says it without a prompt, deliver a larger quantity of the item/activity
(use differential reinforcement).
•
If the student does not say the name of the item during the time delay, use the least amount of prompting
necessary to evoke the correct response. The following is the most-to-least prompting hierarchy:
o Say word
o Say initial sound (phonemic prompt)
o Item present
o EO (item out of sight)
Note: Some students may only echo the phonemic prompt given. If the phonemic prompt does not evoke
the full word from the student, avoid providing initial sounds as prompts in the future.
Error-correction procedure:
• Scrolling occurs when the student says the name of one item or activity but in fact has an EO for another
reinforcer. This indicates a lack of discrimination among the student’s vocal mands.
•
Never deliver the reinforcing item/activity after the student mistakenly says the name of a different
item/activity, even if he/she “self-corrects”.
•
Wait 3 seconds, then say the correct name of the reinforcing item/activity.
•
Student echoes the name.
•
Deliver the item/activity while saying the name again.
11
B.F. Skinner’s Analysis of Verbal Behavior and its Implications for Teaching Children
with Autism
1. A word is not defined by its form. The definition of a word is determined by its functional
category (e.g., mand, tact, etc.)
2. The same word (candy) has many different meanings based upon the conditions under
which you learned to say it.
3. Many students with autism do not have verbal repertoires that include responses in
each of the categories for the same word (topography).
4. This happens because the categories are functionally independent and the responses
(words) may not transfer across the categories without explicit training. For example,
being able to mand “candy” by saying “candy” does not guarantee that the same
student will be able to tact (label) candy when they see it and there is no EO
(motivation) for it.
5. A common profile of students with autism includes a large receptive repertoire, many
tacts, very few mands and almost no intraverbals. Failing to have responses in all of
the categories leads to a less than adequate and useful verbal repertoire.
6. This problem may be the result of instruction that failed to assess the language
repertoire of the student according to the behavioral classification and then failed to
recognize the need for explicit teaching. Usually the student’s “cognitive abilities” and
not the teaching is said to account for the failure to develop spontaneous language and
conversational skills.
Teach ALL the “Meanings”
MAND
TACT
ECHOIC/MIMETIC
INTRAVERBAL
CANDY
RECEPTIVE
RFFC
TFFC
IFFC
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COUNT & MAND
USE:
Child is engaging in inappropriate behavior TO
GET something they CAN HAVE.
STEPS: No direct attention
Say only “Quiet”
Count on fingers until behavior has stopped
for the entire count
Prompt the specific mand
Deliver the item
13
WAIT
USE:
Child mands appropriately for something that
they CAN HAVE, but engages in inappropriate
behavior while waiting for the item to be
delivered
STEPS: No direct attention
Say only “Wait”
Count on fingers until behavior has stopped
for the entire count
Deliver the item
14
ACCEPTING “NO”
USE:
Student mands for something he/she MAY NOT
HAVE
STEPS: Tell the student “No, but you can have
(alternative reinforcer)”
If inappropriate behavior occurs, remove
the alternative offered
Walk and peel if safety permits or present tasks
until the student is calm
Do not deliver either the requested or alternative
reinforcer
Engage student in another activity when calm
15
ESCAPE EXTINCTION
USE:
Child engages in inappropriate behavior
to GET OUT OF a demand
STEPS: No direct attention
Say only the ORIGINAL DEMAND until child
complies on his/her own (no praise)
Add a varied number of additional demands at a
similar difficulty level (no praise)
Child continues on to next activity
16
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