Prompting - What is a Prompt?

What is a prompt?

Prompting is an essential tool used to help individuals learn new skills and change behavior Prompts are used by all individuals to help us perform tasks and be more successful in a various situations Prompts are especially useful for teaching individuals with various barriers to learning SD > prompt > response > consequence Prompt: an additional stimulus provided in the presence of an appropriate response to evoke a correct or an appropriate response -A cue used to assist the learner in providing an appropriate response to the SD or situation in place -Drag and drop activity (everyday prompts)

Why do we use prompts in ABA?

Prompts help make learning more effective and efficient Prompts allow learners to immediately access reinforcers Prompts help to avoid frustration and confusion for the learner Prompts can be individualized according to the learner's needs and the specific target behavior

Types of prompts

Stimulus prompts: an addition to or alteration of the stimulus to facilitate a correct or appropriate response -Stimulus prompts act directly on the antecedent and occur when the SD or MO is presented Response prompt: an addition cue added to the learner's response to facilitate a correct or appropriate response Physical prompt: providing manual guidance to the learner to facilitate a correct response Model prompt: Providing physical demonstration of the desired behavior for the learner to imitate Echoic prompt: providing vocal demonstration of the desired behavior for the learner to imitate Verbal directive prompt: giving verbal instructions to guide the learner's behavior, may include textual, visual, or other verbal cues Gesture prompt: providing a movement cue to indicate a desired response Positional prompt: altering the location or placement of a stimulus to facilitate a desired response Within-stimulus prompt: adding to or altering a portion of the stimulus to facilitate appropriate responding Full prompt: the entire prompt is delivered to assist the learner in giving a correct response Partial prompt: only a portion of the prompt is delivered to assist the learner

What is prompt fading?

The systematic removal of a prompt across successive trials -The transfer of control over the behavior from the prompt to the SD/MO -The gradual reduction of prompts until they are no longer needed by the learner to perform the skill independently Independence can occur if prompting is also occurring Instructors can use fading procedures by reducing the amount of assistance they provide to get a correct response from the child Fading is critical in order to avoid prompt dependency