Tecching Developmentatly Discrbled Children: TheMEBook

Tecching Developmentally
Disqbled Ch:ildren

by

Ph.D. O. IvcrrLovcrcts,
of PsychologY Department Universityof California, Los Angeles
with AndrecrAckermqn, Ph.D., Deqn Alexander, Ph.D., Pcula Firestone, M.4., Mcrrlyn Perkins, Ph.D., and DouglcrsB. Young, Ph.D. and with contributions bY Edwcrd G. Ccrr, Ph.D. and Crighton Newsom, Ph.D.

o 1981 Inc. Copyright by PRO-ED, reserved. Allrishts No part of this bookmaybe reprodrcad
in any form or by any meailr wi$flt &t prior written permission of the pr$Hrr"

Al,thoughthic book i* iafirndrdilrldlhprrcnts of developmentdly diaabled children, thc rdlmr d|lffir llb to emphaeize that the training prograrnr rlh0 b rdr contained hereh rhould tmr

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CONTENTS
Co-AuthorsandContributors... Pretace vii

INTRODUCTION
Reference

UNITI BASTCINFORMATION. CHAPTER 1 How To Do It . C H A P T E R2 P h y s t c a l P u n l s h m e n t . . . . .... CHAPTER 3 Behavlor Charactertstlcs of Developmentally Dlsabled Chtldren CHAPTER 4 Recordlng Behavtor . . References RecommendedReadings UNITII GETTINGREADYTOLEARN .;.... ..,.. 11 29

29 37 47 41
43

CHAPTER 5 ProperSttttng .. 45 CHAPTER 6 DlrectlngandMalntalnlngtheChlld'sAttentlon . . . 49 CHAPTER 7 EllmlnatlngMtldlyDlsrupttveBehavtors ... . 53 RecommendedReadings UNITIII IMITATION,MATCHING,ANDEARLYLANGUAGE Imltattonof SlmpleActlons MatchtngVtcualSttmult FollowlngVerballnetructlone Verbal Imltatlon Imitation of Sounds andWords C H A P T E R 1 2A p p r o p r l a t e P l a y S k l l l;s .. CHAPTER13 GenerallzatlonandMalntenance . . . . References Readings Recommended UNITIV BASICSELF.HELPSKILLS C H A P T E R 1E 4attng..i... CHAPTER15 DayttmeTolletTralnlng... C H A P T E R 1 6D r e e s l n s 17 BrushlngorComblngHalr.. CHAPTER CHAPTERlS ToothBruchlng References Recommended Readings C H A P T E R8 C H A P T E R9 CHAPTER10 CHAPTER11 ..57 ... 59

........ 61 ..... 77 .. . .. . 81 . . . 89 ...... 99 . . . . . .109 ......114 . .lt4 ......115 ..II7 ...119 ......L23 ..127 .......L29 ......132 . .132

UNITV INTERMEDIATELANGUAGE 19 ReceptiveObJectLabellng' CHAPTER

Cnepfgn ZO Zf Cflnpfen Zl' CHAPTER Cnnpfgn ZZ CHAPTER23 CHAPTER24 References
Readings Recommended

Expresslve Oblectlabeltng ' ReceptlveActlonlnb-ellr.ts Keceptrverlcu('nt'ouEr.'l ExpresslveActlon Labellng ' Talk Stopplng Echolalta and Psychottc Slgn Language Carr bYEdwardG'

133 135 139 143

r47
153 161 161 163
" " " '165 ""'169 ' " " '173 L' ' ' ' " " :'r'. " 181

.. UNITVI ADVANCEDLANGUAGE
CHAPTER25 26 CHAPTER 27 CHAPTER CHAPTER28 CHAPTER29 CHAPTER30 Slze,Color,andShaPe Preposlttons'." Pronouns Tlme ConcePts . Yes/NoTralnlng TeachlngPhrasesand Sentences

Reference Readings ' Recommended

184 184
' ' 185

CHILD'S WORLD UNITVII EXPANDING YOUR

CHAPTER3lManagingtheChildlnCommunttySettings......'187 C H A P T E R 3 2 T e a c h l n g A b o u t F e e l i n g" " s" . ' r'9.9. ' 1 9 1 C H A P T E R 3 3i i " J " a i " s a n d l m a g l n l n s " ' "203 34 Observattonallearnlng " " CHAPTER versus 35 Bulldtng Spontanelty CHAPTER '209 "" ControlltngBehavlor ' "215 " 36 PrepartngtheChtldforSchool CHAPTER 37 School CHAPTER 223 38 io-Lot CHAPTER References '
Readings Recommended by Crighton Neu''som hoblems and hecautlons

235 .2M .2M .245

l n d e x.

Contents
vl

CO.AUTHORS AND CONTRIBUTORS

Andrea Ackerman, Ph.D. Departmentof Psychology Unlversltyof Californiaat Los Angeles Los Angeles,California90024 Dean D. Nexander, Ph.D. Department of Psychology Graduate School Claremont Claremont,Callfornia917LI Edward G. Cart, Ph.D. StateUnlversip of New York at Stony Brook and Suffolk Child DevelopmentCenter Stony Brook, New York LL794 Paula Flrcrtone, M.A. Departmentof Psychology Unlversltyof Californiaat Los Angeles Los Angeles,California90024 Crlghton Newcom, Ph.D. Coordlnator Research Center SuffolkChlld Development York New at Stony Brook StateUniversityof York L1794 New Stony Brook, Marlyn Pcrklna, Ph.D. Departmentof Education PsychologyDivlsion Educatlonal Unlversityof Californlaat Santa Barbara SantaBarbara,California93105 Douglar B. Young, Ph.D. PrivatePractlce Center Los AngelesPsychosocial 6331 HollywoodBoulevard Suite1000 Los Angeles,California90024

fS

PREFACE
This book containsa set of programs that were startedmany yearsago in an attempt to provide help for parents and teachers in dealing with their developmentally disabled children. One of the parents called these programs the "Me Book," for this is really a book for the child. As a result of following the programs presented in this book, the child does become more of a person, an individual,more of a "me." So, we adopted the subtitle The Me Book. in working with The book evolved and developed out of our experiences will clarify our experiences of these description A disabledchildren. developmentally that this exphilosophy. hope We our teaching basis of approach,for they formed the position, that it will seem so philosophy help clarify our will planationof our teaching different persons holding to those less arbitrary and perhaps be less objectionable one can sometimes because we made, views. Let us begin by relating the mistakes learn a great deal from mistakes. a group of childrenwith severedevelopmental . In !964, we institutionalized and began to formulate teachingprograms designedto help them overcome disabilities atavisticand tantrum behaviors, to help them develop language,to improve their play skillsthat thesechiland to build the other kinds of behavioral and socialinteractions, This book conenvironments. dren neededin order to function betterin lessrestrictive that time' at initiated were programs which tains revisionsof many of the teaching have failures and successes treatment A more completesummaryof our early L ong, a n d J ' L . , ( L o v a a s , R . S i m m o n s , K o e g e l , Q ' , O' I., elsewhere b e e np r e s e n t e d therin behavior children autistic on and follow-upmeasures J. S. Some generalization 1 9, 73,6, 131-165).Themainfindingsand apy.Journalot'AppliedBehaviorAnolys is implicationsare summarized below. Certain positive aspects of our teaching programs became apparent quite soon. For example,we could help the childrenquickly overcomemany of their undesirableand interferingbehaviors, such as their tantrums, their blzarreritualisticbehavbehaviors.We were also able to teach them some very iors, and their self-injurious prove too difficomplex behaviors,such as language, which many had thought would but they time-consuming, were very procedures cult ior these childrento grasp. The others. than more learned some although for all the childrendid learn, were effective, children the treat was to program in made this we The first serious mistake the within an institutional (hospital or clinic) environment. The changeswe created in environment, child's the rest of to the generalize, transfer, or child's behaviorsdid not when we made specialefsuch as his home or school. However, we were successful working out the treatinvolved efforts special forts to bring about generalization.These which brought us to environments, other programming in these ment and educational and learning envia teaching as hospital a using of questionthe necessityor desirability real world, and in the function live and to children ronment. Our goal was to help these institution. an not in an artificialsetting, such as We had hospitalizedthe children in the first place becausewe still held the old "ill" due view we had been taught that children like those with whom we worked were experihad they that thought was is, it That to either psychologicaior organic reasons. It damage' brain organic some from had suffered enced either inadequateparenting or a in ideally "treatment," needed "ill" they were they seemedto follow, then, that since to mistake an easy was it time; the at made sense it "hospital." Given our background, institution to the make. We decided, then, io change the place of heatment from the and school' home in his him to treat we began is, child's natural environment; that

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The second major mistake we made was to isolate the parents from their personssuch as child's treatment.We thought it quite appropriatethat professional program, role being with a smaller treatment play role in the the major should ourselves problems were very The children's child's teachers. parents the and assignedto the needed persons The children help. could educated most the and only we felt, complex, with this deciThere were severalmajor problemsassociated professional intervention. improveto show great time in order treatment deal of a needed sion. First,the children profesnot enough were simply that there children such were so many ment and there parents didn't if the needs. Second, the treatment meet persons to available sional we were doing, what program of consisted treatment child's , know exactlywhat their why we were doing it, and what the final goalswere, then they wouldn't be ableto help We realized their chitdmaintainthe gainsmade in therapy,and the childwould regress. parents and teachers exthe child's approach to teaching our errors,and changedour placed in the hands of was treatment The child's actlyhow we had taughtthe children. parents the teachers became and The the adultsin his natural.everydaycommunity. . n d w e b e c a m et h e i r c o n s u l t a n t s ' c h i l d ' sp r i m a r yt h e r a p i s t sa this new developmentmade good sense.If a child'sbehavioris In retrospect. by the environmentin which he livesand learns,and sincea child'senvironinfluenced ment is composedof severaldifferentsettings(suchas school, home, and neighborhood) then it followsthat the child'stofol environmentshould be arrangedto become a n d e d u c a t i o n a li.f t h e c h i l d i s t o m a k e m a x i m a lg a i n si n t r e a t m e n t . therapeutic A third major mistakewas to expecta "breakthrough."We were expectinga sudden step forward. that possiblysomehow we would hit upon some cenhal cognitive, emotional.or socialevent insidethe child'smind that would help him make a sudare filledwith suchpromises.Such den and major leap ahead.Traditionalconceptions have made our work so much gratifying, it would and a leap would have been so upward proa slow, step-by-step progress followed Instead, easier.lt neverhappened. for hard down to settle We learned ahead. minor spurts gression. rvirhonly a few and some commay take children disabled with who work developmentally work. Persons (Nature not does soltum Nofuro non hypothesis: forts in CharlesDarwin's basic t'ocit impressed parent (Actually, may become also a who has been anyone . make leaps) slow normoi childrendevelop: it takes9 monthsto be born, a whole year to with ho\,.' learn how to walk. and a full 2 yearsbeforeeven minimalspeechis occurring.And the literally12 to 74 hours a day, 7 daysa week, and takesno vacation!) infantis pracricing There were severalother developmentsthat emerged as we moved away model of servicedelivery.We broke down the largehypofrom the raditional disease "autism," "aphasia," "retardation," etc. into more manageable of constructs thetiCal intreatmenffor autism or schizophrenia; componentsor behaviors.We didn't of.fer play, afand language, as such behaviors the childrenspecific steadwe were teochrnq categories diagnostic "interchangeable" across programs were fection.Theseteaching in the seirsethar whar we had learned about teachinglanguageto retarded children children.The could just as easilybe appliedto teachinglanguageto aphasicor autistic irrelevant. became increasingly enterpris whole diagnostic of our projectcenteredaround the develOne of the mosr gratifyingaspects had felt extechniques.For years,many professionals inrervention opment of specific conparents or teachers questions from with when confronted tremely uncomfortable do How you toilettrain? problems: How do behavioral cerninghow to deal with specific more become child you aggressive an help you help the mute child speak?How do Perhapsthe to thosequestions. iriendtyi At last,we had found some concreteanswers probpostulating internal for was reason the formei lack of answersto these questions internal problems were place. If the lemsas the causefor the child'sproblemsin the first Prelcrce

and hidden, then no one, except trained professionals,could work on them. Perhaps such isolation helped prolong our ignorance. Rather than viewing the child as ill or diseased,we came to view him as "different"-different in the sensethat the averageor common environment, which does so well for the averagechild, does not fit the needs nor provide the shucture necessary to be a good teaching/learning environment for these exceptional children. Our task was, then, to construct a special environment, one in which the disabled child could learn. We chose to deviate from the average environment only as much as was absoto make it a suitablelearning environment for our children. We did this lutely necessary for two reasons:first, it would make it easierto return the child to his community later on, and second, the common environment has been developingover thousandsof years, and it does possesssome educational wisdom, even though this is not always apparent.We chose, therefore,to teach the children, whenever possible,as normal parents teach their normal children. To summarize and state some implications: 1. 2. 3. 4. The place of interventionwas changed from the institutionto the child'snatural, everydaycommunitY. The locus of interventionwas changedfrom treatmentto teaching' Teachingwas placed in the hands of the child'steachersand parents. were broken categories Autism, retardation,brain damage, and other diagnostic play, as language, such behavior unitsof down into smallerand more manageable categories. diagnostic and self-help skills. These behaviors cut across Diagnostictesting became de-emphasized.

5.

others,and many of theseocThere were several Thesewere the main developments. of theoreticalorientation. independent parts sometimes the country, of cuned in other almost all professionals. by de-emphasized became institutionalization For example, associateddiagnosis. and model disease the rejected also and existentialists Gestaltists example, orientations-for theoretical quite of independent Some developmentswere That process became. the democratic gained, the more we the more new knowledge kinds of services part the greater determining parents, in a had the is, the consumers,or to be delivered. It would be interestingto speculateon all that has happened, but space does not permit. teachingcenteredon breakingdown The most important stepsin behavioral into more manageableand separate problem "disability" general of rather and the large more manipulable environmental to behaviors relate these to and units, behavLral appearsto have greatlyfacilitated manipulation and systematic analysis Such variables. and psychology' We can see progress education in key to is a which inquiry, scientific is still in its beginning an analysis such Since knowledge. cumulatiue of the beginning working relationship a and helping a both to establish best serve can rnanual stages,this much more has where disabilities, persons developmental with and betlweenstudents teachers. successful truly to become for us in order learned and to be investigated and skills the tools have then we will teach, to successfully how out dofind we When of members functioning persons become disabled developmentally to help necessary persons. rnore retarded no will be there society; This short history may seem rather arbitraryand unfair to those who are hying persons from the point of view of to understand and help developmentally"disabled diagnosis,and the subsequent related the damage, or dysfunction internal with dealing we examine two differclarified"lf "Who be can is right?" issue of the Perhaps treatment. researchefforts as being for gathering inforrnation. One can characterize ent strategies (inferlargely deductive or largeiy inductive. Some investigatorsmake generalizations Prelqce ri

encesabout underlyingdysfunction)after examiningrelatively few data, while others preferto accumulate much more informationor data beforethey feel they can justifya generaltheoretical statement.A former teacherof mine (Pro{essor Ben McKeeverat the Universityof Washington)divided researchers into two groups, shoTt sinkersand pyramid builders.A shaftsinkerworks in relativeisolation,he movesfrom one areato another, sinkingshaftsand hoping that he will strikea well of knowledge.When he does, a greatnumberof problemswill be solvedat the sametime. On the other hand, a pyramid builderfeelsthat knowledgecan best be gained by severalpersonsworking together,where each pieceof informationis soughtto complimentor strengthen other piecesof information,where higher levelsare built after lower levelsare secured,and so on. He may not know exactlyhow the pyramid will look when it is finished,but he psychopathologists, may have somegeneralidea when he starts.Personality theorists, and the like would be shaftsinkers,behaviorists would be pyramid builders. So far, the shaft sinkershaven't struck oil yet. The behaviorists have more going for them; the foundation of a pyramid under constructionis more substantial and more reassuring than a dry well. ln the future, perhaps,therewill be a successful shaftsinker.The definition of a geniusis one who finds the well with relativelylittle prior knowledge. And In any case many a pyramidbuildermay just be a pebblepiler in disguise. , there is no o priori right or wrong way of making hypotheses about nature.My apologyto all potential shaft sinkers. Let us express who have helped our gratitudeto the largenumber of students programs presented developthe in this book. Thesewere students at UCLA who were enrolledin Psychology170 A "lntroductionto BehaviorModification,"and Psychology 170 B "Behavior ModificationLaboratory." They were dedicatedto helping the lessfortunate, they were flexibleand open-minded, intelligentand creative,and, in general,all the good thingsone associates with the kinds of personswe all would liketo work with. Many thanksto our colleagues in the Departmentof Psychology at UCLA, for their willingness to overlooksome problemsand reinforce the main efforts.We also want to thank the Staff at CamarilloState Hospital in Camarillo,California,for their help in facilitating the research which underliesmany of the teachingprogramsin this book. Thanks alsoto Drs. BarbaraAndersenand Crighton Newsom for their editorial comments. Very specialthanks for the support of the National Instituteof Mental Health (GrantsMH 32803 and MH 1140) and particularly to Dr. MorrisParlofffor his kind guidance.Finally,we want to thank KristenHannum for guidingand organizihg the preparationof this manuscript,a very difficultjob at times.

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Prelace

Bruce, Pom,Billy,Chuck, Blll,Dean, Jlmmy,Leslie, To Beth,Mke andMarty,Rtck, wholollowedthem,andthelrdearparents, andallthe otherchildren Erlc,Scott, lor allthelrhelp andguldance.

INTRODUCTION

to help and parents Thisbook is intendedfor teachers disabledpersonslearn to live more developmentally meaningful lives. It should be helpful for persons retardedin behavioraldevelopment,be it as a result of mentalretardation,brain damage, autism,severe aphasia, severe emotional disorder, childhood or any other of a numberof disorders' schizophrenia, Although most of the programswere developedwith childrenand youth, they can be used for personsof any age.

Developmentally disabled persons often share a number of common characteristics.They typically score within the retarded range of intellecdisabledpersonsoften need to learn some of the most tual functioningon IQ tests.Developmentally Some personsdo not know how to play, of living,includingeating,toileting,and dressing. basicaspects They often need help in deand othersneed to learnto get alongwith peersand to developfriendships. talk but cannot expressthemcan while others mute, are velopingtheir language.Some individuals personsneed help with school.Older personswith dedisabled well. Almost all developmentally selves need to learn to spend their leisuretime more eflectively.This book presentsa velopmental disabilities set of teaching programs designed to help persons lessenor overcome these behavioral deficiencies. In addition to needing help with acquiring new behaviors, many developmentally disabled personsalso need to unlearn certain maladaptivebehaviors,such as throwing tantrums when frushated and spending hours alone in seemingly meaninglessritualisticplay. Our programs help parents and teachersbetter understand these problem behaviorsand teach children and studentsto better manage their behaviors.Through this help studentsshould become easierto handle at school and able to fit in their community. They should become happierpersons. Throughout this book we refer to developmentallydisabledor behaviorallyretarded (delayed) personsas studentsor children. We often use the term child in refening to the students even though some of the "children" we worked with were actuallyadults.Perhaps child'likewould have been a better term. Caregivers,such as parents,teachers,speechtherapists,psychiatrictechnicians,nurses' and psychologists,who work with developmentallydisabledpersonsare called parentsor teachers.When pronouns are needed in our discussionof developmentallydisabledpersons,we have selectedthe rnascu-

students the factmostof these andto reflect lineform to avoidawkwarddoublepronounconshuctions are male.

OUB TEICHINGPHITOSOPHY
environmentasmuch the normalor average environmentthat resembled We createda specialteaching philosophy: general teaching underlie our statements The following as possible. 1. All living organismsshow variabilityin their behaviors.CharlesDarwin was the first to recognizethe importance of such variabilityfor the purpose of survival of the species.We can regard developmentally disabledpersons as instancesof such variability. Behavioral variability (deviance)is not consideredto be symptomatic of underlying mental illnessor disease,and therefore requiring its own unique form of beatment. Although many developmentallydisabledindividuals suffer from seriousorganicbrain damage, it has not been to the educationaladvantageof developmentallydisabled individuals to be ffeated as mentally ill. Laws of learning apply to individuals with deviant organic structure as they do to individuals with less deviant structure. The averageenvironment heats the ouerageperson best,apparentlybecausethe averageenvironment was selected and/or shaped by the averageperson. Personsat either extreme do not learn for them. that environmenthas not been constructed well from the averageenvironmentbecause Specialeducationand psychologymay help those who deviatefrom the averageby creatingand in which the deviant may learn. specialteachingenvironments constructing This specialenvironment should differ as little as possiblefrom the average environment because 1) the appropriatenessof the average environment, implicit in the process of "natural selection" and its developmentover thousandsof years, is not to be lightly dismissed,and 2) one of the primary goals of education for developmentally disabled persons is to help them function more adequatelyin their naturalenvironment. The smallerthe differencebetween the specialtherapeuticleducationalenvironmentconshuctedfor the child and the averageenvironmentto which, it is hoped, he will return, the easierthe transition. We employed rewards and punishment analogousto those used with normal children in or clinics, creatingthe specialteachingenvironment.We taught the childrenat home, not in hospitals they programs because were taughtthe and teachers childrenlive and learn in homes. Parents because care for and teach children. Our programs present a set of teaching steps, very similar to those employed with normal children, but certainfeaturesare temporarily exaggeratedand the teachingprocess is sloweddown. Our procedurescan be taught to and used by anyone. of the last 18 yearsin helping developmentallydisabled In this book we share our experiences personslearn to behave in a more normal way. The book is written with as few technicaltermsaspossible. It is intended to help parentsand teacherswho have little or no background in modern learningtheory or behavior modification, which is the basicconceptualsystemunderlying our teachingpro$ams. Although the teachingstepsare presentedin everydaylanguage,and parents and teacherslearn about behavior modificationby carrying out the various programs, we recommend certain inhoductory texts on learning theory and behavior modification that present more theoreticaland researchinformation' (See the recommended reading list at the end of Unit I.) A better understandingof the foundations of our programs can be gained by reading one or more of these texts along with this teaching manual' Undlrstanding the basictheory helps teachersand parents become more creative in developing their Introduction

2.

3. 4.

own programs. Thereare even several published teaching manuals that dealwith problems similar to theones (1978) addressed in thismanual. Bernal's review of these manuals canhelpyou select theappropriate one.

WONDS OF CAUTION Some words of caution about our treatment,/teaching philosophy are in order before we describeour teachingprograms. First, no one approach will solve all the problems of developmentallydisabledpersons.Rather,the personswho hy to help theseindividuals need to draw upon a varietyof concepts and teachingtechniques.For example, each client will have somewhat different needs and the context within which he functionswillbe different.Procedures that work particularly wellfor an affectionate and frightenedblind child may be somewhat differentfrom those that work for an aggressive, autisticchild. What works wellin heating a child in his family in his naturalcommunitymay not work equallywellfor an institutionalized adult. The "teacher-therapist-parent" hasto be flexible,innovative, and ableto draw upon a varietyof techniquesand procedures. We do know now that certain basicprocesses work for all personsand that a working knowledge of theseprocesses is essential for providing effectivehelp. One such procedure, or principle, used for providing help is the pleosure-painprinciple, which is infinitely better understood today than when first proposed by the Greeks.This principle was renamed learningby trialand error, and later calledThe Law ol Elfecf and insfrumental learning.Today most personsrefer to this principle asoperant conditioning and the applicationof that principleas behauiormodit'ication In psyor appliedbehauioronolysis, chologyand education,operant conditioningmay well be like the principleof gravityin physics. We all know about gravity, but you need to know it in detail to transport a person to the moon. Likewise,with operant learning, we observeit and use it every day, but to work the principle ellectivelywith developmentally disabled persons requires more than superficial knowledge. It is hoped that this teaching manual will help you learn to use the principle of operant learning more effectively,but keep in mind that, just as a physicist needsto know more than the laws of gravityto transporta personto the moon, you need to know more than the laws of operantbehaviorto move a person to more adequatefunctioning. We have limitedourselves to the useof operantlearningin devising our programsfor teaching developmentallydisabledpersons. We recognizethe considerableinvestmentthat other professionals have made in other approaches and hope that no one is upsetor angeredby the focus of this book.

GUIDING PNINCIPTES To help you in implementing our teachingprograms, six guiding principles,which transcendthe specific involved in the programs, have been identified. techniques 1. AII personsurho consistently interact with deuelopmentallydisabledpersons haue to learn to be you must becomean efaslong aspossible teachers. To keep your child in his naturalcommunity protection in an environment that is the since living Primarily, is for his this own fective teacher. leastrestrictive,most natural one will optimize his learningexperiences.But it also servesto protect you, as a parent or teacher, againstthe hurt of separationor againstthe trauma of giving up your child to persons or processesyou don't understand or over which you have limited confrol. By

lntroduction

3.

can offer learningour teachingproceduresyou will be exposedto the best help that professionals you unJ your child at the presenttime. When you havethe bestinformation,you can make the best for you' othersdon't have to make decisions decisions; so that bothyou and your child willbe rewarded. Findpleosurein Set smollgoolsin the beginntng of smallergoals,ratherthan hoping smollsteps Jorward. Ytu shouldbe pleasedat reachinga set and absoluteideal of normalcy or overall excellence' for some often unattainable and struggling goals.You stillcan anticipate you to identifyand reachsmaller,quite attainable This book teaches all. This doesnot meanthat it in in some areas,but you should not expect normalcyand excellence people are thosewho curbtheir you will becomean unhappy parentor teacher.Often the happiest be attainedwithin a ambitionsa bit, those individualswho work for a set of smallergoalsthat can there will alwaysbe more to learn,so is relative; amount of time. Remember,excellence reasonable goals' in reachable it is importantto find pleasure burn-outbylorming o "teachingteom'" If yourselt'lrom Be preporedt'ormuch hord work. Protect , you may burn out if you do all the one-to-oneteachingyourself you take your teachingseriously, disabledpersonsoften have to be after 1 or Z years.Be preparedfor hard work; developmentally detail.Many do not respondin the beginning,and you haveto be taughteverythingin the smallest and form a "teachingteam'" extremelypatient.Get some help to preventburn-out. Hire assistants people, each working about The ideal teachingteam probably numbersbetweenfour and eight teachingper four to eight hours per week. If your child gets from 20 to 60 hours of one-on-one as he can handle. It is criticalthat teachingbe canied week, he will probablyget as much instruction possible'Everybodyhas to teach' out everywhere-at home, at school, as many hours a day as manner, at leastin the beginning' and everybodyhas to teach in a consistent your asThis manualshould help you becomea good teacherand showsyou how to use to you' help be of should After only 2 or 3 hours of inshuction,your assistants effectively. sistants work with your They learnwhat you have learnedfrom the program, and then they do most of the normalsibcan be parents,teachers, Assistants child. you are the expert; you are the consultant. good high schoolandcollege lings,or high schooland collegestudents.(Therearesomeamazingly studentswho will work for littlemoney, if not for free') assistant through "job interviews."That is, have the prospective Choose your assistants easyto seems if he with your child. If you like the way he handleshimself"on the spot," and interact job for 6 to stay on the instrucr,you probably will have a good worker. Expect your assistants assisgroup of large a you have monthsto a couple of years;they come and go, you haveto stay' If For example,one person persons. different (and to authorities) responsibilities specific tants,assign programsfor buildingsome aspectof language,anotherperson rhe expertat constructing becomes and self-help'one is the liaisonbeleadsthe group in building play skills,one works on dressing in every program, but eachprotweenthe parentsand the teacher,and so on. Eachpersonworks program. gram has only one person in charge.You are in chargeof the entire what hasbeen done in the pastweek Have a *eekly "staff meeting"for t hour to discuss with the child in front of everyone and to lay plansfor the followingweek. Eachpersonshouldwork Such to geifeedback,positiveor negative,regardingteachingmethods' elseduring staffmeetings it perhaps is bestto have assistants weekly supervisionis important. During the first 2 or 3 months, and note superior procedures' If work in pairs so that they can befter identify each other's mistakes that he wantsto do it his a team memberdoesn'tagreeto this and feelsso "senior"and experienced then let that person go beforehe hurtSyour that he can't standcriticism, own way, or so sensitive Introduction

program. If you are a teacher, hope that the child's parentswill be open to feedbackas you are. If you are a parent, hope that you are welcomedto the child'sschool.If the teacherdoesnot welcome you to the child'sclass, consultwith the schoolprincipal and perhapsconsiderchangingteachers or schools. 4 . Haue your child work for what he wants; make him responsible. Developmentallydisabledpersonshave to work particularly hard. Their work is to learn, your job is to teach. The responsibility is shared. With responsibility,the developmentallydisabled individual takes on dignity and "acquires" certain basicrights as a person. No one has the right to be taken care of , no matter how retardedhe is. So, put your child to work; his work is to learn. 5 . Try not to be frightened or t'eelguilty by the child'semotional outburstsor withdrawal. You are the boss, you make the decisions. Almost all persons,including the retarded and especially the autisticand emotionallydisturbed,want it differently.Sometimesthey will becomeso angry that they act out aggressively againstthemselves, the furniture, or you. They scareyou. Or they will withdraw and make you feel guilty. They may try to frightenyou into quitting. Don't let them do that becauseit will hurt themin the long run. They have no right to act bizarrely,many professional opinionsnotwithstanding. On the contrary,you have a right to expect decentbehaviorfrom your children.If you work hard for your child, he should be grateful,work hard, and show affection to you in return. You have to teach him that, and the programsin this book help you do so. Keep in mind that sometimesit is the child who is particularlyaggressive or who looks you program; very bizarre when make demandsof him who willprogress well in the he is responding. The child who is not botheredby demandsoften moves more slowly in our programs.Your child'sbasichumanity is showingwhen he screams and slapshimselfor strikes out at you. But you have to stop that behavior and teach him better ways to cope with his frustrations. 6 . Begin by making the child'sappearanceas normol os possible. Before you begin teaching, make persons your child look as normal as possible. For example,don't let him gettoo fat. Many disabled just look like big balloonsand the sightof them invitesridiculeand isolation.You may want to consult a dieticianfor help. Similarly,dressyour child nicelyin clothesthat fit and look like clotheshis peersare wearing. (Have his siblings pick out his clothes,if you don't know what is "in.") Don't let him wear peculiarclothing. Help him wash his face, like his normalpeersdo, to reduceskin problems.Give him a nice haircut;have his hair styledif you can affordit. Alltoo often retardedpersons becomesociallyexcludedimmediatelyon the basisof their appearance. i
I'

HOW THEBOOKIS ONGANIZED

Unit I introduces certain basic teaching principles that center on how to present instructions, how to components,how to selectrewards and punishments, break down teachingmaterialto manageable how to use them in teaching, etc. Problem behaviorsof developmentallydisabledpersons,how to record them, and what to do about them are also discussed. Unit II presentsvarious programsfor helping the child get ready to learn. Theseprogramsstart out with the most simple tasks,such as how to teach a child to sit in a chair, how to help him attend to his learningare also teacher,and how to better manage disruptivebehaviors.Stepsfor helping to generalize discussed.

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Introduction

the beginnings Unit III teaches of language, such asteaching the child to follow simpleinstuc(matching), tions and commands,how to identifysimilarities and the earlystepsin helpingthe child to imitatethe behaviorsof others. This unit also inhoducesteachingprogramsfor early play skills, Unit IV presentsprogramsfor buildingself-helpskills,such as appropriateeating,dressing, and toileting. language,includingteachingthe child to follow more compliUnit V dealswith intermediate cated instructions,to verbally describecertain basic aspectsof his environment, and to ask for things. This unit alsopresents a program for teachingsigning(manualcommunication)to thosepersonswho have problemswith learningverballanguage.It alsocontainsa programfor helpingpersonsovercome language. echolalicand psychotic(inappropriate) and Unit VI dealswith advancedlanguage,includingthe buildingof elementarysentences, pronouns, color, form, etc.). presents programsfor teachingabstract language(prepositions, disabledpersonsadjustto the Unit VII presentsprogramson how to help developmentally going a There is to a restaurantor supermarket. a chapter on how to teach a community, such as developmentallydisabledperson to leam by obeervingotherslearn, which dealswith his understanding and to and emotions.There are programson how to teachhim to becomemore spontaneous of feelings includeadviceto teachers who work in classroom and settings, Other chapters develophisimagination. present precautions. in behavioralteachingand certain review some common mistakes The book is ananged from the easy to the complex. Certain sectionsof this book will be difflis alwaysthe hardest.Once you are halfbut other partswill be easy.The beginning cult to understand, way through this book, having taught yrourchild or studentthe first dozenprograms,you willbegin to in the beginningwith both yourselfand feel like an expert,a personwith confidence.But have patience your child. The programsare lairi out in a developmental sequence,such that the early programs program is started,and the child showssome beginning beforethe laterones. Once a shouldbe started progranrs may be intoduced so that they overlapwith the earlierones.Mostof the mastery,subsequent programsare continuous (that is, they have no meaningfulending point). Thus, in the beginning,a child may be on three or four prograrns(for example, during the first months he may be on programsfor eye-to-facecontact, and developing nonverbal imitareducing tantrums, sitting properly, establishing tion), while a year later he may be on 30 or 40 concunent programs. The early programs are hid out in considerablestep-by-stepdetail. Such great detail may seem redundant in some places, but we judged it bestto be careful and safe. Later programs, such as with the teaching with minimalprocedural detail,and requirefamiliarity thosein Unit Vil, are presnted stepsoutiinedin earlierchaptersto be administered. The parent or teachershould become familiarwith the whole book in order to selecta particular combinationof programsfor a particularchild. For example, there are programs in Unit VII that may be applicableeven early in teaching.We recommend startingwith the programsin Unit II, and establishing a solid base before going on to subsequentprograms. After working through most of the programs in this book, a teacher should have a "Ieel" for how to teach usingbehavioralprocedures,and should be ableto conshuctteachingprograms.The programs we describecan serve as a basisfor insbuctinga developmentallydisabledperson in everything that he needsto learn. The book is supplemented by videotapes depicting examples of most of the programs we describe. (For information on how to obtain these tapes, pleasewrite to University Park Press.)The book and the tapes should be used jointly, for the best results. The tapes show how the lessonsare paced, the close interacflonbetween adult and child, the way in which rewards are given, the subtleties

latroductlon

of certain inshuctions, and manyotherdetails thatcanonlybeshownvisually. We stongly recommend that you view thesevideotapes. Eachtape is about20 minutes long. They are organized as follows: Tape 1: Getting Readyto Learn-covers earlyconhol (asin teaching the child to eat, look, confrol tantrums, and pay attention), examples of how to build nonverbal imitation,match-tosample, andbeginnings of receptive language. Tape1 deals with materialcovered in UnitsI and II and partsof Unit III in the book. Tape 2: EarlyLanguoge-shows in teaching steps verbalimitation and how to teachthe childto identifyobjects andbehaviors, to label objects andbodyparts, andto makeverbaldemands. Tape 2 corresponds to the lastpart of Unit III and mostof Unit V in the book. Tape 3: BasicSelf-HelpSki/ls-showsexamples of programs for bedmaking, tooth-brushing, shaving, puttingon cosmetics, and otherpersonal./homemaking skills.Certainhousehold chores are also depicted,such as vacuuming, setting the table,and preparingfood. Tape 3 corresponds to Unit IV in the book. Tape4: Aduanced Language-corresponds to Unit VI in the book. It deals with teaching lanabshact guage, prepositions, suchaspronouns, "cognitive" shapes, andtime,andcertain tasks such as seeking information and becoming morespontaneous. Tape 5: ExpandingWorld-conesponds to Unit VII in the book and showsprogramson formal school-type tasks, pretending cause and effect relationships, feelings, and imagining, andobservational learning. It alsoreviews someof the morecommonmistakes in behavioral teaching. Good luck!

NEFENENCE
Bernal,M.E.,&North,J.A.Asurveyof parenttrainingmanuals.Journalo 1, 978, Afp p l i e d B e h a v i o r A n o l y s i s

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Introduction

UNIT
BASIC INFORMATION
Unif I is an introduction,and in a sensea summary, of how to teach. Chapter 1 inhoducesseveraltechniquesfor increasingand decreasing different aspects your of child's behavior. You want to teach your child to listen more, to talk more, and to take more care of his personalneeds. We define certaintechniques, like rewards, that will increasesome of your child's behaviorsif used correctly. There are other thingsyou will wish your child would do less,or not at all, suchas wettinghis bed, beingphysically too active, or gettingtoo angry. We introduce and define certain procedures, like ignoring or punishing, in order to deoease such behaviors. Keep in mind that when we introduceand defineterms,such as rewardsand punishmenfs in Chapter 1, it is just an introduction.Theseterms are used againand againthroughoutthe book. If you don't seeexactlyhow they are appliedafterreadingChapter 1, don't worry. You will have a much better understandingof these terms and concepts after you have worked through the first three or four chapters,and you will understandthem like an expert after you have finishedthe book, process,capableof Chapter 2 discusses the use of physicalpunishment.It is a controversial properly causingmuch harm if used incorrectly,but having benefitswhen used. Chapter 3 presentssome of the behavior characteristics of developmentallydisabledpersons. You need to recognizeand try to understandtheseproblem behaviorsif you are to work with thesepeople effectively. personsshow theseproblems,but many do. For examNot all developmentally disabled ple, we discuss persons how developmentally disabled can becomevery angry and hard to manageat times,or that they can be very inattentive. We presentcertaintechniques to help overcometheseproblemsor to work around them. Chapter4 describes methodsof recordingbehavior.Unit I, then, consists of an introductionof teachingtechniquesand problemsto overcome.

CHAPTER
HOIATTODOIT

This chapter examines the basic processesinvolved and in shaping, in teachingyour child new behaviors terms and Many behaviors. existing or changing, conceptsused in our teaching programs are defined, discussed, and explained by everyday examples' Rewards, punishments, overcorrection, shaping, and prompting are only a few of the concepts that must be understood before you can teach the programs to your child. These terms and others are defined in more detail within the context of the actual teachingprogramsbut are presentedhere so that you can beginto becomefamiliar with them.

NEWANDS SETECTING
Positive Rewards Usually,when a child doessomethingcorrect,you rewardhim. You say, "Here's 25C for a candybar," "You can stay up later tonight," "Have a bite of ice cream," or something similar to these statements. That is, you give him something he wants. Adults reward children, particularlywhen they are young, in this direct, positive way. In the beginning, the rewards may be quite noticeableand concrete, like ice cream and kisses.As the child develops, the rewards usually become more subtle, as when they are conveyed by just a glance or some other minimal recognition of the person's behavior' Many teachers become rewarding, and that extrinsicrewards, like food and feelthat certainbehaviorsmay themselves the to maintain the behavior. But, in the beginning, it pays to exaggerate socialpraise,are not necessary positiues' are called rewardsfor a particular behavior, just to be on the safe side. These rewards When you reward developmentallydisabledpersonsbe very emphatic and loud-exclaim a very loud "Good," "Fine," or "You're great." If there is an audience, have them clap or give lots of hugs, kisses,and shokes. We typically use food rewardsin addition to the words of encouragementand pruir". For example, you can create hundreds of rewards for good behavior by cutting a child's meal

into many small pieces (i.e., portions about the sizeof half a sugar cube, one very small swallowof liquid, one quick lick off a caramelsucker,etc.). Mealtimebecomesa good time to begin to teach. The more familiaryou becomewith the personyou areto teach,the more you willlearn about to the kindsof rewardsthat will work for that individual.For example,somepersonsare very responsive ' A few perto suchstatements verbalapproval(suchas"Good" and "Fine"), whileothersare indifferent "Good," and they stop sons may even seem bothered or punishedby socialapproval (you tell them what works behaving,as if they were punished).You have to try differentkinds of approval and see There seemsto exista need best.We have found that ocfiuifyis quite rewardingfor all of our students. jiggle just asthereis a need for food and water.Noticehow peoplelike to move around, run, for activity, in school,wherethey can run around and yellfor 10 minutes' theirfeet,and so on. Childrenlove recess try to "program" different is the besttime they have all day. We therefore In fact,for mostchildrenrecess your child get out of kindsof activityas a rewardfor correctbehavior.For example.you may want to let if you want to teach as a rewardfor sittingquietlyand working well. Incidentally, the chairfor 5 seconds inappropriately your child to sit properly in a chair, don't let him get out of the chair if he behaves behavior' Many'children to get up may function as a reward for inappropriate this permission because a doll While you are teaching have favoriteobjectsthey aie attachedto, such as a blanket.a stick.or (for as a rewardby takingit away and then returningit to the childto hold you may want to usethe oUiect way. Almost anythingyour child wants-be it food' verafter he has behavedin a desirable 5 seconds) the more rewardsyou haveto bal approval,activity,or favoriteobjects-can be used as a reward' and offer your child, the more effectiveyou will be as a teacher Some of the more basicrewardsthat you can considerusing include: Tastesor small bites of different kinds of food Small sipsof liquid Kissing,hugging,tickling,stroking,fondling Verbal approvallike "Good," "Swell," and "Great" rolling, laughing like jumping, running, stretching, Activities Listeningto music Colorful and varied visual displays don't give him a Reward your child a little each time in order to avoid early satiation.For example, small swallowof give one him whole caramelsucker,but ratherjust a l-second lick on that sucker,or of jumping up and down ' etc By beingso stingyyou or music,5 seconds juice, 3 to 4 seconds of kissing a for them for severalhours can make your rewardswork for a long time so that your child will work hard in the beginning.And remember,a varietyof day. A rewardneedsto lastfor only a few (3 to 5) seconds call Positiverewards,or "positives,"as we sometimes rewardsis important in order to avoid satiation. We use these terms interthem, are referredto as "positive reinforcers"in the technicalliterature. changeably. EscoPing Negcrtives will feelanxiousaboutfailAnotherkind of reward isto escape fro^ n"gitir"s. Typically,a normal child retardedchilHowever,some developmentally ure; hisbeingcorrectreduceshisanxietyor discomfort. content and happy dren do not feel such anxiety and tensionabout being wrong. They often appear peersand may their behind and the world as it is, even though they are considerably, with themselves a teachermay try to make them a littleupsetand uneasy In suchcases somedavfaceinstitutionalization.

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about being wrong by either withholding positive rewards or disapproving of their behavior by, for example, loudly exclaiming "No!" This is done to increasethe children's motivation to learn and, therefore, to help them reducefuture problems.When a child is uneasyaboutbeingwrong and then is finally right, it can mean to him: "Relax, I am doing allright." Beingright is rewardingbecause it reduces apprehension and other negatives.In the technical literature,this kind of rewarding processis referredto as "negative reinforcement," sincea behavioris reinforced(thatis, shengthened) by the removalof something negative. By becomingfirm with your child, and perhapsmakinghim a littleupsetor scaredby yellingat (saying "Good" and your kisses and hugs)becomealmost him or hittinghis bottom, your socialrewards immediatelymore important and effectivefor him. It is as if he appreciatesyou more, once you have shown him that you also can be angry with him. Contrqst Between Posltives cnd Negctives It is criticalthat the conhast between positivesand negativesbe as strong as possible,particularlyin the earlystages of teaching.If your "Good" soundslike your "No," or if your "happy" face looks like your retardedchildren.Later, "angry" face, you probablywon't be ableto teach much to developmentally they will learn the informationalvalue of "Good" and "No," and you won't have to be so loud. when we work to teachthe child something Typically,we use positives(likefood and kisses) to help maintainwhat the child alreadyhas learned.That is, if we new, We use escapefrom negatives he doesit when he is hungry and we feed are surethat he knows what we are askinghim to do (because him for being conect), then we are very disapproving and stern with him if he does not act correctly when askedat another time. His reward, then, becomesescapingour disapproval. of trainingand they are botheredwhen they Some childrenare quite anxiousat the beginning to work with. Much of their reward is to learnto are wrong. We have found that suchchildrenare easier mastertheir anxiety.Such childrenare more motivatedthan the placidones and are easierto teach.A mild disapprovalcan be of major impact and you therefore must be careful. It might serve to motivate the differences betweenpositiverewardsfor appropriatebehavior and firm reprithe child to exaggerate mands for mistakes;this is perhaps the main way of teachingthe child the differencesbetweenthe two kinds of consequences. Bewcrrd Schedulee you need to keep in positives, negatives), escaping In additionto the two basickinds of rewards(getting mind that the rewards have to be immediafe. As soon as the correct behavior occurs, within a second As you the child shouldbe rewarded.His behaviorand your rewardshould occur almostconcurrently. progresswith the programs, you may be able to delay your reward. You will get maximum use of your rewardsif you use them economically.In the beginning, when the child doesn'tknow what to do and you haveto teachhim everything,you may haveto reward him every time he is correct. Later, as he showssome masteryand you are more interestedin maintaining or preservingwhat he has already learned, shift away from continuous rewarding to partialrewarding. Only reward him once in a while. Technically,this is refened to as placingthe child on a partiol scheduleof reward, and the operation is called thinning the schedule. How "thin" you can make the reward scheduledepends on many variables,and differsbetweenchildren and tasks.Thin the schedule and look for schedulesfroin;if his behaviorfallsapart or beginsto fluctuate widely, "thicken" the schedule, that is, reward him more often. Once you have recovered his behavior, start thinning again.

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Another important point to remember is that as soon as possible,shift away from food rewards to rewardsthat are as normal and naturalas possible, such as socialrewards,like "Good" or "Right." The child will let you know when to shift;if you discontinue food rewardsand the child'sbehaviorbegins to fall apart, go back to food, recover his behavior,and then start shiftingagain. Individual Differences in Rewcnds you more When about a child, you will find a largerange of unexpected and idiosyncratic begin to learn eventsthat give him greatpleasureand that can be usedasrewards.Parents usuallyknow thesespecific eventsand can save a teachermonths of hard work by sharingtheir knowledgewith the teacher.For example,childrenwho are very fond of musicmay be rewardedfor correctbehaviorby beingallowedto listento a favoritepieceof musicfor a few seconds.Childrencan be rewardedby holding a favoriteobject for a few seconds.Children who like to be alone can be left alone as a reward. The list goeson as rewardsfor behaviorsvary for each child. A hug and a kisson the cheek may be very rewardingto one child but may be "punishing"to another (theymight even whine and grimacewhen you kissthem). So, if you kissand hug a child who doesn'twant it, it probablydoesn'thelp him learn. On the other hand, almosteverychild likesto eat, so you can be more sure about what you are doing when you usefood rewards.(A few childrendon't like to eat when you feed them, particularly not when you feed them as a reward for their being conect. Perhapsthey don't like to give you that much conhol over them, or they don't like to give you the pleasureof rewardingthem. You may have to "work through" this resistan ce, to ieed and reward him anyway, because mostchildrenwill eventually acceptyour rewards(and your beingthe boss)if you persist.) It is also surprisingto find a few children who are quite rewarded by your being angry and saying, "No." They smileand seemto work hard to get you upset.Be carefulthatyou are not rewardinga child when you get angry and say "No." We will say more about that later.

EXTNINSIC AND INTNINSIC REWANDS

Extrinsicrewardsare conholled by others. It is wise to use such rewards in the early stagesof learning, becauseyou obtain more conhol over the learningprocessand most children can be motivated to learn by such exFinsicrewards. There is another set of rewards, intrinsicrewards, which arevery significant, probably crucial for a really successful outcome. These are the rewards that the child experiencesas intrinsicto performing the task. Some children show that the task is rewarding for them from the beginning, othen leam to find intrinsicrewards after exposureto the task, and still others never find the task rewarding by itsH,but need to rely on exhinsic rewards. We shalltalk more about inhinsic rewards in later chaptersbut one example will help to illushatethe meaningof intrinsicrewards,Some children don't talk at all. they are mute in the beginning,and to teach them to talk you may need extrinsic rewards,such as food and approval. When the child vocalizes, he getsfood. Now what will happenis that some previously mute children, a few months or a year into such an exhinsicallymotivated "talking" prog;ram(such as verbal imitation training discussed in Chapter 10), will start to talk without apparent exbinsicreinforcement. They become echolallc,that is, they willbegin to echo whatever you say, much the same as young, normal children do for a while, whether you reward them or not. In this program, matching (when the child sounds like an adult) apparently becomesthe reward for talking. The child is matching and apparently matching is rewarding to him. The teacher can drop the exbinsic (food or praise) reward" Bcslc lnlorncrtlon

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Intinsicrewards takeoverwhenthe teaching goes you may useexright,but in the beginning binsicrewards, to getyour childgoing.Somechildren maynot liketo talk,evenafterconsiderable haining on your part. For suchchildren,specific exhinsic rewards, likefood and activities, may haveto be programmed contingent on their talking"forever,"which,of course,makesthe verballanguage program cumbersome and rather impractical. We discuss this hansitionbetweenexhinsicand inhinsic places rewards at several in this book. Summcry C.ommentscbout Rewcn& We havemadethe followingpointsso far: 1. 2. 3. positlues g negatiues and escopin Getting areboth rewards. A rewardis any eventthat, afterbeing givencontingent on behavior, serves to increase that behavior. and approvalare socialrewards. Food and activityare biological or primaryrewards. Praise rewardsare those rewards Infrinsic Exfrinsic are controlled by othersin the child'senvironment. The child controlsintrinsic aspects of a certaintask or behaviorthat the child finds enjoyable. rewards. you behavior, rewardimmediately; thatis, as soonasthe childdoesthe desired It is importantto rewardhim at once. should It is important amongchildren asto whattheyfind rewarding. Therearelargeindiuidual dit't'erences he doesnot. he findspleasing and rewards for eachchildrewards to determine and in that hasbeenacquired in orderto maintain behavior arenecessary Partial rewordschedules on rewards. orderto avoidsatiation

4. 5. 6.

ACQUISTTIONAND EIffINCTION and his When your child is gettingrewardsfor his behaviorand he is learning,he is on acquisition you suddenly decidednot to rewardhim anyshouldbe gettingstronger. Suppose desired behavior had no asif hisbehavior more.He behaves asbefore,but you actasif you did not noticethe behavior, placing you For example, havestrenthe behavior noticeable effect on you. Thisis called onextinction. explicitrewards.You now sendthe behavior by usingseveral uouslytaughtthe child somedesirable you so no explicit reward.The behavior childhome (or to schoolas the casemay be) and he receives "Working it is no longerbeingrewarded. builtis now "on extinction";it willgo awaybecause carefully and kick,but you go about Your childmay scream of extinction. through"a tantrumis a good example ExtincAlmostcertainly, the tantrumwill disappear. your business as if the behavioris not occurring. get powerful, rid of a behavior. methodto although time-consuming and demanding, tion, then,is a more in the next chapter. is described Extinction

PUMSHMENT
Punishment is used to stop or decreasebehavior. Parents of normal children often use punishment, probablybecauseit sometimeshelps them deal with their children. If you are going to use punishment, Some of the kindsof punishment in the child'smind that you meanbusiness. let therebe no uncertainty you can use are discussedbelow. How To Do It

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Aversives One method of punishment is to do something to the child that "hurts", for example, a swat on the For some children "No" is all behind, or a loud, sharp "No!" These punishmentsare called auersiues. you have to say; they stop whatever it is they are doing. For other children a verbal reprimand just will not work; but a swat on the behind is almost always etfeclive,if it is hard enough so it "smarts" (practice on your friendsto get some idea of how hard you hit) . The advantageof swatsthat are strong and given you may end up yelling disapprove, isthat you don't have to usetoo many. If you only verbally correctly a lot, which is unpleasantfor everyone and givesyou lessopportunity to show affection.Sometimesyou You hit harder,but the childjust aversives. can get caughtin a real "fight" with a child when you escalate back off, and try somethingelse.Just becomesmore and more stubborn.If that happens,immediately to a child, a good adult willfind formsof in findingdifferentthingsthat are rewarding as adults areclever the child doesnot like to do as Try something discipline that are lessdramaticthan physicalpunishment. so you can program athletics(likesit-upsor punishment.For example,some childrendislikeathletics, behavior. Washing dishesis punishingfor running around the block) contingenton the undesirable some, as is being lifted off the floor. or when your child is an adult, physicalpunishment When you work in schoolsor hospitals, asa teacher, may be inappropriate or illegal.But you willprobablyfind out that to be maximallyeffective thisissue punishment. We physical discuss include may even you haveto be quite firm at times,and this in some detail at the end of this chapterand in severalother parts of the book. Time-Out: Tohing A*cty Positives In additionto, and sometimes insteadof, usingaversives like a swat, or loudly yelling"No!" adultswill punish a child by taking somethingaway from him. Often this "taking away" can be simply accomplishedby the teacherturning her face away from the child, or, a littlemore extensively, by placingthe child in the corner of the room, and perhapsescalating to placinghim in an "isolationroom," that is, a quiet uninterestingroom away from other activities.A common factor of these operations is that they signalto the child that there is a certainamount of time when he will not get positives. Therefore,these procedures havebeencalledtime-out (from positiverewards). The child may be placedin time-outfor 3 to 5 minutes,the last30 secondsof which he hasto be quiet. If you take him out of time-outwhen he is throwinga tantrum, you may inadvertently be rewardinghim for tantrums.Be careful,also,notto keep you may feelthatyou haveto place the child in time-outfor more than 5 minutesat a time. On occasion, him in time-outfor longer periods,but the longer the periods,the less etfectle the procedureis as an educational tool becausechildren need to be with you and to be taught appropriatebehavior. Thereare at leasttwo problemsassociated with time-out. First,somechildrendo not find timeout punishing.That is, they would ratherbe in time-outthan with others;beingwith peopleand learning are not important to them. Placinga child in time-out under such circumstances will only make him worse.Second,time-outrequirestime away from the learningsituation,which meansthat the child has lessopportunityto learn new material. There are no good data on which method of punishment work best, time-out or aversives, and there are also no good data on which has the most undesirableside effects.Perhapsphysicalaversivesprimarilyproduce anxiety, while time-out producesguilt. Some people would rather ty to cope with anxiety than with guilt. Bules lor Using Punishment Questionsare often raised about how strict one should be, how much time-out to use, how long it physicalpunishare made regarding shouldlast,or whereto put the child in time-out.Similarquestions
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regardingpunishment,which will be ment, how hard to hit, how long, etc. Here are some generalrules elaboratedin later sections: 1. If strong discipline, such as time-out and physical aversives,is going to work, its effectiveness should be evident almost immediately, sometimesafter one minute, and certainlyby the end of the day. You have to keep arecord when you use strong disciplineto make sure that the behavior you punish is decreasing.That is the only justificationfor using aversives. The strengthof the punishmentthat you use dependson the child'sbehaviorand how that behavwith weak punishment,there is no needfor by punishment.If the behaviordecreases ior is affected shonger measures. 20 minutesis not helpful. Most of the time, isohas shown that time-out exceeding Our experience to wait for the child to quiet down beforeyou remove lationof about5 minutesis ample.Remember to quiet down. This is to ensurethat you arerehim from time-out,or to wait at leastuntilhe begins warding and reinforcingquiet behavior. We have heard of personswho have used time-out lastingfor severalhours or even all day, It is difficultto see how that could be of any benefitto the child. to hurt a littlebit and to cause and swats,only use as much force as is necessary As for spankings on your friendsso that you can be told how much is just in the child. Practice some apprehension "hard enough." Also have someonewatch you when you punish your child to monitor you and to give you objective feedback. We have heard aboutchildrenwho havebeenhit or pinchedso hard that their skinis drato use such strong physical aversives. maticallydiscolored. It seems quite unnecessary record (i.e., colThroughoutyour taining and teachingprogramsrememberto keep an accurate you have had on your child's lectdata).This will ensurethat you will be ableto telljustwhat effects actionsif they work. Recordkeepingis disbehavior.One can only use thesekinds of disciplinary cussedin Chapter 4. Punishmentis the opposite-getting Rewardsincludegettingpositivesand losingnegatives. hasbeen develnew procedurecalledo,tercorrection Another relatively and losingpositives. negatives issueat thistime. punishment,which is sucha conhoversial to physical oped as a meaningfulalternative below. is discussed Overcorrection Overcorrection disrupFoxx and Azrin (I973) to help reduce aggressive, procedure by developed Overcorrectionis a developed was persons. Overcorrection disabled behaviorsin developmentally tive, and inappropriate but judged not only in terms of its effectiveness, has been punishment. Its success to as an alternative also in its minimizationof the "negativeproperties"of punishment. Perhapsit is easiestto introduce ouercorrectionby giving some examples of its use. Suppose your child repeatedlyspillsmilk on the floor. To stop that from happening in the future, you might have you could have fiim not only clean up the messby himselfbut also mop most of the kitchen floor. Then of milk around. Any spillswould have to be cleaned up "extra neat." Or, him practicecarrying glasses parent you might supposeyour child deflated the tires on a neighbor'scar as a Halloween prank. As a have the have your child re-inflateyour neighbor'stires using a bicyclePumP, and, for good measure, to emphais examples child spend the rest of the day pumping up tires. One of the main points in these behavior, and sizethat the person has to do something unpleasantas a consequencefor the undesirable does not involve physical punishment' this unpleasantness 11

2.

3,

4.

5.

How To Do It

Overcorrectionsometimeshas a component called restitution,which requiresthat the individual also restoresthe environment to an improved state. Examples of restitution are: requiring a child who tearsa book to glue not only the pagesof that book but many other books as well, and demanding that a child who throws objectspick up not only those objectsbut many other objectsalso. Sometimesa secondcomponent calledposftiue practiceis added to overcorrection.Positivepracticeoccurswhen the offender practicesthe appropriate behavior. The child who writes on walls would practice writing on paper, the child who tears books might be required to read books, and the child who throws objects might be taught a more appropriateway to displayangeror might be taught to show a greatdealof affection and concernfor others. Overcorrectionis a procedure that combinesmany principlesof behavior modification. Overcorrectioninvolves time-out, which occurs when the student is removed from any opportunity to engagein reinforcing activitiesbecausehe is restoringthe environment and practicingthe appropriate behavior.The procedure also involves respanse cost, where the student has to remove the original sourceof reinforcement, such as the markson the wall" Punishment appears to be anothercomponent of overcorrection.For example, when used for toilet training, the child is given a shower when soiled. He may not like to shower (particularlynot in the middle of the night, if he soiled at that time) or he may not like a lukewarm or cool shower. Essentially,he is forced to do something he doesn't like. Another teachingprincipleemployed in overcorrectionis the establishment of appropriatesfimulusconhol. That is, the child is required to perform the appropriatebehaviorswhile in the presenceof appropriatecues. For example, the child who tears books may be taught mor appropriate behaviors in the presenceof of books, such as reading them, looking at the pir:tur6, or taking care of them. Therefore, the success techniques. might be in the combined use of severalsuccessful ovg-rconection The followingguidelinesshould followed when usingoverconection: l. The conection procedure should be related to the inappropriatebehavior. For example, if the student has been tearingpaper, then he may be taught to glue and fix paper. If he has been spilling food on the floor, then he ls taught to clean t.hefloor. The consequencesomehow relatesto the behavior. A correctionprocedure should be applied imrnediately,that is, within secondsafter the undesiriible behaviorhas occuned. a tirne-out from all reinforcement. During the overcorrectionproceOverconection should signatr and don't let him eat or have the explanations, dure, show him no affection.don't give elaborate company of fnends. The offender should be the only person involved in the conection procedure. Don't make it a game, and don't ka othersdo the work for him. The environment shouH be completely restored to its original state. Guidance should only b given if the child is unable or unwilling to do the overcorrectionon his own. If he resists,you persist,and "push him" (physicallymove his hands and limbs) through the behavior. Use as much physir:alforce as is necessaryto make him complete the task. An extended pqiod of 6me (suchas 20 minutesrather than 5) should be used for overcorrection. The longer the period the better. An appropriate ahemative behavior must be taught.

2. 3.

4.

5. 6.

7.
8.

inapproOverconection has in a short time become a very effectiveprocedure for decreasing priate behaviors,and you should be familiar with how it works. Note that it does consume a good deal of time, which may be better spent learning new behaviors. Notice, also, that when you have to move l8 Bcrlc lulormqtlor

(prompt) the childphysically in an act,you may haveto exertconsiderable physical forceto helphim comply.You mayat suchtimesrun the riskof bruising or physically hurting the child,or thechildyou areworking withmaybephysically so bigthatyoucan'tbudge him.Thisisa serious drawback of certain formsof overconection. Summcny C,ommentsqbout punlshment We havemadethe following pointsso far: 1' Gettingauersiues and losingpositiues (time-out) punishment are methods of punishment. is any eventthat,whenit is givencontingent on somebehavior, serves to reduce the occurrence of that behavior. 2. There areindividual differences among children in theirresponses to different kinds of punishment. 3. Overcorrection isa procedure used to decrease theoccurrence of behavior by having theperson do things he doesnot liketo do. It hascomponents addedsuchas restitution practice. and positive

SHAPING BEHAVION Selecting Tcrrget Behqviors Once you have decidedon the rewardsand punishmentyou want to use,the next issuedealswith what kinds of behaviors to teach, and how to teachthem. The rule is to startwith somethingsimplebecause you want to be a successful teacherand you want your child to be a successful learner. Selectsome behaviorgoal for the child, which is calleda targetbehauior or targetresponse. The behaviors are then broken down into small units, or sections, each beingtaught separately. That way he may masterthe smallerunitsfirst, and then you help him put them togetherin a largeror more complex packagelater. The targetbehaviorfor the followingexampleis teachingyour child to go to the toilet,a complex actthat you breakdown into unitsof takingoff the pants,sittingon the toilet, and eliminating. Each of theseunitsmay alsobe broken down into smallerunits.For example, "takingoff the pants, " is a complex act itselfthat involvesunbuttoning,unzipping,pulling down, etc. The point is to start with those elements of behaviorwith which he will be successful, so that you can reward him, for without rewards thereis no learning.A good learningsituation,then, is a situation wherethe teacherhasbroken down a complex behaviorinto units so simple that the child can be rewarded and can learn. If behaviorsare rewarded,they will becomestronger.That is why you have to simplifythe task. If you give your child a taskthat is too difficult,he will not be receiving rewards,and he will not learn. Remember.also.that not only is a child who is rewardedlearningnew behaviors, but he is also happy. Rewardselicithappiness. Learningand happiness shouldgo hand in hand. In summary,then, the firstthing you do is pick a target behavior, then you break that behavior down into manageable components. The programs in this manual give step-by-step instructions on how to break complex behaviordown into easierelements. When the separateunits are mastered,they are put together to form a complex response.The processwhereby you "form" behaviorsis called shaping.As the term shaping implies, you start with an approximationof the final target behavior (as when you have broken the targetbehaviorinto smaller elements). You rewardtheseapproximations to the targetbehaviorand you slowlysh/t your rewards to only thosebehaviors that are closeto the targetbehavior.That is, you only reward a behaviorwhen it is a closerapproximationto the target behaviorthan the previous behavior. Consider as an example teachingyour child to say "mama." You may beginby breakingthis word down into two soundsseparated by a pause. You may further break down the two soundsinto their component parts, teaching How To Do It

r9

your child to firstsay "mm" and then "ah." The sound "mm" can alsobe broken down into two behavyour lipstogetherand vocalizing while your lipsare together.You may initiallyrewardthe iors: pressing of the sound "mm"; that is, rewardhim when he closeshis lipsin preparation child for an approximation Once he is to the point for makingthe sound, even if he does not yet vocalize(his"mm" is voiceless.) that he closeshis lips readily (perhapsin imitationof your closingyour lips), you begin working on the below). it willbe necessary to "prompt" him (see Perhaps secondpart of the behavior,that is, vocalizing. his lipsand vocalizes. Once he hasthat behavior,start In any event,you reward him only afterhe closes "ah." "mah." put When he can say "mah," together; Then the two sounds rewardinghim for saying then insist that he saythe sound twicebeforehe is rewarded;in thisway you have built or shopedthe beof the targetbeapproximations havior (saying"mama") using the techniqueof rewardingsuccessive in detailin UnitsIII, V, and VI.) Shapingbehavioris havior. (Language trainingprogramsare presented a bit like an art, which means that every step cannot be specifiedin advance. However, it can be given in this book you can expect to becomea learned,so that at the end of the "shapingexercises" than others;some have a team will be bettershapers creativeshaper.Some membersof your.teaching knack for shaping.Watch them closelyto see how they do it. hompts cnd PromPt Foding In When you teachyou will find yourself"prompting" the child to help him exhibitthe conect behaviors. other words, you don't want to wait all day for the proper behaviorto occur, so you prompt the behavguidethe child throughthe action.For example,you can'twait all ior, that is, you manuallyor physically day for your child to sit on the toilet, so you prompt him by pickinghim up and sittinghim down on the toilet.You can't wait all day for him to urinate,so you prompt by givinghim lotsof thingsto drink during so you tickle him to the day. You can't wait forever for the opportunityto reward him for vocalizing, prompt that behaviorby moving so you prompt his vocalization. Your child may neverplay patty-cake, his arms and hands through the motions, and then reward him. He may not like it, but you do it anyagainstyou, voice you too much, try another kind of prompt, and if he stillstruggles way. If he resists and give him ample rewardsfor compliance. your disapproval over his resistance, and anangingthe sitA good teacheris a personwho is good at promptingthe right responses uation so that the child puts out "winning behaviors."There are a million ways to prompt a millionbeyou and haviors,and if you are good at prompting, your child is on his way. He'll be learningbecause otherswill be ableto reward him. Take a smile,for example:A child is doubly nice when he smiles.So you touch his belly button, or kiss his ear, or do whateveryou do to get him to smile, and when he smiles,you reward him: "See everybody,how nice he smiles,"applaud him, and give him food' "Have a sip of orangejuice" (he drinks);"He is gorgeous,isn'the?" (you touch the child and he smilesagain). "One more smile.Heavens,we are lucky today, would you like a piece of toast?"Loosen up a bit, and without a script.You haveto becomea "ham" in a way, which is not really learnto do theseinteractions that prompt the best behavior. interactions all that difficult.lt is often the spontaneous the Once you can easilyprompt a behavior,and you have had the opportunityto strengthen of the behavior),start/odingthe prompt behaviorby rewardingit (saytwo to ten rewardedoccurrences in small,gradualsteps.For example,if you haveprompteda smileby ticklingthe child and have had the the ticklingso that he comes to smile more and opportunityto reward the smile, graduallydecrease more on his own, without too much promptingfrom you. But keep rewardinghim for smiling'The rule him through prompts. You also want him to is that you want him to exhibitthe behavior,so you assist whilecontinremovingyour assistance, startbehavingon his own, so you fadethe promptsby gradually

20

Bcstc Inlormqtlon

importantto shift your rewardsfrom prompted behaviorto un' uing the rewards.It is particularly promptedbehavior. Giving Instructions or "noise"in an instruction verbiage Thatis,dropalltheexcess be explicit andclear. Inshuctions should to me, If you wantyour childto sitdown, don'tsay"Chris,dear,listen and getit down to essentials. you is to please whatI am asking be a goodboyandsitdownon thechairfor me." Justsay"Sit."Sayit because in our firstsentence Your childwould neverunderstand the inshuctions loudlyand clearly. (bypointing) red versus bluecolors, in it. If you areteaching himto identify thereisjusttoo muchnoise " "red" "Blue " "Red" point paper. It is or "blue" . to thebluecolor or Justsay don'tsay"Chris,lookhere, to and couldserve are unnecessary, that he hasto attendto. The restof the wordsin the sentence the relevantword. obscure
Tricls and ends with instructions with the teacher's A hialcan be thought of as a singleteachingunit. It starts within 3 to response as no defined or failureto respond.Failureto respondmay be the child'sresponse, Rewardsas well as prompts may be includedin a trial. 5 secondsfollowing the teacher'sinstructions. The time that elapsesafter the conclusionof one trial and the start of another (the between trial interval) the instrucmay lastanywherefrom one-halfsecondto severalseconds.Dependingon how elaborate is and how response (if long the prompts), how the prompt is there are tionsare, how time-consuming long the reward takes (if there is one), a teachermay run anywherefrom 1 to 20 or more trialsper minute. for the trials have to be paced or timed correctly.Koegel, Russo,and RinThe instructions cover (1977) referred to this aspectof training as the disuete trial procedure. The intent is to present that is, in a neat little and the training materialclearly,concisely,and discriminably, your instructions your to learnthe recepchild you want Suppose with a definitestartand a definiteconclusion. package iive meaningof the word "doll." A poor approachto thisteachingtaskwould be to have the doll on the "Point to the doll, please,"and repeatinshuctions, your child with the confusing tablewhilepresenting elseand isn't attendingto you or the instrucwhile your child is looking someplace ing the instructions in tions or the doll. Instead,you should first get his attention.(Gettingthe child'sattentionis explained time placethe dollon the table,while at the same Chapter6.) Once you have his attention,immediately clearlyin hisfield of visionwhile saying"doll" helps saying,"Doll." Placingthe doll, the stimulusdisplay, beinggiven. You may want to wait 2 to 3 secondsbetweeneachtime you him attendto the instructions and the stimulusdisplay.Sometimes2 secondsare too short;in other presenthim with the instructions to the they are too long. Some childrenon some tasksare "available"(open and attending situations, At other times the in relativelyquick succession' teacher)when the teacherpresentsthe instructions prompt him to attend to child "drifts off' and you have to wait until he "comes back," or you have to gettingthe it facilitates you. pacing of the presentationof your inshuctionsis criticalto learning (because pacing and such thild', attention), yet little systematicinformation is availableto the teacher about in working with techniquesat this time. One learnssuchpacingthrough experience attention-building children. formal inshuction Remembernot to overworkthe child. If he hasbeen "in the chair" receiving A five to one ratio of for 5 minutes,he should probablyget up and move around to play for 1 minute. You may want to arrangeyour day in alternating work to play may be ideal during a teachingsession. How To Do It 2l

(this freeplayshouldalsobe educational). and "free"playperiods sessions of teaching 2-hourblocks teachThiswouldmeanthatthechildwouldgetasmuchas6 hoursof formal,in thechair,one-on-one with olderchildren. the workload ing per day. You may wantto increase

OF "HOW TO DO IT" SUMTVlANY

sitin a teaching what hasbeen saidso far aboutthe importantelements It may be helpfulto summarize throughoutthe book, and they uation. Remember,the termsin the followinglistwill appearrepeatedly terms; will alsobe further defined as they come up againin differentcontexts.These ate very abstract in working with your child' their full meaningwill becomemore apparentas you gain more experience Rewards 1, 2. may be food, activity, sensorystimulation,or is rewarding. Positives Getting positiues socialpraiseand approval. is also rewarding.The feelingof anxietyor fear is usuallyan unpleanegatiues Escaping for a person;anythingwhich would lead to a reductionin anxietywould sant experience be rewarding.Disapprovalis an example of a socialnegative.

3. Immediatedelivery 4. Reward schedules 5 Individualdifferences 6. Exhinsicand inhinsicrewards and Extinction Acquisition Punishment like a spanking,or may be a physicalaversive, is punishing,A negative 1. Gettingnegatiues it may be the performanceof a task that the person doesn't like to do, such as washing dishes or doing sit-ups. show, is alsopunishing.Not beingallowedto watch a favoritetelevision 2. Losingpositiues example Time-out is another or nor gettinga candy bar are examplesof losingpositives. environment,and is thereperson from the isolated punishment, is the for klnd of o{ this may be anotherform of punishment. fore not receiving any rewardsat all. Ouercorrection 3. Note that points 4, 5, and 6 from Rewardsalso apply to punishment. ShapingBehav'ior l. Select target behouiors.Break down the target response into its component parts. to the targetresponse. Reward approximations and Prompt Fading 2. hompting guiding the child through the behavior). a Help rhe behavioroccur (asin physically b Graduallyremove (fade)such assistance. 3. lnstrucrions clearand concise. a. Make the instructions b. Pacethem well; presentthem when the child is attending' trial procedure. c. Use the discrete 4. Tnols start with the teacher'sinstructions,including any prompts, followed by the child's reward or punishment (if any)' or failureto respond, and the teacher's respons

22

Baglc Intornqtlon

CHAPTER
PHYSICAL PUNISHMENT

Punishmenfis a controversial interventionthat has given rise to much debateand misinformation.One involved, but it could write at lengthabout the issues is most appropriatefor this book to limit the discussion of punishment to certain points that are of disabled. to the developmentally specialsignificance Punishmentoften meansrevenge("an eye for an eye" attitude),which is inappropriatefor any society, and particularlyout of place when dealing with children.Punishmentmay also mean displaced aggression. Many parents will punish a child, not because of the child'sbehavior,but as an expression of their own anxietyover theirfailureto cope. That is, parentsprojecttheir failures onto their children,and punishthem. On a larger,socialscale,punishment conhol, aversive Historyshowsthat everyform of politicaltyranny has usedmassive meansoppression. people punishment. rid History alsoshowsthat themselves riseagainst such tyrantsto such as physical from Freud to Skinner speak stronglyagainst theorists of punishmentand oppression.Psychological punishment,claimingthe effectsof punishmentare too detrimental to warrant its use. On the other hand, if one asksparentsof normalchildrenif they usephysicalpunishment,and if it helpsthem in handlingtheir children,the greatmajoritywill answer"Yes" to both questions.Furthermore, researchdata from carefullycontrolled studiespoint to punishment as an effectiveand practithe sideeffects of punishmentto be lessunbehavior,and alsosuggest cal way of stoppingundesirable There are several,quite thorough and objective desirable than expected,often, in fact, to be desirable. (I978), "Behavpunishment. article Harris and Ersner-Hershfield We a review by suggest reviewsof A reviewof punishand retardedpatients: disruptive behaviorin psychotic ioralsuppression of seriously punishment lts Effects on good is Punishment: the of A book on subject its alternatives." ment and Human Behauior (Axelrod and Apsche, 1980). You may also want to refer to the chapter on punishand Application (1966), ment by Azrin and Holz in Operant Behauior: Areasof Research the use of physicalpunishIt will seemtotallyinappropriateto many people to even suggest persons,How can it even be suggested that an adult punish a men' disabled ment with developmentally

23

tally ill or retardedchild? Even if punishmenthelps to raisea normal child, a sick and retardedchild seemsso helpless and vulnerable,so unableto benefitfrom the consequences of his behaviors. Therefore,it may seemsurprising that punishmenthasbeen usedwith some developmentally disabled childrenunder certaincircumstances and that when used carefullyand correctly, it has been shownto help suchchildren.BeIorewe proceedfurtherin this discussion, it may be helpfulif we define the term punishmentas it is usedin the contextof this book and give some examplesof the behaviors of developmentally disabledpersonsthat respondfavorablyto punishment. Keep in mind, also,that the useof punishmentcan only be maintained in an environmentwhere one recordsdataon itseffects. That is, the questionof whetheror not to usepunishmentshouldbe made on the basisof empiricaldata, that is, on the factsabout its usefulness and failures. Most often in the psychological punishmentis definedas an event,accomlearningliterature, panying a behavior,that servesto decrease that behavior.At leasttwo kinds of eventsservethat purpose: 1) the presentation of a physically aversive event,which may rangeanywherefrom a spanking or a slap, to a stressful behavior, like hard physicalexercises; and 2) the removal of a rewardingevent, which may rangeanywherefrom an adult turningher faceaway from a child, to placingthe child in isolation (time-out).In both instances it is criticalthat the eventbe shown to decrease behavior.Some persons may find some or all of theseeventsneutral or rewardingand, therefore,not punishing.

BEHAVIONS FORWHICHONEMAY CONSIDER USINGPUNISHMENT

It is important to considersome problemsthat are particularlyhandicappingfor the disabledchild in order to formulate rules about whether or not to punish. One of the problemsthat facesparentsand teachers of developmentally disabledchildrencenterson what behaviorsare so seriously maladaptive that they warrantthe useof physicalaversives. Self-destructiveness is one suchbehavior. To usean exheme example, we were recently asked to advise on the treatment of a severelyself-destructive 1O-year-old boy, who had been self-destructive sincehe was 2 yearsold. He has been institutionalized for most of his life becausehe could not be managedby his parents. He was retarded and he had "autistic features."A varietyof interventions had beentried, includingchanginghospitals, usingdrugsin variousamounts,psychotherapy, and prolongedperiodsin physicalrestraints, among others.His head and facewere f ull of scartissue from self-inflicted wounds, his earswere swollento the sizeof tennisballs and filledwith blood, he had broken his nose,he often damagedhis kneesby knockingthem against his head, and he had lately been hitting his elbowsagainsthis sidesand lower back so as to rupture his kidneys. If this behaviorcontinuedhe would die. Other children have certainproblem behaviors that, although not life endangering, like selfdestructive behavior, nevertheless seriouslyinterferewith their own learning.These behaviors,too, may require extremeinterventionmeasures, such as physicalaversives. For example, many retarded and psychoticchildrenwill try fecessmearing.In fact, most normal childrentry fecessmearingat one time or another,but give it up. Some developmentally retardedpersons,however, continueto smear their fecesinto adulthood. It is a horriblesightto seeaZ5-year-oldadult smearinghis own feceson his body. in his hair, and in his mouth. He will not die from fecessmearing,but suchbehaviorin mostcases prevents the personfrom remainingat home with his parents.One can alsobe virtuallycertainthat this person will not be very popular among the teachingpersonnelin an institutionand will probablybe rnovedto a lessoptimalward. Yet, in alllikelihood,aversives can be usedto stop him from fecessmearMlE.Jrls as they can be used to stop self-injurious behaviors.

&r

Bcsic Inlornqtlon

that they pose a danger to other children. Particularlyserious Some children are so aggressive is the situationin which the life of a younger siblingis threatened. Few people know what tyrantssome retardedor psychotic childrencan be or how their tyrannicalbehavior isolates them from normal envirIf a childis too do not toleratea greatdealof aggressive onments.Teachers behaviorin their classrooms. public in localschools he Failure keep a child aggressive in school, may be dismissed from that school. to can be disastrous.State hospitalsare full of children who could have made it on the outside had it not been for the fact that they were allowed to develop self-defeating behaviors such as excessiveaggression. Often, parents of such children have been aided by some well meaning, but probably misinformed, professionalwho was more concerned with defending abshactidealsabout the perfect society (whereno aversives exist),rather than helpingpersonscope with mundane, everydaypracticalproblems of how to live with an angry, retardedindividual. attackson others,and The behaviorsmentioned above-self-injuriousbehaviors,aggressive cords, and running out in front of oncoming other behaviorssuch as fecessmearing,eatingelectrical cars-are all behaviorsthat pose an immediatethreat to the child's survivaland most people would agree that, if necessary,aversivesshould be used to stop them. For other setsof behaviors,the decisionof whether or not to use physicalpunishmentmay may be just asdamagingto the child. For example,thereis althoughthesebehaviors seemlessclear-cut, a group of behaviors,such as endlessrocking, spinning,eye rolling, arm flapping, gazing,etc., that limit and seriously are calledself-stimulafory seem quite "addictive"to many children. Such behaviors to what the teachersaysand does. The child is "out of it" when he self-stimulates. the child'sresponse in the are discussed by usingpunishment.Thesebehaviors suchbehaviors You may attemptto suppress next chapter. with a child'sdevelopment.For example,it can alsointerfere Disruptive or aberrantbehaviors one is expectedto behavereais niceto go out to dinner once in a while as a family. In mostrestaurants, and so on, are usually screaming, sonablywell, sittingquietlyand waitingto be served.Actingbizarrely, from the measures strictdisciplinary not allowed. Such seriouslydisruptivebehaviormay necessitate going joining out, in eating family the from parent, such as a strongreprimand. The child will benefit shopping,traveling,etc., and such disciplinemay be the most appropriateway to correctthe child's behavior. maladaptive

il

fr $
fr

fr

SUMMANY COMMENTS ABOUT AVERSIVES importantrulesshouldbe followed.Theserulesarespelled the useof aversives, If an adultcontemplates and summarized below. out in detailin later chapters Explore alternatiues. Make sure that alternativeshave been tested as to their effectiveness. This is a difficult criterion to satisfy,but if one has tried to stop the undesirablebehavior by other means decreasein the disruptivebehavior, then one for severalweeks or months without an appreciable include: 1) giving him a differentenvironment, physical Alternatives might aversives. should consider or having differentadultsor peerspresent,or 2) givinghim such as placinghim in another classroom, his wishesthroughbetterlanwaysof expressing such asteachinghim alternative more behavioralskills, guagein an enrichedschool curriculum,etc. Build alternatiuebehauiors. Never punish unlessyou can also teach the child some better way to expresshimself after you have stopped his disruptivebehavior. Otherwise, the undesirablebehavior will return shortly after you have stoppedthe activepunishment.Think of punishmentin this Phystccl Punishment

25

way: It serves to stop some disruptive behaviorlong enoughso that the teacheror parentcan buildsome constructive behavior to replace the interfering behavior. Technically speaking, the punishment prompts a pausein some disruptivebehavior, and behaviorduring that pause (suchas not behavingdisruptively)is then rewarded. Try nonphysicolpunish ment t'irst. That is, firsttry extinction, (not paying any attentionto the behavior).Then try time-out (placing him in isolation contingent on the undesirable behavior) , ouercorrection, or other kinds of nonphysicalaversives. Be exha carefulthat the child's disruptivebehavior doesnot get some unintendedpayoff, like attention,sympathy,or gettingout of work. Childrenare not born with problem behaviors;they learn them. The child with the damaged kidneys in the example above had been carefully (and inadvertently)shaped by poorly informed but well meaning personsto injure himself, eventuallyending up with kidney damage and possibledeath. These problemsare describedin more detail in later chapters. procedure first, For example,you may want to startwith a loud "No!" Try the leastauersiue "innocent," suchas 10 or and then useprocedures that the child does not like but that appearrelatively jogging 20 sit-ups,or 5 minutesof around the block, or holding a telephonebook for one minute with outstretched arms, contingenton the undesirable behavior.Or, if a child is very afraid of dogs, briefly showing him a picture of a dog when he acts up particularly badly may be enough of an aversive. Another child might hateto throw smallbeanbagsbackand forth betweenhimselfand the teacher,and a shortbeanbag session would be sufficiently aversive to help him stop some undesirable behavior.Just asa good teachercan find many waysto rewardher child, so shecan find many socially ways acceptable to discipline him. If the milder aversives don't work, fty a swaton the rear. At the other extreme,painful electric shockhassometimes been used,but we adviseagainst thisprocedureexceptin cases wherethe professional child'slife is in danger. Do not use it without supervision. thqt other parents in the community entploy. To facilitatea generalization Use auersiues (transfer) of the learningbackinto the community,try to find formsof discipline that the communityuses and to which community memberswill not object. Auoid prolonged use. A child may adapt to aversives and they will losetheir effectiveness. Also, prolongeduse probablyleadsto response such as the emergence substitution, of self-stimulatory (seethe next chapter)which the child may useto block the effectof the aversives. behaviors If aversives are going to work, they will be effectivealmost immediately,which means the undesirable behavior shouldhave been essentially stoppedafterfive to 10 applications and should have almostdisappeared after the first day of use. Toke one behauiorat a time ond ocrossenuironments. If you decideto punish severalbehaviors,selectone behavior and suppressthat behavioracrossall environments(clinic,home, and school)and across all peoplewho interact with the child in orderto avoid discrimination. Avoid situation specificity that occurswhen the child suppresses a behaviorin the presenceof those who punish, but maintainsa high (or higher) rate with those who do not punish. Punisheorly behauiors. If you are going to punish, try to punish early manifestations of the behavior,insteadof waiting for a full-blownepisode. Early manifestations are weaker than the later to stop weak behaviors ones,and it is easier than strongones. For example,a tantrum usuallybuildsup over several seconds or minutes.intervene early. Keep records. In all of theseproceduresit is very important to "collectdata." That means you shouldtry to get some objective in the unwantedbehavior. estimate on how often the child engages For example,count how many times he hits himselfin a morning, or how many times he smearsper you in a week.Over a week, a month, or more, doesit stayaboutthe day, or how many timeshe attacks

26

Bqslc lnformqtlon

same,is he gettingbetteror worse?That'syour "baseline,"and it willtell you whetheror not your intervention works. Your heatment has to produce a change in that baseline;if it doesn't, don't continue. The effec* ot' auersiues haue to be documented. Record keeping is discussedin Chapter 4. Get somet'eedback. This includes a "peer review" by other professionals who have experience with aversives.If you can't tolerate the criticismthat may be part of honest feedback, don't use aversives. There is always a real possibilitythat you may be making mistakeswhen you use aversives, and such mistakes could be costly.Peerreview does not eliminate those mistakes, but it reducesthem. Personswho are not responsive professional to their colleagues should not use aversives. If you are a teacher,do not punish unless the parentis presentand agrees to alsopunish. If you are a parent,never let a teacherpunish unlessyou can see what is going on. This introduction to aversivesmay give rise to considerableconcern, even distastein some people.We recommendthat you avoid beingtrappedin somesentimentaland populartheory thatprecludesrationalinvestigation of alternatives. punishment Such may havebeenthe status with developof mentallyretardedpersons.Probablyin the long run, if aversives can be documented to be effectiVe they will becomeaccepted,independentof the public sentiments at the time. A personmay ask whetherone can be a usefulteacher disabled or parentto developmentally childrenwithoutusingphysicalaversives, like spanking.Without a doubt, the answeris yes. Some children are so responsiveto negativefeedbackthat even a minor conection like saying "No" has a major effect. Recent research (Ackerman, 1979) also suggeststhat developmentally disabled children will learn new tasksin a teaching program that usescontingent positive rewards only. However, in such a program the teacher may not observe a substantialreduction in ritualistic,repetitive (self-stimulatory) behaviors,or behaviorslike tanhums and noncompliance,unlesscontingent aversives are also used. [n other words, in order to be a maximally effective teacher or parent, you may have to use physical punishment. Aversivesactuallyplay a very minor role in our programs. We use them to help the child stop or diminish certainbehaviorsso he can be placed in a teachingsituation.The aversives are generallynot used after the first week or month. Aversivesconstitutelessthan 1% of our interactions.This book is really about teachingand growth; it is about how to free your child and help him stay free. Tomorrow we will know more about how to raise children, and we will not need to rely on aversivecontrol at all.

Phystccl Punlshnent

CHAPTER
This chapterexaminessome of the problemsdevelBEHAVIOR opmentally disabled children have in adapting to or at school. CHARACTERISTICS education,whether it occurs at home disabled chilSpecialbehaviorsof developmentally OF dren, such as tantrums, excessiveritualisticand stereotyped mannerisms, poor motivation to DEVELOPMENTALLY achieve, and lack of appropriate focus in attention, DISABTED are closelyexamined. of develWhen studyingthe idiosyncrasies CHILDREN children,wewere remindedthat opmentallydisabled such children are perhaps more different than they discussedin this chapare alike. The characteristics ter, particularlyin regard to aggressionand tantrumlike behavior, may therefore not be true or typical of your child. Many or most disabledchildren are very and tantrumvulnerableand nonaggressive;therefore, the section on the management of aggressive like behavior may not apply to your child. However, the sectionson motivationaldeficitsor attentional problems may apply.

EKCESSIVE TANTNUMS Developmentallydisabledchildren often throw tanhums when demands are placed on them. Their tanhums may interfereseriouslywith their learning of more appropriate behaviors. Your child's tantrums may be minor, such as screaming,or they may be major, such as hitting, scratching,or biting adults or other children, throwing himself on the floor, overturning furniture, breaking glass,or injuring himself by biting himself, banging his head againstthe wall, etc. Sometimesthe tantrum is short-lived and lasts for only a few secondsor minutes. In other casesit can go on for hours on a nearly daily basisfor literally physical restraintsor sedativemedication. The tantrums become years, which sometimesnecessitates particularly difficult to control as the child gets older or physically shonger and he can become dangerous to the caregivers.Sometimes a child may be quite unapproachablewhen he throws a tantum. only to appearperfectlycalm and in total control when the tantrum is over. This has led some people to

29

believe that the tantrum is "manipulative" rather than an expressionof a deep-seatedemotional problem. Let us briefly summarize what we know about tanhums. The tantrum is usuallythe child'sresponseto frustration,such asthe lossof a customaryreward or a changein routine, 2. The tantrumsbecomestrongerif you give in (removedemands)or make a lot of fussabout them. Thereis compellingevidence that by givingthe child attentionand concern,contingent on tantrums and self-destructive behaviors,one can shape up and increasesuch behaviors (place them on acquisition). 3. The tantrumswill probablygo away if you ignorethem. If you can put up with all the screaming and commotion and if the child doesn'thurt himselfor you too much, hy "working through" the tantrum, acting as if it didn't exist. This is known as extinction. Extinction is sometimes hard on the adult and the child because the child will continueto aggress, often showinga peak (an "extinction burst")beforethe behaviorgraduallydecreases. Time-out (turningaway or placingthe child in isolation) is sometimesan easyway to handle the tantrums (in that the teacherdoes not have to put up with allthe commotion).Remember,though, that for somechildrenbeingin time-outis a reward (if the child doesn'tlike to be in class,he may prefer time-out),so it won't work. .A t. Spankingis sometimesa remarkablyeffectiveway to stop a tantrum (eventhough the child may hurt himselfmuch more during the tantrum than you can by spankinghim). It is a good idea to catchthe tanhum early; once it is full blown, it is harder to control. 5 . If the tantrums are initially higgered by frushation, then one may be able to reduce the tantrumsby avoidingfrustratingsituations.On the other hand, by removing frustratingsituationsaltogether,it is unlikelythat the child will learn very much. Also, the child eventually hasto learnto cope with frustrationwithout engaging in severe tantrums.In any case,keeptryingto reduce"unduly" high levels of frustration. It is exhemelyimportantin controllingtantrums,no matterwhat procedureis employed,that you be on guard so as to not inadvertently rewardthe child for the undesirable behavior.For example, self-destructive behaviorappearsto be socially shapedin the firstplaceby personswho did not intendto worsenthe behavior,and unlessone can now withhold some of those unintendedand perhapssubtle rewards,any attemptto stop self-destruction will fail. It is a sadstorythat the very samepersonswho intended to help the self-destructive child probablydid him more harm than good. Their affectionand concern,given contingenton the self-destructive behavior,enslavedhim. It is often the casethat, as you startthe first lesson(tellinghim that he has to sit still in order for the lessonto begin) the child will throw a tantrum, perhapsto make you back off and remove your demands.Children are often masters at conhollingtheir parentsand other adultsthrough such strong and primitivebehavior.In effectthey decideon how their dailyroutineshouldbe arrangedand what the rules should be. Obviously,you have to reversethose rules. In the children's they havea defenseit must be saidthat they probablythrow tantrumsbecause difficulttime understanding to their what is going on. The tantrumsand aggression can be a response frustabon at not understanding; be no way what want. But that should it is their of communicating they excusefor you to let them continue with their tantrums.We all experience frustrationover not understanding.One cannot educatea child who scareshis teacheror has to be drugged and reshainedto qui,etthe tantrum-likebehavior. Hence the need for you to take conhol of the situation.You have to teach him more appropriateways to deal with your demands. 1.

Bcsic Inlormation

well rewardhim for behaving as soon as he hasbeenquiet for 2 or 3 seconds, Remember, him with the resumethe teaching(if you delay presenting (,,That's good sitting")and immediately inthatdelaymaybe hisrewardfor thetantrumandwill keepthetantrumshong).Gradually demands, the time intervalrequiredfor him to be quiet,that is, not throwinga tantrum' crease tantrums, As far as we can tell, thereis nothing"insane,""crazy,"or "psychotic"aboutthe biting themselves, go sofar asto mutilate at times.Somechildren eventhoughtheylook verygrotesque show 1969) & Simmons, the data (Lovaas ttieir heads.Muchto our surprise, their handi and banging for the childto communicate asa means andpractical areveryeffective and self-abuse thatthetantrums him, to stop or that he wantsyou to stopbothering and attention to you that eitherhe wantsaffection canbe' suchbehavior showhow rational on tantrums on him. In fact,our studies pt*rg demands cool you. Stay frighten isthis: don'tletthisbehauior thetantrums A mainpointabouthandling is tryingto getcontrolover but he is not. He probably The childmay look likehe is insane, and rational. goodat it' of thatintentdoesnot reallymatter.He is admirably you, andwhetheror not he is conscious he willget' In fact'individuals you, andthe worse he looks,the morehe will{righten The moreinsane for years.Like otherpeople,your child and psychologists psychiahists havebaf{led with thisbehavior Don't let him; you takecharge' prefers to be in chargeand controlthe situation. willkeep behavior andtantrum-like aggressive how a child's realize andparents Manyteachers wherehe could learn' All a child hasto do is to hit him out of his own home and out of good schools and otherchildren.He is thensentto a manyadults and he frightens on the heador bitehimself himself a very fine placeand p"rhup, he is placedon drugs' It is sometimes more primitiveand regressed place going some and wherehe can learn' at home, or in the community his staying between balance beingfirm at the the restof his rife.Few peoplerealizethat wherehe may vegetate hospital like a state him out of keep and keep him learning, the child down, keep him "civilized," righttime will settle trouble.

SETF.STIMUTATION suchas mannerisms stereotyped childrenhavea varietyo{ repetitive, disabled Manydevelopmentally kindof We callthis andsquinting' eyerolling, gazing, tapping, armflapping, twirling, spinning, rocking, the childrenseemto use it to because (shortfor sef-stimutitory behauiorl behavior self-stimulotion isrepetithe behavior or tactile'Usually ,,stimulate,, auditory, canbevisual, The stimulation themselves. presently of whatis The followingis a summary and it may occurauityfo, years. tive and monotonous : known aboutsel{-stimulation of other, moresocially to the numberand frequency related is inversely behavior 1. Self-stimulatory is low' Apparently behavior arehigh,self-stimulatory when otherbehaviors behaviors, acceptable he will ,.needs,, and if he can't get this through behavingappropriately' stimulation, the child to keepthe nerperhaps thatthereis a needfor stimulation, It appears in self-stimulation. engage withsystem; and twirlingmay be likefood to the nervous alive.The rocking,gazing, voussystem self-stimulatory andatrophy'In thissense'-then' mighideteriorate system nervous out it, thechild's to offerhim' behavior for the ctriti. r you do not havea more appropriate arenecessary behaviors lettinghim continueto self-stimulate' consider as a rewardfor behaviorcanbe usedas a reward.we have usedself-stimulation 2. Self-stimulatory as for 3 to 5 seconds childself-stimulate thechild,muchlikefood and water.Thatis, we mayletthe correctly' part of his rewardfor havingdone something
Behcvior Characteristics 3l

J.

4.

Self-stimulationdecreasesor blocks responsiveness to outside stimulation. That is, if the child is self-stimulating during his lesson,it is unlikelythat he will pay any attentionto his teacher.The rewards derived from self-stimulationare often shonger than the rewards the teacher can offer. Self-stimulation is like drugs:both are difficultto competewith. What we have had to do, then, and what we recommend,is that the teacheractively suppress the child'sself-stimulating behaviorwhen she hies to teach. This means that if the child self-stimulates when the teacheris talking to him (whenshe wantshim to pay attentionto her), she may physically reshainhim, or she may givehim perhaps a loud "No" and (Thereis a problem in some other aversive to stop the self-stimulation. physically restraining the child during self-stimulation, such as holding his hands still,because the contactprovided by the teachermay be a reward for the self-stimulation. That is, the child may learnto self-stimulate to get his teacherto touch him.) As soon as he stopsthe self-stimulation, the teacherrewardshim for it ("Good looking" or "Good listening") and giveshim his inshuction.The teachermay let the child self-stimulate afterhe hasbehavedcorrectly,as a rewardfor beingconect. The suppressionof one form of self-stimulatory behavior may lead to the increasein another, less dominant form of self-stimulation.For example, if the child rocks a great deal, and such rocking is suppressed, visualgazingmay replacerocking. If gazingis suppressed, vocalizing and humming may replacegazing.The taskin this caseis to help the child developa form of self-stimulation that interferes minimallywith learningand that appearssociallymore acceptable than some other form of self-stimulation. For example,humming and vocalizing, like gazing,are socially lessstigmatizing jumping than up and down while flappingarmsand hands.The need for self-stimulatory behaviors may also provide an ideal basisfor buildingplay and athletics. This possibility is discussed laterin thisbook.

MOTIVATIONAIPROBTEMS
Developmentally disabled children are often not motivatedto learn school-like subjects. It may be that this lack of motivationis causedby the failuresand frustrations they alreadyhave experienced in such learning,or it may be that their poor motivationis a major reasonwhy they are behindin academic and socialskills.In any case,"being correct"is often not rewardingenough. Conversely,"beingincorrect"is often not adequatelyaversive. (However, there are some noticeableexceptionsto that inference.) Many of the other nuancesand fine pointsassociated with succeeding and not succeeding often passby the retardedchild. Insteadof relying on "natural" or "inhinsic" motivation,the teacherneedsto constructan explicitreward,/punishment system,usuallyin the form of food and exaggerated socialpraise, on the one hand, and loud "No"s or physicalaversives, on the other. It is a sign of a good teacherthat she can find waysto motivatea slow studentto learnin as normal a way as possible. The use of rewards and punishmenthas been discussed in Chapter 1, but let us brieflysummarizehere: 1. The general rule is this:let the childdo whatever he likesto do (eat,self-stimulate, be approved of) ofterhe hasdone what you want him to do. The rewardshouldconsumeminimaltime,say 1 to 5 seconds. positiverewardsin the beginning,while he is learninga task. At'ter Use exaggerated youknow that he has mastered the task,thin the rewardsand eventually expecthim to show you how well he can do, without the positrve rewards.Thin the rewardsslowlyfor newly learnedbehaviors, otherwise the behaviorswill not be maintained.This is important, becauseyou want to save the positive rewardsf.ornew learning,rather than just maintainsome previouslylearnedbehavior. BcrsicInlormction

2.

32

whatwe saidaboutconholling 3 . Remember or minimizing extraneous motivation: don't let him selfwhileyou teachhim. This is so because stimulate his self-stimulation and driftingoff feeltoo good for him. Don'texpect that you cancompete against Therefore, it, at least not in the beginning. suppress the self-stimulation. If he is to self-stimulate, it hasto be asa rewardfor firsthavingdonewhat you wanted him to do. . You If a childalready isanxious about failure, He ispunishing himself don'tpunish himfor failure. willsoondiscover that a childwho is anxious to startwith is an easychildto teach.He hasplentyof All you haveto do isto teachhim thosebehaviors thatgivehim a "handle"on hisanximotivation. that help him reduceit. ety, the behaviors in the beginning,a good and exaggerated motivators Althoughyou may have to use artificial "fade" out thesemotivators look asnormalas willgradually situation teacher to makethe teaching possible. learning "Normalizing" in to the motivational is essential order transfer soonas structure and to preventrelapse. across environments have often been used with slow children.Tokens (suchas poker chips) are used as Tokens or watchinga TV show. "money" for the child to "buy" exhas,suchas ice cream,specialfavors, giving he wants,suchas tokens is in the child something The valueof established the earlysteps by a biteof food, providedhe hasgivenyou a token first.You may beginby havinghim giveyou a for you givehim tokensasa reward isestablished, tokenfor a biteof food. Oncethe valueof tokens somebehavioryou are tying to teachhim. In other words, he may earn lhesetokens,one at a in for food, freetime, TV viewing, The tokenscan laterbe cashed time, by actingappropriately. rewardthat can sometimes of the token is that it is an explicitand concrete etc. The advantage the teaching situation. simplify possible as well.The childcan losetokenshe to usetokensfor discipline It is, of course, thattokens,likefood, are"artificial" Remember, however, if he misbehaves. earned haspreviously as is asnatural In thisway the child'slearning and shouldbe removedassoonaspossible. rewards environments. nontoken to outside, possible transfer which helpslearning Keepin mind that the more unusual(or less"natural")your rewardsare, the lessyour childwill (transfer) beof learned That is, generalization tansfer what you teachhim to outsidesituations. havecommon that the two situations to the degree to anotheris related haviorfrom one situation you buildwith the behavior then you in one situation, usefood rewards For example,if rewards. arenot used,Or, the child wherefood rewards to another situation may not transfer rewards these poorly when he is (and and therefore rewards) food wants is hungry may behavewell when he to more naturalones,to rewards transfers the child from artificial Again, good teaching satiated. of learnedbehaviors. helpgeneralization

4.

5.

6.

7.

ATTENTIONAT PNOBTEMS in payingattenistheirdifficulty withthe learning of slowchildren thatinterferes Anothermajorproblem problem Their attentional development. of their retarded that this is the main cause tion. It is possible attention pay Poor at all. attention whenthey oftenseemnot to worsewhenthey self-stimulate, seems probably will not attend they learn, motivated to poor If are not they motivation. related to may atsobe and motivation,however,is difficultto pinpoint' attention between The relationship to theirteacher. ueryhungry andueryanxious.Stillthey showsomeof triedto makethe chitdren We havesometimes problems, somerelated of attentional Perhaps theyhaveseveralkinds deficiencies. attentional the same
Behcvlor Chqrqcterlsiics

to motivation,some not. Be that as it may, we can now describe some of theseproblemsin more detail than beforeand suggest ways to work around or reduce them. The The children's attentionalproblems may lie in an overlynarrow attentionto externalcues. childrenoften focuson smalldetailsand are unableto seethe whole picture.They have overfocused or ouerselected their attention.The followingexamplesillustrate overselection. Supposeyou show a picture of a man to a normal two- or three-year-old child; that child will labelthe picture "man." When shown the samepicture,a developmentally retardedindividualmay respond"button," in response to a tiny detailof the person'sclothing.We taughtdevelopmentally disabled(autistic) childrento tellthe dif(or girl f.erence When we the shoes the figures for and a boy. took off some children, other between a piecesof clothing),the childrensomehow could not tell the figuresapart anymore. It seemedthat they part) and had learnedto tell the boy from the girl by looking at the shoes(or some equallyinsignificant ignoringthe rest of the figure. Other examplesof such overselection relateto the use of prompts. When childrenare taught to imitatesounds,the teachermay want to use soundsthat have distinctvisualcues in additionto the auditoryones. In a sense,the visualcues help or guide (prompt)the correctresponse,as in the mouth movement for producingthe sound "ah" or the lip movement in saying"mm." Supposethe children learnto imitatethesesounds.Now, when the teachercoversher mouth so the childrencan't seeit, they the visualcuesand did not attendto suddenlygo mute; they don't speakany more. They overselected with attentionmay interfere how overselective the auditoryones. Consideranotherexampleillustrating A particular teachertaughther childrento identify transfer(generalization) of learningacross situations. partsof the body, which is a common preschool The task. childrenlearnedto point to their ear when the teachersaid "ear," point to their foot when the teachersaid "foot," and so on. One day a substitute teachertook over the class,and discovered that many of the childrenwere unableto do the task,even though the children seemed cooperativeand motivated. When this situation was examined more closely,it turnedout that the firstteacher,when sheaskedthe childrento perform, alsomade a slightbut gesturewith her hand or eyeswhich the secondteacherdid not do. Apparently, it was the distinctive in the lackof thisgesture that had confusedthe children.When the secondteacheralsobeganto gesture certain sameway as the firstteacher,all of the childrenperformedwell. The childrenhad overselected detailsof the teachingsituationand this interfered with their transferor generalization of that learningto new situations. We do know that such overselective attentionoccurs"betweenthe senses,"such that if the voice. He may focuson one channel child seeswhat the teacheris doing, he may not heor the teacher's of input (saythe visualcue) while ignoringthe other channel(the auditorycue). But he may alsooverwhich may have shape,size,and colselect u.rithin a stimulusdimension.For example,with visualcues, but not all three. The sameproblem or, he may pay aftentionto only one or two of thesedimensions, with auditorycues. For example,in order to learnlanguage the child should pay attentionto showsup severalcuesin your voice, such as the loudness,pitch, and form of a verbal utterance.But again,'he and missout on what is reallybeingsaidby just attendingto one of thesecues,like the may overselect loudness. A child will not understand much language unless he can focuson severalauditorycuesgiven sirnultaneously. Apparently, overselective attentionis correlatedwith the mental age of the child. Children (the more retardedones)show more overselective attentionthan children with a very low mental age with higher mental ages. problemsassociated with stimulusoverselectivity centeron In summary,then, the perceptual 1) problems in shifting from prompts to other stimuli, 2) limited generalization(transfer)of learned be-

3{

Basic Informction

haviorto new environments, and 3) limitedlearningor useof environmental cuesin general.The question is, what can be done about it? We offer the followingsuggestions: Try to minimizethe extracuesin the teachingsituation. For example,if the child is taughtto imitate sounds,try to make the visualcues (sightof the teacher's mouth, etc.) unreliable so he doesnot get "hooked" on such extra cues that fall on the same cue dimensionas the teachingcues. For instance,if you are going to teach the child the differencebetweenlarge and small, startwith an extra largeobject(likea ball, two feet in diameter)comparedto a very smallball (one inch in diameter). Later "fade" out this extreme differenceto one of more appropriatesize.Apparently, it is easierto transferfrom prompt cues to trainingcues when the discrimination is easy. 2. Don't reward the child when he getsthe right answerwith prompts present,Withhold reward for promptedanswers. If you don't, the child will learnto pay more and more attentionto the prompt, which makesit that much more difficultto fade. For example,supposeyou are going to teachthe child the difference betweena circleand a square(or any other visualcue).Supposeyou placetwo cards,one cue on eachcard, on the tablein front of him. You then sayto him, "circle," and prompt the right answerfor him by pointing your finger to the card with the circle. He respondsto your prompt and he pointsto the circle.Now, if you do reward him, you may merelybe strengthening the bond betweenyour finger-promptcue and his pointing, He may not haue seen the circle, and he didn't have to look at it in order to be rewarded.Your fingerprompt may have overshadowed (or blocked)his responseto the teachingcue (the circle).Incidentally,the more you fade your fingerprompt, the more unreliable and minimalyou make that prompt, the more he will be forced to attendto the finger prompt, and the lesshe will seeof the teachingcues. Therefore,as soon as possible,withhold rewards when he gets the right answeron prompted trials. Only reward him when he getsthe right answerwithoutprompts.One way to help thisalong is for you nof to prompt, to be economicalwiththe prompts, to wait with the prompt, and so on, so as to "force" him to respond without the prompt, hoping he will startsearching for the correctcue. Once the child misses out on rewards,which he will if you don't reward him on prompted trials, he will begin to "look around" and to searchfor other cues. (Thereis some evidence that unrewardedtrialslead the child to overcomesome of his overselective responding.) 3. Be on the lookout for accidentalprompts. Children are very good at discoveringunintended prompts.They will even detectsmallmovementsof your eyeswhen you are visually fixatingon the right answer. 4. Start with easy learning first. For example, start by teachingthe child the differencebetween black and white, insteadof some color or form cues,like squareand circle.There is some evidencethat the child will be able to use a prompt, and later drop it (that is, to transferfrom a prompt cue to a teachingcue), if you start with an easy difference,like black and white. 5. Rememberthat the children euentuallylearn to use prompts and to "drop" them (that is, to hansfer).They can learn to pay attentionto more and more cues. They have to learn to do so if they are going to survive. But it takestime. 1.

Behcvior Chcrccierislics

35

CHAPTER
RECORDING BEHAVIOR
Recording behauiormay be the only way in which you can learn whether or not a particulartreatment typesof behaviorusuallyrequire works.The different Two typesof bedifferentmethodsof measurement. havior (self-destructiveand self-stimulatory) and in this how they should be recorded are discussed chapter.

BEHAVIOR SETF.DESTRUCTIVE RECORDING

beThe most common way to record self-destructive havior is to record the t'requency of the behavior act is usuallydistinctand succinct,and, therefore,easy to count. Each each self-destructive because that is, eachtime the child is calledeuentrecording; act is calledan eventand the process self-destructive act, one eventis counted. self-destructive some an object,biteshimself , or commits hitshis head against Eventsmay occur rapidly, for example,twice every second, or more slowly, like once every minute. How Long Should You Record? himself , factors,includinghow often the child damages The lengthof recordingtime dependson several frequently himself and how much his behavior variesacrosssettings.For example, the child may injure bebut only rarelyat the dinner table.In any case,you may want to somplehis self-destructive in class, perhaps part time, the of havior. Samplingmeansthat you do not need to record allthe time, but only for 10 minutesevery hour. Sometimesyou may have to recordfor 10 minutesevery hour throughout to record for only 10 minutesat a specifichour during the the day. At other times, it may be sufficient your data day. How much you need to record dependson a numberof conditions,such as how reliable provide a reliable can over time. Samplerecordings are. and how much the clients'behaviorfluctuates you of how your heatment procedureis working. When you first startout, or on the firstday, estimate so that that occur in 10-minute observationsessions, may want to record all instancesof self-destruction how the treatment you will have a measureto serveas a basisof comparisonfor later samplingsto assess is working.

37

How to Record You need a counter that can be reset (like those used to keep golf scores),a good watch, and a data chart to recordbehavior.Set up a chart (seeTable4- 1) that shows 1g-minutetime periods,and record the frequencyof the behaviorand make any notes. How Long to Record belore Treqtment Begins? Treatment must startright away if the problem behaviorsare so acutethat they endangerthe child'slife. Otherwise,we have usually measuredbehaviorfor 14 days before intervening.If the behavioris decreasing, we withhold heatment until the behaviordecreases sufficiently to no longer be a problem,or until it stabilizes at a differentIevel.If the behaviorstaysthe same,or risesduring the 74 daysof recording, we begintreatment.The daysthat are usedto determinea rate against which to measurethe effectiveness of the treatmentare calleda baseline: in other words, we often employ a 14-day baseline. How Soon Ccru Chqnges Be Expected? Changedependson many factors.varyingso much across childrenthat no definiterulesaboutwhen to expectchangecan be made. In general.phyrsical aversives shouldwork much more quicklythan extinction or time-out,and you should seesubetantial decreases in the behaviorwithin the firsthour. If the behavior undergoes extinction.il may increase during the firsthour or day and then slowly decrease over the next severaldays. Sometimesa behavior has all but disappeared after a week; other times it may take an entire month beforethe behavioris controlled.

RECORDING SELF. SNMUTATORY BEHAVIOR

In many cases it is not possible to measureself-stimulatory behaviorin terms of its frequency,because self-stimulatory behavior is uzually continuous, without discreteonset or offset points. In other words, we can't readilyus event recording.as we did with self-destructive behavior,but may insteadneed to employ a time somplingprxedure. In time sampling,you divide a certaininterval of time (suchas a

Toble {-1.

Cbqrt {or

rlI-dortrustlve behsvlor

Child's Name: Date: Kind o{ Behavior Time Freguency

Notes

9 ; 0 0 -9 :l 0 a . m . 10:00-10:10 11:00-il:10 m. 1 2 : 0 0 - 1 2 :p 1.0 l : 0 0 -l : l 0 2:0Q2 - :10 3 : 0 0 -3 : 1 0 4 : 0 0 -4 : 1 0 5 : 0 0 -5 : 1 0 38

Bqslc Inlormqtlon

10-minute period)into smaller observation (such sections as40 15-second intervals). These15-second intervals are then dividedinto a periodfor observation (say,10 seconds) and a periodfor recording (say, fiveseconds). Thatis, you watchthe childfor 10 seconds, thenyou usethe nextfiveseconds to recordwhathe did, then watchhim againfor 10 seconds, recordfor five, etc. In thisway you will have four opportunities every minute to record whethera behavioroccurredor 40 opportunities if you observe the child for 10 minutes.A sampledatasheetis shownin Table4-2. If you put a checkmarkin the yescolumnwhenever he isself-stimulating, a recordof stength of hisself-stimulatory behaviors canbe obtained by simplysumming thosecheckmarksfor a 10-minute interval. These datacanthenbeaveraged overthe day,or week,aswanted.You mayalsowantto usea tablelike the one described earlierin our discussion behavior(see of the graphingof self-destructive Table 4-1). One easyand inexpensive "aid" in makingthiskind of observation is to dictate the timeinterplay valsinto a taperecorder, yourself and to it backto duringthe observations throughan earphone. "Line 1 observe," The tapemay say,at zero-time, "Line 2 at 10 seconds, "Record,"at 15 seconds, observe," at 25 seconds, "Record," yourrecording etc.Thiswillsimplify andyou won'thaveto keepan eye on a stopwatch

Table {-2. Chart lor recordlng self-rtlmulctory bchcvlor Child's name: Date: Time of recording: Kind of behavior:
Minute
I

Seconds

Yes

No

2.
?

4. 5.
b.

7. 8. 9. 10. ll.

t2.
IJ.

r+.

15. 16. 17. t8. 19. 20.

Becordlng Behcvior

0 -l 0 l5-25 30-40 45-55 60-10 15-25 30-40 45-55 60-10 t5-25 30-40 45-55 60-r0 l5-25 30-40 45-5s 60-10 l5-25 30-40 45-55
39

DUNANON RECONDING The durationof thistypeof in termsof their duration. arebestrecorded liketantrums, Somebehaviors, a tantrum onceor twicea day, may throw A chitd only factor. is the critical not the frequency, behavior, a butthetanhummay lastfor hours.Whatyou needto do, then,is to recordon any one day whether your recordings. to simplify You maywantto usea stopwatch and how longit lasted. tanhumoccurred, thesedataontoa 4-3. You needto hansfer isshownin Table for durationrecording A sample datasheet (abscissa), and daysalongthe horizontalline Record graphsothatyou canbetter seewhatishappening. on the veroverthe totaltimehe wasobserved) plot the percentage spentin tantrums of time (minutes (ordinate). ticalline

IN NECORDINGS NETIABITITY
In any recordingprocedure, it is important to note whether any two personsagreeon the observations, that is, if the recordings are reliable. You can test the reliabilityof the observer'srecording by having a second observerindependently record his observationof the same behavior concurrently with the first observer.The data from the first observerare then compared with the data from the second observer. Ideally, a second observermakes "spot checks" on the first observer,to check on agreementor reliabilpresentallthe time, but to check 7O%-20% of ity, That is, you don't need to have a secondobserver disagreeso much that two quite different the time. The observationsare said to be unreliableif observers general will be considerableagreementin recording there conclusionscan be drawn from their data. In behavior. If there is shong behavior and lessagreementon recordingsof self-stimulatory self-destructive ambiguouskinds' If in more the and leave out hy to define the behavior more concretely, disagreement, doubt, don't score. Recording procedures have become relatively complex and represent a rather sophisticated area of research.Hall (I972)has written a usefulbooklet on how to record behavior. You may want to from the Department of Psychologyor Schoolof Educaconsultan expert on behavioralmeasurements tion at your local college. Tcblc l-3. Durqtton recordlng-Scmple cheot Child's name:
Kinds of behavior: Date Ian. 4 Jan. 4 Jan. Time of onset Duration Comment

dctc

9:10a.m. 5:20p.m. 8:00 a.m.

15minutes l5 minutes 20 minutes

Bqsic Inlormctlon

REFERENCES

Ackerman, A. The role of punishment in the heatment of preschool agedautistic children:Effects and side effects.Unpublished doctoraldissertation, University of California, Los Angeles,1979. Axelrod,S., & Apsche,J. (Eds.).Punishment: It's effects on humanbehauior. Lawrence, Kan.: H & H Enterprises, 1980. Azrin,N. H., & Holz,W. C. In W. K. Honig(Ed.), Operantbehauior:Areasof research ond application.New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1966. Foxx,R. M., & Azrin,N. H. The ehmination of autistic Speciclty Books self-stimulatory behavior by overcone clion.J ournal Baker,B. L., et al. Stepsto independence: A skills of Applied Behauior Anolysis,1973,6, 7-74. training series children with special needs. Chamlor Hall, R. V. Behauior management series. Lawrence, paign,Ill.: Research Press, \977. Kan.: H & H Enterprises, 7972. Foxx, R. M., & Azrin, N. H. Toilettraining the reHarris, S. L., & Ersner-Hershfield, R. Behavioral suptarded:A programlor day and nighttime indepenpression of seriously disruptive behavior in psychotic dent toileting.Champaign,Ill.: Research Press, patients: and retarded A reviewof punishment and 1977. its alternatives. Psychological Bulletin, 7978, 85, Fredericks, H. D. B., Baldwin, V. L., & Grove, D. N. 1352-7375. A data-based c/ossroom the moderately and set'or Koegel, R. L., Russo, D. C., & Rincover, A. Assessing uerely hondicapped. Monmouth, Ore.: Inshuctional and training the generalized useof behavior modifiDevelopment Corporation, 7977 . cationwith autistic children.Journalof AppliedBe- Henderson, S., & McDonald, M. Step-by-step dresshauior Anolysis, 1977, 70, I97-205. ing. Bellevue, Wash.:Edmark Associates, 1976. Lovaas, O. I., & Simmons, J. Q. Manipulation of self- Huffman,J. Talk withme. Bellevue, Wash,:Edmark destruction in three retardedchildren. JournaloJ Associates, 1976. AppliedBehauior Ano/ysis, 7969,2, 143-757. Kozoloff,M. A. Educoting childrenwith leorning and problems. behauior New York: Wiley,1974. Lovaas,O. l. The outr'stfc child: Longuage developRECOMMENDEDNEADINGS ment through behauiormodification New York: Irvington Publishers, 1977. Bqslc Leqrnlng Theory (Vol. Bijou,S. W., & Baer,D. M. Chi/dDeuelopmenf Iourncrls 1). NewYork: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1961. Anolysis and Interuention in Deuelopmental DisabiliNavarick, D. J. Principles of leorning: From laboratory fies.Elmsford, N.Y.: Pergamon Press. to field.Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 7979. Behauior Modification. BeverlyHills,Calif.: SagePubprinciples Whafey,D. L., & Malott,R. W . Elementary lications. of behouior.New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, ChildBehauiorTheropy.New York: HaworthPress. r971. Educotion ond Treatmentof Children. Pittsburgh: Pressley RidgeSchool. Behqvlor Modillcqtton Journalol AppliedBehoviorAnolysis. Lawrence: UniMartin, G., & Pear, J. Behauior modification:What it versityof Kansas, Department of Human Developis and how to do it. EnglewoodCliffs,N.J. : Prenticement. Hall, 1978. TASH Reuiew.Seattle: The Association for the SeMonis, R. J. Behauior modilication with children: A verelyHandicapped.

pub. systematic guide.Cambridge, Mass.; Winthrop lishers, 1976. Patterson, G. R. Liuing with children (Rev. ed.). Champaign, IIl.: Research Press, 1976. Redd,W. H., Porterfield, A. L., & Anderson, B. L. Behauiormodification:Behavioral approoches to human problems.New York: Random House, 7979. Sulzer-Azaroff, B., & Mayer,G. R. Applyingbehauior procedures onolysis wlth children ond youlh. New York: Rinehart & Winston,7977.

Recording Behcvior

{l

UNIT

il
GETTING READY TOLEARN

. ,s,

fi

ilr

Unit ll outlines a "getting ready to learn" program. Chapters 5 and 6 provide step-by-stepprocedures for teaching proper sitting and directed attention. Once these preparatory behaviors are taught, interfering behaviorsneed to be eliminatedso that your child is ready to learn. Chapter 7 providesusefulinformation on how to help children overcome their tantrumsand reduceother disruptive behavior.(You may find Chapter 7 redundant with Chapters1 and 2. We recognize this redundancy, but judged it appropriate in an attempt to ensure effectivemanagement of disruptivebehaviors.) When you begin the actual teaching it is bestto startwith something simple, both for your sakeand for your child's. We decided to startwith the most elementary task, teachingthe child to sit in a chair when you give him the inshuction"Sit down" (Chapter 5). This simpletaskis excellent practice because it containsall the elements of a teaching situation: instructions, prompts, identifyingconect responses, and rewardsand punishment. We usually start our teaching program with the child and the "teacher" in the middle of the room and the parentsand membersof the "teachingteam" surroundingthem to watch the inshuction. After a beginninghasbeen made (the"teacher"hastaughtthe child to sit on command), all adultspresent should be given an opportunity to practiceteachingthe behavior. Although parentswill have a slight edge over team members who have had no experiencein teaching developmentallydisabledpersons, no one should feel embarassedor awkward about learningour teaching methods. When beginningthe actualteaching, alladultsshouldteachin the samemanner.It is importantto keep inshuctions uniform. Later in the programs you can afford to be more "flexible" and varied, and your child will need that in order to better prepare himself for the outside world. But in the beginning it is best for all adults who teach to use consistentand uniform teaching methods. You may want to work on two or three inshuctions ("Sit down," "Hands quiet," "Look at me") during the first session.Don't teach too much in the beginning, however; it is better to establish good conhol over the basics("Sit down," "Look at me") before you go on. Some children can perform

43

odequatelyin response to thesecornmandsin lessthan one hour (or such basiccommandsmay be C@d ahogether); otherswill needa monthor moreof teaching. Otherchildrenwill object to your efforr to teachthem. In general,your child will "establlsh" whereand how inshuction needsto begin.

{n

GcttlngBccdy to Lrcru

CHAPTER
It may sound surprising, but for certain children, learning to sit correctly in a chair is their first learning experience.It can be a very gratifyingstep for every' one. Work to get this kind of control before you go on to other programs. Also, remember that since this task is easyto teach, both for the child and the adult who trains him, successis maximized for both. It is exhemely important, particularly in the beginning, It is gratifythat both teacher and child be successful. learned something has he because ing to the child definite, and also because most children like some form of limits. It is gratifyingto the adults, and builds their confidence as teachers,becausethe task is simple enough for them to teach. For some parents,this may be the first time they have had explicitcontrol over their child. Three commands are extremely usefulfor helping the child to sit correctly during the teaching "Sit down"; "Sit up straight";and "Hands quiet." sessions:

PROPER SITTING

'f6-Iooownfi,
needto betaught.However,if the childdoesnot know Thefirstcommand,"Sit down," doesnot always procedure is recommended. how to sit in a chair, the following for the child'ssize.Placethe chairdirectlybehindthe child. Step 1: Choosea chairthat is suitable prompthim "sit down," and then helpthe child (pushhim or otherwise Step 2: Givethe command placinghim) onto the chair. by physically Step 3: Rewardthe child with praiseor food as soonas he is seated' 2 and 3. and then repeatSteps him up if necessary) raise Step 4: Havethe childstandup (physically fadethe help.Thatis,gradually and less Step 5: Eachtime you tellthe childto sitdown,givehim less his own. on down prompt (assistance) physical so that he is doingmore of the act of sitting

Step 6:

Step 7:

Rewardsshould be given each time the child sits in the chair. Also, in smallsteps, slowly increasethe distancebetween the child and the chair. place him back in the If he gets up before you want him to, forcefully (perhapswith aversives) getting so that will apprehensive about seat he become out of the chair without your permission to do so. Now inhoduce the command "Stand up," and prompt him to get up if necessary.Getting up out of the chair may be reward enough. Remember,you decidewhen he shallsitdown and when he shall stand up during teachingsessions.

As the child becomes more expert at getting himself into the chair on your command and is able to meet your initial requirement of sittingfor approximately5 seconds,he should soon be required to sit in the chair for increasinglylonger periods of time (for some children it may only be 5 minutesat a time, even after a month of training). for "good While working on other tasks (inhoduced below) praise the child occasionally sitting" so as to maintain his sitting.

"SIT UP STRAIGHT'
Childrencan often be seatedin a chairbut will slumpover or slidedown in it. When the child doesthishe is not sittingproperly and is generally not attending. The instruction "Sit up staight" helps to get the child's squirming and sliding under good conhol. The following steps are recommended to teach this command: Step 1: Step 2: When the child begins to slouch or slide down in the chair, give the command, "Sit up staight!" Be forceful!Let the child know you mean business. Immediately show the child what you mean by sittingup straightby correctingthe way he is sitting. This may require pushing his shoulders back or pulling him up in the chair (prompting). Reward the child for sitting conectly. After severalinstancesof prompting him into the proper sittingposition, you should wait for a few secondsafter giving the instructionto give him a chance to do it on his own. If the child does not sit up shaight within two or three secondsand you sensethat he is being lazyor stubborn, force him to sit up. You should make it so the child would rather get himself sittingproperly than have you do it for him! Be sure to praise warmly whenever the child sits up conectly on command. Be carefulthat what you do (by expressing concern and attention)does not in fact reward him for slouching. Be mildly aversiveas soon as he slouches.

Step 3: Step 4: Step 5:

Step 6:

TIANDSQUIET
fidgetingor self-stimu' The third important command is "Hands quiet." Allchildren fidget, but excessive Ladtmwith the hands is often the causeof a child not paying attention. The child may be sittingperfectly and looking right at you, but if he is fidgetingwith his hands or flapping his arms (moving them about) he rrray no( hear a word you say.

Getting Recdy to Lecrn

.*,

"Handsquiet"can meanone of several things:1) handsarestilland armsarehanging at the 2) hands areflat,palms child's sides, down,on thechild's legs, or 3) hands arefoldedin thechild's lap. Choose the position that is mostnatural for the childand most helplulfor you. Childrenwho fidgetwith theirthumbandforefinger palms shouldbetaughtposition 2. With down andfingers spread the on legs, temptation to fidgetis minimized.For childrenwho don't fidgetwith their fingersbut who flap their handsor arms,position1 or 3 is appropriate. givethecommand "Handsquiet,"andthenforcethechild's Step 1: Whenthechildfidgets, hands inposition. to the desired for him if he doesit himself than if Step 2: Be forceful.The child mustlearnthat it is morepleasant you do it for him. evenin the Step 3: Alwaysreward(withfood and approval) the childfor followingyour inshuction, initialstages when you are helping him. decrease you givethe child in gettinghis handsinto Step 4: Gradually the amountof assistance properposition on command. Allowthechildtimeto respond to thecommand andhelphim onlywhenit is necessary. As thechildlearns fewerprompts willberetheexpected behavior, quired. a. Say,"Do this," whileyou perform the desired behavior. (prompt you. b. If necessary, helpthe child him) to imitate you. him for imitating c. Reward d. Graduallyperform lessand lessof the actionyourselfafter you have given the command. (Eventually whatthe you willbarely at allforhim to remember haveto moveyourhands entireactionis.) maintaining "thin out" thefood asreward, Step 5: As he is catching on to whatyou want,gradually everycorinstead of rewarding approval only. For example, hisconectbehaviorwith social then for every with food, rewardthe child for everythird conect response, rect response that approval,also,so that the childlearns etc. Finally,"thin out" the social tenthresponse, to sit correctly as a matterof routine. he is expected

GENERATIZINGPNOPENSITIING thislearning in one chair,with one adultin one room, generalize Afterthe childis taughtto sit correctly room, people. your in the living Have him sit on chairs,on command, to other placeswith other work asteachers and usea varietyof chairs. kitchen, bedroom, bathroom,etc. Havea varietyof adults place you controland demand establish willtake as begin to and fussing Mostlikely,tantrums your requests may be. howeversimpleand reasonable with your requests, the child'scompliance for eliminating behaviors. theseinterfering Chapter6 dealswith techniques

Proper Stttlng

17

CHAPTER
DIRECTING AND MAINTAININGTHE CHIID'SATTENTION
Thissectionof the "gettingreadyto learn" program includestwo procedures. The first is teachingthe childto visually attendto your face(establishing eye contact).The secondis a generalprocedure for teaching the childbasic behaviors suchasvisually atin the environment to which you tendingto objects wishto directhis attention.

eye conUse the command "Look at me" to establish tact. It is generally best to be sure the child has learned to sit properly and to be attentive before you start to teach this procedure. Step 1: Step 2: Step 3: Have the child sit in a chair facing you. Give the command "Look at me" every 5 to 10 seconds. Reward the child with.praise and food for conectly looking at your face. In the beginning a correct response occurs when the child looks in your eyes for at least 1 second and looks within 2 secondsafter the command is given. That is, it is clear to you that he has looked at you and his response has been sufficiently distinct so that he "knows" what he is being rewarded for. In general, if you have a clear idea of what you are rewarding, he will catch on. Say, "Good looking," and simultaneously feed him. If the child does not visually attend to your face within the 2-second interval, look away for about 5 secondsand then give the command again. Some children will not look at you when you say, "Look at me." Therefore, you have to prompt the response.You can prompt eye contact by holding a piece of food (or something elsethe child will look at) directly in the line of vision betweenyour eyesand the child'seyesat the same time as you give the command. Therefore, repeatthe command ("Look at me") and simultaneouslypresent the prompt (move the piece of food into his line of vision, and level with your eyes).

Step 4: Step 5:

Step 6:

Step 7:

When eye contact occurs within the 2-secondinterval on 10 consecutivecommands, gradfade the prompt by increasinglyhiding it in your hand and by gradually and systematically commands. ually minimizingthe movement of your hand over successive gradually delay giving the food while To increasethe duration of the child's eye contact, the length of time that the child must maintainingeye contactwith praise.That is, increase look beforehe is given food. Count silentlyto two beforeyou reward him, then to three, and longer periodsof on to five or more, so that he slowly learnsto look at you for increasingly time.

a very clearidea of what is Noticesomethingvery importantin thiswork: You have established That is criticalbecause and you have a clearidea of what is an incorrec,response. the correctresponse, You know what you you now know when to reward and when not to reward. You can be consistent. with detailsthat are extraneousto the accomplishwant, and you won't hesitateor becomeobsessed ment of the final goal. This is very importantwhen you teachslow children.They don't "forgive" your the way normal chlldrendo. mistakes the chairproIt is bestto starrteachingeye contactwhilethe child is sittingin the chairbecause for you to get control under thesecirIt is easier videsa simpleteachingsituabonwith littledislraction, However, if the child only learnsto look at you while he is sittingin the chair, his new cumstances. to beginto generalizethis first learning (asyou behaviorwill b of limited value. Therefore, it is necessary did with his sittingin diflerent chairs).After he has masteredlooking at you in the chair, have him look at him for you when he standsup, when he is in other rooms, etc., and rewardhim for doing so. Reinforce increasand slowly durations, with 1-second contact,starting longerperiodsof eye-to-face increasingly you reward him. before more seconds 3 or 2, then looks of ing the demand for longer

"HUG MH' 5) and"Look at me" "sit down"and"Handsquiet"(Chapter procedures for teaching Thestep-by-step to selected attend the childto visually (above) formatfor now teaching haveprovidedyou with a generat try someof want to You may behaviors. otherbasic as well asfor teaching in the environment objects we teachthe childis to givethe adulta hug these on yourown. For example,oneof the earlybehaviors of thisbehavioralongthe following the teaching when the adultsays,"Hug me." You could arrange steps: move)the child so that his cheekmakes Step 1: Say, "Hug me," and prompt (e.g.,physically contact. with yours.Rewardhim with food the momenthischeekmakes contact momentary ("Hug clear. loud and me") instuction the prompt keeping while fadethe Step 2: Gradually on longerand longerhugs.Move in slow steps Step 3: Graduallywithholdthe rewardcontingent At the sametime, requirea morecom5 to 10 seconds. hug to one lasting from a 1-second harder,etc.Promptthese hisarmsaroundyour neck,squeezing pletehug suchashisplacing if necessary. behaviors additional thin thereward Gradually andmanypersons. to manyenvironments learning Step 4: Generalizethis so that you get more and more hugsfor lessand lessrewards. schedule

50

Gettlng Recldy to Lecra

MAINTAIMNG ATTENTION Expect thatwhileyou areteaching your childto visually attendhe mayhy to getout of hischairor may startto throwtanhums.Be firm and requirepropersitting and no disruptive behavior when you teach. Otherwise, the teaching situation will be purechaos. Thereare manythingsthat can go wrongeveniinthesebeginning steps.If the childdoesnot seemto learnor starts to losewhat he alreadyhaslearnrzd, watchfor mistakes madeby the teacher. Generally, it is the teacherwho is not performing the tearching property.Here is wherethe sequence "staffmeeting" comesin handy,to helpspotteaching mistakes. One of the mostcommonmistakes occurswhen"no" starts sounding like"good."Theteacher lis "burnedout" and needs momentarily to be recharged. The "No" hasto soundlikehell'sfury (sometinnes) and the "Good" hasto be givenwith lots of smiles, kisses, and hugs.Ham it up, become (aslong your expression an actor,andreallyexaggerate as the childdoesnot thinkyou areacting and knowsyou meanbusiness). A secondreasonfor lack of maintenance is motivational in origin. If you are usingfood rewards, don'tstartthe teaching session aftera meal.As a rulethe childwon't eatverymuchif he isfull. (like Don'tusebigbites spoonfuls) or thechildwillsoon become satiated. Instead, during learnthisearly (work ing,be surethe childis hungry with him duringmealtime, havehim skipa meal,givehimsmoll bites,etc.).Thismay soundcruel,but it reallyisn'taslong ashe is now goingto beginlearning and the useof food rewards is temporary. The mainproblemencountered in "getting read5l to learn,"however, centers on tantrumcontol. Eliminating disruptive behaviors is discussed in the nrext chapter.

Dtrecttng and Mqlntqinlng Attentlon

sl

CHAPTER
ELIMINATING MILDL.'T DISRUPTIVE BEHATTIORS
This chapter contains procedures that have been that the child usesto to eliminatebehaviors designed avoid working or that interferewith teaching.Some children have severe, disruptivebehaviors,such as that are dangerous to their safety. self-mutilation, by proshouldperhapsbe eliminated Such behaviors ceduresother than those describedin this chapter, before the through consultationwith professionals, child is placedin a teachingsituation.If the child'slife to is not in danger through self-injury,it is advisable proceedwith our programs. Before using any procedure to eliminate disruptive or off-task behaviors, it is important to behavior.There are probablytwo in the disruptive determinewhat the child hopes to gain by engaging generalcauses for the behavior.First,the child may be trying to avoid doing the task. He throws tantrums in order to make you stop and to make you back down. Second, he may simply want more atthrowing task tention from the adult than he is gettingat the moment. His fussing,crying, screaming, and biting you or violently, his back materials,upsettingfurniture, throwing himselfon the floor, arching himselfare allbehaviorsthat can be attemptsto escapedemandsor get attention and make you anxious or uneasy.

FON ETIMINATING DISNUPTIVEBEHAVIORS PNOCEDURES Strclght Extinction disruptive procedurefor eliminating and leastcomplicated most effective Straightextinctionis the to the childwhenhe no attention Payabsolutely You shouldactasif nothinghashappened. behaviors. look on you. Thatis, don'tinadvertently hasno effect behavior and showthat hisdisruptive is disruptive The child of his disruptions. your instruction because and don't postpone at him whenhe is disruptive nothingin return. him it brings he learns that when disruptive behavior in will stopengaging 53

Children seemvery clever, sometimes,at knowing when and how to get through to you. Your wincing, hesitating, postponing a hial, or blushing may be all the child needs to keep up with the tantrum. Straightextinction, however, can usuallyonly be carried out with mildly disruptivebehaviors. It is impossible to ignore a child when he bitesyou or breaksfurniture. It may be necessary to usepunishment and time-outto reducethe magnitudeof such severetantrums,but it is importantto rememberto return to shaightextinctionwhen the tanhums are reduced. Tlme-Out lrom Attention Time-outis anotherprocedurethat can be usedto eliminate mildly disruptive When the child behaviors. beginsto be disruptive,turn your body away from the child and make sure your face is averteduntil he stops.Say nothing and remain calm. If this is not enough to stop the disruptivebehavior,remove the child from other sources of attentionin the room. Facethe child toward a blank wall, or positionhim so that he cannotlook at you or others,until he is quietenoughto continueworking. Don't scoldhim while he is quietingdown. Do not attendto your child while he is in time-out. There is no absolute rule on how long he hasto be without your attention,but 5 minutesgenerally to be effective. 20 seems Time-outsexceeding minutesare not recommendedbecause time is beinglost. Isolating too much teaching the child until he has been quiet for 5 to 10 secondscan be adequate.Once he is quiet enough to beginworking again, praisehim for being quiet and calmly reintroduce the task. lf the child becomesdisruptiveimmediately after you reintroducethe task, repeatthe procedure.Let the child know that he receives no attention from you for behavingbadly and that he must continuegoing back to task. frequently.In this case, your child Time-out should not be used if your child self-stimulates may find time-outas enjoyable(reinforcing) as your attentionbecause he can self-stimulate freelywhile you ignorehiin. Time-out will alsofail for thosechildrenwho want to escapeor avoid your demands.In fact, in such casesthe use of time-out worsensthe child'sbehavior. C;orner Behcrvlor This procedureis a form of time-out from attentionwith the added featureof physicalrestraint. Some They kick, scratch,bite, or hit to gain attentionand to childrenare very viciouswhen being disruptive, when disruptive avoid working. Corner behaviorshouldbe used only if your child is aggressive or if he will not stay stillwhen the time-out procedureis used. When the child beginsto be disruptive, immediately force him to a nearbycornerof the room. Make him face the corner with his arms extendedbehind him and away from his body. Presshis arms flat against the two wallsforming the corner. If he kicks,his legsshould alsobe spreadwith as much surHold the child in thispositionuntilhe quiets faceof the leg touchingthe two adloiningwallsas possible. positionand the child will not want to be held that way for down. This is an extremelyuncomfortable very long. As soon as the child has quieted down and is no longer shugglingto kick, scratch,or hit, release him, praisehim, and return to working on the task.The child may beginto strikeout assoon as or shortlyafterward.Restrainhim in the corner immediately.Repeatthis procedureas he is released, Let him know that hying to injureothersis definitelynot allowed and that your enoften as necessary, As always,returnto the taskand continueworkinguntilyou feel duranceis greater than his on thisissue! not his. it is completedto your satisfaction,

54

Getting Recdy to Leqrn

Worklng Through the Ttrsk Whtle Ustng "Nol" is impossible inappropriate to use,try to carryout, and if time-outdoesn't work or seems If extinction workingthroughthe taskwhile simultaneously forcefully tellingthe child, "No!". in disruptive he shouldbe told "No!" immediately Whenthe childbegins to engage behavior, the efto him and counteract Try not to stopthe taskbecause thatmayberewarding andueryforcefully. pair "No!" table hard as the a loud noise such slapping "No." Sometimes it is helpfulto the with fectsof the shouldspecify your handsloudlyin frontof the child's thecommand face.In general, or clapping what it hears exactly particular In way child the suchas"No screaming!" or "No laughing!" this behavior, suchasthrowing is you want him to stopdoing. Keepthe commandshort,however.In certaincases, verbaldescription of the unwantedbehaviorwould be taskmaterials off the table,wherea complete shortandjustuse"No!" to leave the command andperhaps confusing to thechild,it isbest cumbersome The child may respondto your "No" in one of threeways: ("Goodquiet," praise him for stopping If thishappens, behavior. 1. Thechildmaystophisdisruptive or "Good sitting")and proceedwith the task. He mayfussto suchan extentthatthe taskcannotbeconmoredisruptive. 2. Thechildmay become you maywantto . In thiscase, in thetask on thefloor) involved tinued(e.g.,he maythrowmaterials him once,etc.).Makeyour louder,slapping of "No!" (e.g.,becoming the aversiveness escalate to haveyou stopgivingyour command and persistent that he would prefer so aversive command beingdisruptive. thanto continue For exto allowthetaskto continue. at a levellow enough less disruptive, 3. Thechildmaybecome proceed to whine.In thistypeof situation, but continue the childmay stopa loudtantrum ample, When the extinction. at all. Thatis, hy straight withthe taskasthoughthe childwerenot disruptive the warmly.You will thusbe praising(reinforcing) conectly,praisehim especially childresponds (extinguishing) behavior. you desire the unwanted,disruptive and ignoring behavior the taskis reinhoduced. assoonas,or shortlyafter, The childmay oftenstartbeingdisruptive will the taskand that his beingdisruptive Letthe childknow he mustcomplete Repeat the procedure. aver"Nol" is sufficiently a loud With mostsmallchildren, hisassignment. not gethim out of completing "No!" A whilesaying is recommended thigh the a slap to In cases sharp some the disruption. siveto stop aresure aversives The failed. have stopa tantrumif otherprocedures stong slapon the rearwill usually to stopthe tanhum quickly(soyou canproceedwith teaching). however,it will not work that easily.This will be the casewhen the childis exSometimes, him. The more you rewardedby your beingangryand punishing and is actually temety negativistic if you getreallyangryandhard, in suchcases, Usually, disruptive. punishhim, the morehe will become you canstophim. But it may takeweeksor months,a timethat willbe very taxingon your mentaland throughthe tanhums.Or you mayhy working physical health.You may haveto fallbackon extinction, in Chapter1. as discussed someform of overcorrection, matches into longshouting escalate disruption andthe child's shouldyour commands Finally, or useplainextinction thenyou shouldprobably aboutspanking, and if you havetoo manyreservations your child that maybe an indication matches Shouting the "No!" withthe time-outprocedure. combine is not efso thatthe procedure angry your and become you voice raise in seeing findssomeenjoyment adapt may child First, the you useaversives. possibilities when keepin mindtwo important fective.Also, after areto work, you shouldseetheireffects to themif you usethemfor any lengthof time.If aversives block out to behavior self-stimulatory the childmaylearnto usea formof Second, 1.0 or 20 applications.
Elimtncttng Dleruptive Behcvlors

his external environment to shieldhim from surrounding stimuli.This is more likelyto occurwith the prolonged useof aversives.

MASTEBING UNIT II How longdoesit taketo accomplish how long doesit takefor a childto stophis Unit II? For example, tanhums,or to learnto sit in a chair,with handson his lap, lookingat you? SomechildrenhavemasteredUnit II in one hour; othershaveneeded throw a wholemonth.Evenaftera month,somechildren tanhums, children may be so weakthatone canmoveforwardto Unit III. In any case, but the tantrums withinthe samerangeon vary enormously in theirrateof learning, evenwithina groupthat hasscored how muchcontrolyouhaveof IQ tests. it will alsodependon how goodyou areasa teacher, Of course, positive how forcefulyou are, how much helpyou behaviors, eflective reinforcers to shapealternative for teaching and getsome thisunit on preparation have,and so on. In any case,you needto complete mucheasier. controloverthe child.lt will maketeachlng otherprograms thatit givesyou will go a long way. Probably Onceyou.havemastered Unit II, the confidence still.Someof thesethingsare hardto to your childthanjust his sitting more thingshavehappened toward role than before,he may startto feelmoretrustand affection measure, Havinga more specific in his eyes. you as you become for him. You takeon morestature capable of doingmorethings

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NECOMMENDED READINGS

Koegel,R. L., & Couvert,R. fhe relatlonshlp of selfstfmulation to learningin autlstlcchildren. Journalol ApplledBehauior Anolysis, !972, 5,381-387. S., Baer,D. M., & LeBlanc, J. M. FuncCan, E. G., Newsom, C. D., &Blnkoff,J. A. Stimulus Plummer, tlonalconsideratlons in the useof proceduraltimeconhol of self-deshuctlve behavlor ln a psychotic out and an effectlvealternatlve.Journalof Applled chlld. Journo I of Abnormal Chtl d Psy chol o gy, L976, Behaulor Anolysls,L977, 70, 689-7A5. 4 , 1 3 9 - 1 53 . A., Newsom, C. D., Lovaas, O. I., & KoeCan, E.G.,Newsom, C. D.,& Binkoff, J. A. Escape Rincover, gel, R. L. Some motlvatlonal propertles of sensory asa factorln the aggresslve behavlorof two retarded stlmulationin psychotlcchildren. Journalol Experlchfldren. Journal ol Applled Behaulor Anolysis, mentalChtld Psychology,L977, 24, 312-323. L 9 7 8 , 7 3 ,1 0 1 -1 1 7 .

Eltmlncttng Dlrruptlvr Bchavlorr

UNIT

ilI
IMITATION MATCHING, AND EARTY LANGUAGE

The programs in Unit III should make the job of Chapter teachingyour child much more interesting. your to imitate child ways of teaching 8 describes your movements.You teachhim to raisehis arms,to touch his nose, to clap his hands, to stand up, to smile,and so on in imitationof your actions.Once he can imitateyour actions,you can help him in many tasks,such as showing him how to play with toys, Imihow to dress,and how to usefacialexpressions' tation is an extremelypowerfulteachingdevice,and is probably the primary way that normal children learn from adult society, You must remember that children learn at different rates. Teaching children who have littleor no imitationskillswill probablygo slowly, whereasother childrenwillreadily imitate some of your actionsat times. With such childrenit is more a questionof expandingwhat they already so they can use them at the right time. know and, very importantly,to get control over their imitations Chapter 8 containsan important sectionthat should be read with care. It pertainsto "random rotation" in this sectionare basicto discussed learningproblems."The learningprocesses and to "discrimination allthe programsin this book. the child to matchone objector a simplevisualform (along The programin Chapter9 teaches or similarobjector visualform. For example,the of size,shape,or color) to an identical the dimensions teacher places a variety of different objects on a table in front of the child, he is given one object (a replica), and is taught to identify ("match") that object with the correspondingobject on the table' The program on matching objectsor forms is very similar to the program on imitating ("matching") movements. There is no magic in the sequenceof teachingmatchingof movementsbefore teachingmatching of objects;you could just as easilyreversethe order. We run the two programsjust about concurrently, Chapter 10 describesa program on following verbal instructions (early receptive speech). the program in Chapter 10 enablesthe teacherto obtain uerbalcontrol over the behaviors Essentially, that were taughtin Chapter8. For example,insteadof the child merelyraisinghis arms (or clappingor smiling)in imitation of the teacher, the teachernow beginsto verballyinstructthe child with commands' such as "Raiseyour arms," "Clap your hands," or "Smile," graduallyfadingout the prompts of manual 59

alone. At this point you clearlycan see movementuntil the child can respondto the verbalinstruction how adult societyis beginningto exercisemore and more appropriatecontrol over the child. how to teach a mute or largely Chapter 11 is the most difficultprogram in the book. It describes nonverbalchild to imitate sounds and words so that he can learn to speak. Whereasthe programsin Chapters8 and 9 deal with imitationor matchingof uisuolcues, verbalimitation obviouslydealswith with delayedchildrenhave specialproblems matchingof auditorycues.It may be that developmentally auditory that (as may be Or, it to visual cues). compared perceivingand processingauditory cues matchingas in speechis much more complexthan is visualmatching.In any case,Chapter 11 willtest your teachingskillsfor sure. If you can teach verbal imitationthen you are an unusuallycompetent shaper,for it is a very difficultteachingtask. for programsperOnce you have taughtthe child someimitativebehavior,you have the basis tainingto play skills,which is the subjectof Chapter 12. of new optimizinglearning, as in maximizinggeneralization Finally, Chapter 13 discusses learningto new environmentsand helpingensurethat the new learninglasts. propackage.By thistime you are deeply involvedin the teaching Unit III is a comprehensive grams;an idealteachingsituationmay involve 6 to 8 hours of one-to-oneinstructiondaily' Not allsettingscan provide for that much teaching,but keep in mind that the more your child is taught,the better off he willbe. At this point your child will be learningseveralprogramsconcurrentlybecausethere is no meaningfulending point for any of the programsinhoduced in Unit III. This allows you to introduce varlability in his schedule,and to make both your and his day more interesting.

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CHAPTER
Children normally acquire complex behavior, inthe behaviorof cludingplay and sports,by observing by hearingothers others,and in the caseof language, speak. Thus, children seem to learn the majority of skillsthrough and language their social,recreational, imitation. After working with developmentallydisabled children,you can observehow thesechildren failto imitateyour behavior,or that they imitateyou at the wrong time. Perhapstheir failure to learn important behaviorsfrom people in their everyday lives can be attributed to their inability to imitate appropriately. ratherconhas demonstrated Our research peers of adults and clusivelythat the child must first learn to imitate the lesscomplex behaviors of his before he is able to imitate the more complex skills.The programsin this chapterteach the child the rudiof imitative tendenciesor imitation (what some may refer to as the establishment ments of generalized the your child is taughtto copy, or imitate,grossmotor behaviors(e.g.,raising Specifically, capacities). This perform the activity. "Do this," and arms, tapping the knees, touching the nose) when you say, skills,appropriate play, sports, self-help to teach be used can then behavior imitative newly established socialinteractions.Imitation of the behaviorof others can do much to enhancethe and other acceptable overall socialand intellectualdevelopment of the child. Bear in mind alsothat the basicpurposesof imitation haining are to teach the child to pay more attention to the people around him and to become more interestedand excited about what others are doin$, and, in general, to enablethe child to behave

IMITATION OF SIMPTEACTIONS

more appropriatelyin his environment. Once the child has learned to sit quietly in a chair for a reasonablelength of time (about 2-5 minutes)without engagingin any disruptivebehavior and can visuallyattend to the teacher'sface, nonverbal imitation training can begin. lt is important to note that eye contact may develop further after the child learns severalimitative behaviors. However, if the child frequently engagesin disruptive behaviors, such as self-stimulationor excessivetantrums, eye-to'eye contact should be establishedbefore teachingbegins.If the child is not looking at you, he probablywill not see your instruction, which means that you may have to continue suppressingtantrums and self-stimulationand continue to reward eye 6l

is contact as you are beginning to teach imitation. You may find yourself working hard while the child stop just sittingth"rn, rolling his eyes, smiling, flapping his hands, drifting off, or whatever. You should and that you will not put up with the whinthose behaviors.Let the child know that you mean business his ing, crying, fussing, tantrums, self-stimulation,or any other distractingactions that interfere with learning, You will no doubt find that your child will come to respect you as you acquire more control over him. A record of the child's progress should be kept during the training. You, or an attentive you are trying to observer,should record the child's progressby indicatingthe hial number, the behavior a prompt' required or incorrectly teach the child to imitate, and whether the child respondedcorrectlyor and Another method of recording would be having an "impartial" observer watch you and the child be should child prompts. The your of use then give you feedbackon your teachingmethods,such as is improvimitatingbehaviorin some way after t hour. By that time you should know whetherthe child You then skills' your teaching ing or standingstill.If he is standingstill, you probablyneed to improve and have to go back and examine aspectsof your teaching method, such as your use of rewards change or strict, more you may have to become prompts, and the level of the child'sself-stimulation; your method of teachingin some other way. we start the imitation training by teaching the easiestbehaviors first, such as Arm ralsing' GROSS MOTOR IMTTATION Arm Rcising S t e p 1 : The child is seatedopposite you with hands in lap and is attending to your face. raising Step 2: Ihe stimulus.Loudly pre5pplthe verbalcommand, "Do this," while simultaneously your actions, imitating by respond not your arms suaghr up over your head, lf the child does you must prompt him so that he respondscorrectly. Step 3: The promg. Repearthe verbal command, "Do this," while raisingyour arms as in Step 2. After raising your arnrs. hold the child's forearms and raise his arms over his head and hold stand behind the child and prompt them there for a second. Or, you may have an assistant him (raisehls arms for him). Also, verbal commands, such as "Raise arms," can be used as prompts for some children. When the child responds correctly, reward him with praise for good arm raising. or give him a bite of food. Try to reward the child whlle he stillhas his arms

S t e p4 :

raised. Fodingthe prompt.lf the child does not respondon the next trial by raisinghis arms directly over his head wirhout the prompt describedin Step 3, you should prompt him for several rials and then lessen.or fade, the prompt slightlyover the next several(say 10) hials. For example. 5,3y."p11this," and then lift the child's arms up so that they are parallel and directly over his head and then let go of them, afterwhich you immediatelypositionyour arms over reward your head. lf the child keepshis arms up on his own for even a second,immediately 3' in Step prompt described him. If he does not keep them up, go back to usingthe Step 5: lf the child respondsappropnately on severalconsecutivetrials with the prompt describedin Step 4, you must fade the prompt evenfurtherin order to arriveat your goal' Give the verbal command. "Do this," and then take hold of the child'sforearmsand gentlypull his arms upward (don't hold on very long) as you raiseyour arms over your head. If the chtldkeepshis arms up over his head in imitation of you for even a brief period, reward his actions. If he in Step 4. doesn'trespond appropriately,go back to the prompt described

62

Imitction, Mcrtching, clnd Ecrly Lcngucge

the childto respondconectly,you in Step5 may enable Step 6: Eventhoughthe prompt described takinghold of the child'shandsand of actually mustfadethis prompt evenfurther.Instead with yourfingertips pulling themup asin Step5, simplypushhisarmsup in therightdirection his armsin imitationof you, your armsover your head.If the childraises as you are raising and hy usingno prompt at all on the next hial. rewardhim immediately fadethe hial, you shouldgradually on eachsuccessive correctly the childresponds Assuming to fade Remember you withoutany promptingwhatsoever. imitates prompt untilthe child eventually tials at a given level of on severalconsecutive the prompt slowly.The child should be successful you when If the childdoesnot respondby imitating promptingbefore the promptis fadedor reduced. or "obvious"prompt;that you usea reduced or morefadedprompt, go backa stepto a more effective conectly.However,be surethat a rethe childto respond is, usea promptthat you know witl enable promptwould not do justaswell.Manytimesthe childwill not needsuchovertor exducedor weaker at hand.One to the situation prompts asyou mightthink. He simplymaynot bepayingattention tensive you wantthemto possible what of as as little will do is that they of manychildren commoncharacteristic with your childasyou go besternandmatter-of-fact do, if theyfeeltheycangetawaywith it. Therefore, You shouldmove to the next stepwhen the child can respondconectlywithout throughthesesteps. correctly whenhe responds dsto criterion trials.The childrespon consecutive on several anyprompting trials. on 9 out of 10, or 18 out of 20, consecutive so that your from the firstbehavior you want to teachshouldbe different The next behavior from "Raisit is quitedifferent tell them apart.We teach"Touchingnose"nextbecause childcaneasily ing arms."
Touching Nose Step 1: The child is seatedoppositeyou and is visuallyattendingto your face. raisingone of your hands and touching Say, "Do this," while simultaneously Step 2: The stimulus. your nose with one forefinger. Step 3: The prompt If the child does not respond by touching his nose, or if he makesthe mistakeof of promptingprocedures,depending "raisingarms" (whichis likely),you must begina series give the on how the child responds.For example,if he makesno responseat all, you must nose his touch hands, takeone of the child's verbalcommand, "Do this," and simultaneously your other with a finger, and hold it there, while also touching your nose with a finger on hand. Immediatelypraisethe child for "good touching." If the child respondsby raisinghis arms, you must say "No" loudly and distinctly, saying sinceit is clear that child is not yet able to pay closeattentionto what is going on. After ,,No" do not look at the child for 5 seconds,and then beginthe next hial. Say, "Do this" and prompt him as indicated in this step. able to imitate Step 4: Fadingthe prompt. You should slowly fade all prompts so that the child will be the prompt using after your touching your nose without any prompting at all. For example, guide the child's describedin Step 2 for sevetalhials, fade this prompt so that you merely his nosefor even on hand his keeps hand to his noseand then let go beforehe touchesit. If he it there, use the a second,praisehim profuselyfor his "good touching." If he does not keep prompt prompt describedin Step 2. Oncethe child has responded correctly with this faded level of this at tr'y fading it even further for a few consecutivetrials. After a few successes of his lap piompting, try fading further. For example,you may just pull the child'shand out Imitcrtion ol SimPle Actions

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83

and his nose,praisehim accordingly of his head.If he touches and in the generaldirection you nose' his If he then failsto touch fadethe prlmpt evenfurther,or try no promptat all' fadedprompt' mustgo backa stepand usea "more obvious"and less Introducing RcrndomRotcrtion hialsor on 18 on 9 out of 10 consecutive correctly Whenthe childcan respondto criterion(respJnds and nosetouchingthusfar-arm raising learned trials)with the two responses out of 20 consecutive randomly trialsof thesetwo responses beginmixinghials. It is exhemelyimportantthat you intermix then touching, nose then (e.g.,arm raising, usedto a givensequence the childmay become because to imitatebehavior' then nosetouching,etc.) and may not reallybe learning arm raising, learning"in the is called"discrimination theseprograms pro."rrlhat underlies The teaching (A) thatif a response it says one. Essentially, process and a verypowerfur It is a basic literature. technical X willcause (Y), thensituation situation in another (X) and not rewarded in one situation is rewarded A to occur)'The imporfor response X will "cue" or "set" the occasion A to occur (situation response cue the corrector desired to discriminate in helpingthe student tanceof randomrotationprocedures problems, somecommonteaching by presenting canbe bestillustrated and correctly arms,"and the childbehaves to "Raise the child. asks problem 1. supposethe teacher to retimesand the childcontinues several thisinstruction repeats If the teacher is rewarded. is' to that perseverate' is to spond conectly,all the child may be learningin that situation that a particular ln otherwords,he is learning earlier. that wasrewarded repeatthe response learnto raise not He may that response' is a cuefor him to repeat whenrewarded, response, or "san Francisco," by saying arms."Thiscanbe tested cue,"Raise hisarmsto the teacher,s child the If yourself to givethe inshuctions' or by justreadying makeany otherverbalizations, whatyou intended-to not he hasobviously learned conditions, his armsunderthese raises arms'" to the cue,"Raise respond is so that every secondinstruction betweentwo instructions, alternates teacher the If Problem 2.

' the nOSe"'andSOOn) "Raisearms," "TOUCh nOSe," (e.g., "RaiSe afms," "TOUCh identiCal alternatebetween two responses'That is' he is child may simply be learning to systematically one trial, then that is the cue for learningthat, if one response(raisearms) was rewardedon He may be learning a particular him to try the other response (touch nose) on the next trial' this by givinghim is nof learningto imitateyour action.You could test orderor sequence;he ,,Touchnose." If you then stay with the fixed alternating order of inone instruction,such as correctly' If you place s'uctions, he should get the first, and then all remaining commands' that is' he in random rotation, he would fall back to chance responding, your instructions would achieve50% conect, respondsincorproblem 3. Supposethe teachergivesone instruction("Raisearms") and the child repeatsher innow If the teacher rectly (toucheshis nose, for example)and is not rewarded. correctlyand now is rewarded'what the child ("Raisearms") and the child responds structlons is not rewarded' Withholdingof response if a particular may be leaming is to switchresponss solve a cue f or him to changebehavior'The studenthiesto the rewardby the teacherbecomes gets a reward' he not but basedon whetheror to the instructions, the problemnot by attending the child getsthe (gradually) withhold rewardsunless one way to reducesucha problemis to rightanswerontheflrsttry.withoutfirstself-conecting. response' problem 4. suppose the teacher"guides" the child by looking to the place of the correct ..Raise looking at and arms,'' she says, for example,by looking abovethe child'shead when may not know that she is prohis nose when she says,"Touch nose," The teachermay or 6{ lmitation, Mctching, trnd Ecrly Langucgc

What may well happen in this situationis that the teacher'svisual viding such exha assistance. gazebecomes remain the main cue for the child'sresponding, whereasher verbalinstructions Many disabled nonfunctional. childrenhave problemsprocessing more than one cue simultaneously,and may learn visualcues more quickly than auditory cues. The purposeof inhoducingthesesampleproblems(many more could be added) of how one a child'slearningis to remind the teacherto carefullymonitor her steps.It is may inadvertently misdirect when the teachersuspects the child'slearnadvantage that it is her teachingthat underlies to everyone's learning,the more you realize ing problems,not the child's.The more you know about discrimination personslearn,perhapsas quicklyas anyone Developmentally how easyit is to teachmistakes. disabled learn what the teacher"intends"that they learn, but they may learn what else.They do not necessarily them for. she is reinforcing of the firsttwo actions on random ("chancy")presentations This is the reasonfor the emphasis (sometimes nosetouching).It may help you to write out a random order before arm raising,sometimes t o u c h n o s e ) , 2 , I , 2 , I , I , 2 , 2 , 1 , 2 , 2 , 1 , 2 , 1 . tl h fe y o u g i v e t h e c o m m a ns du sc ,h a s 1(armraise)( ,2 go on to teachthe are randomly mixed, child can respondto criterionwhen trialsof the two responses next behavior.If the child cannot respondcorrectlywhen the two actionsare randomly mixed, usethe below. random rotationproceduredescribed Step 1: Presentthe first action trained (raisearms) to the child while saying,"Do this." If the child The firstprompt should be the weakest does not imitateyou correctly,prompt the response. e (e.g.,perhapstappingthe child'shands).If thisprompt fails one usedin trainingthe respons on successive of the prompt should be increased to produce a correctresponse,the strength trialsuntil a correctresponseis produced. Once the child is respondingcorrectly,fade the cortrialsuntilthe child responds Present prompt in the samemanner as in the initialtraining. trials. rectly, with no prompt, for five consecutive (touch nose). Presenttrials until the child responds Reintroducethe second action trained trials. correctlywith no prompt, for five consecutive Alternate Steps 1 and 2 randomly until little or no prompting is needed the first time that an action is performed.

Step 2: Step 3:

rotation.Slightprompting may be necesin a randomized The two actionsnow are presented saryon the firstfew trials,lf slightpromptingdoesnot resultin correctresponding,repeatthe procedure until the child respondsto criterion.

Clcpping Hcnds you and attendingto your face' Step 1: The child is seatedfacing Step 2: The stimulus.Give the verbal command, "Do this," while simultaneouslyclapping your hands together severaltimes. Step 3; The prompfs. If the child does not respond appropriately (that is, makes no responseat all, you respondswith a behavioralreadylearned,or makesan otherwiseincorrectresponse), of hand the case In of promptsthat will ensureconect responding. must beginto use a series personsare presentto help the child with prompts. Seatyourself two when clapping,it is easy kneel or sit behind with the child as you have been doing, and have an assistant face-to-face clappingyour hands, have the assisthe child. As you say, "Do this," while simultaneously tant graspthe child'sforearmsfrom behind and begin clappingthe child'shands in imitation Imitation ol Simple Actions 65

Step 3:

of you. Immediatelypraisethe child for "good clapping"and give him a bite of food, if you are usingfood as a reward for conect responding, fade the prompt slowly. For instance, Fadingthe prompt Have your assistant afteryou preclap the child'shands sent the verbal command and clap your hands, have your assistant twice, and if the child togetheronce or clapseven once more on his own, praisehim profusely. On successive tnals the prompt may be faded to only liftingthe child'shands into a position. On each trial. provide a prompt that will ensurecorrectresponding.If the clapping prompt that on any giventrial, go backto usinga stronger child failsto respondappropriately will enablethe child to respondconectly. Rememberto be surethat a weakerprompt would not do just as well. Be firm with your child and insist that he attendto you and the actionyou performor model for him. Ycriatjon fior Clapping lfands

promptingmethodif you have no other personaround to help in teaching your Here'san alternative you in hand clapping: child to imitate Step 1: See Step I of "ClappingHands," above. Step 2: As you say. "Do this," take the outsideof the child'shands in your own hands and actually clap his handsfor him. In thisway both of you will be clappingat the sametime. After several praisehim for "good clapping." hand claps.immediately Step 3: Fadingthe prompt Give the verbal command and take the child's hands and clap them while saying,"Do this." togtheronce or twice and then clap your own hands severaltimes lmmediately rewardthe child for "good clapping." You must continueto fade the prompts you have been giving. Insteadof actually clappingthe child'shandsfor him, give the verbalcommand and take the child'shandsand just place them togetherin a hand-clapping position. Immediatelyclap your hands several times. If the chitd respondsby clappinghis hands even once, reward him immediatelyand, prompt. If the child failsto clap his hands,go backto Step on the next hial, use an even lesser

2
Step 4: Give the verbalcommand and beginclappingyour hands. If the child does not imitateyou, usea prompt such as liftinghis handsoff hislap. Then continueclappingyour own handsand you must go back saying,"Do this," once or twice. If the child failsto respondappropriately, teachthe a stepand usea more obviousprompt. In thisway, you shouldbe ableto effectively your you without assistance. imitation to his hands in of child clap

When the child can respondto criterionby conectlyimitatingyou, startmixing trialswith the three behaviors learnedthus far-arm raising,nose touching, and hand clapping-using the random of the rotationprocedure.Rememberthat the child must correctlyimitate the random presentations that you haveinadto the particular order, or sequence, behaviors. Otherwise,he may startresponding you want imitated.Therefore,your taskis twofold if the vertentlydevelopedin choosingthe responses First,you must requirethe child to pay strictattenchild has problemsimitatingthesethree responses. your of theseresponses. tion to you. Second, you must monitor order of presentation from After the child can reliablyimitate all three responses,choose at least 10 new responses particularly difficult the list below and teach them to your child. If one of the first three responsesseems from the list anotherresponse c.hoose to teachyour child and the task is becomingtoo time-consuming, prompts. fading below as a substitute. Use your own ingenuityin developingand then 16 Imitation, Mctching, cnd Ecrly Lcngucge

Be Tcught Addttloncl Mcnual Imitatlon ResponsesTo

Tap nearbytable Stand up Touch tummy Touch elbow Stampfeet Throw kisses Wave "bye-bye" Put armsout to side Raiseone arm Touch knees Touchhead Touch teeth Pick up an objectfrom table Touch tongue Touch ears Touch shoulders Toucheyelid uP) Turn around(standing

Noticethatwedidnotgroupallthe"head"responses(touchh ead'mouth'eye'tongue) them out makesit easier Spreading child. the confuse would and simiiar too they would look because that look very behaviors the childhasto learnto distinguish for the childto tel them apart.Eventually, later' comes but that training "head" responses), (such asthe various similar

IMITATIoNoFFAcIAtExPREssIoNSANDGESTURES
that an importantproblemwith developmentally havetheorized and psychiatrists some psychologists re'" whether or not thisis the case of self or a "sense is thatthey lacka "body sense" children disabled The satisfaction' to everyone's and one that probablyneverwillbe answered mainsan open question is to makehim awareof and atand gestures the childto imitatefacialexpressions purpose of teaching in described The dritsand exercises and gestures. bodypostures, to hisown facialexpressions, tentive he as selfand behavior you and hisown physical canherpthe childbecome-or'" u*ur" of thissection andcomaremoresubtle in particular and gestures expressions Facial movesaboutin hisenvironment. theseuntilthe wsdo not begintraining Therefore section. taughtin the previous plexthanthebehaviors a numberof grossmotor imitations' .nita nut mastered one that is big enoughfor bothyou bestto startworkingin front of a mirror' Use It is probably and the childto seeeachother'

il::lil ot,t o,*roroulililug" infront step 1: sittogether "

Step 2:

sav,"Dothis," reflection. to vour attend

and then oPen Your mouth wide' his mouth' him' Say' "Do this"' and manuallyopen If the child does not imitateyou, fro.pt Praisehim,andonsuccessivetrialsfadeyourpromptsothathecanreliablyimitateyouopen-

step 3: Iflfiil::ilfflan

suy,;oo tf,ir," und then openyour mouth position, in a face-to-face in step 2'Fade thisprompt you, againuseaprompt suchasthe one described imitate readily you' so that the child can reliablyimitate any or allof you openingyouf mouth' try teaching Afteryou havetaughtthe childto imitate you iniront of the minor andthenin the usual belowby firsthavingthe childimitate listed the behaviors motor of the gross waythatyou taughttheimitation thesame behaviors the Teach situation. face-to_face the childto and {adepromptsthat will enable By thispoint, you shouldu" uul" to develop behaviors. eventuallyimitateyouwithoutprompting.Remembertopresentthetrialsrandomlyinordertoavoid of the child'sresponses' orderingor perseveration

him teaching begin ofthemirror, infront your mgrlth i-itateyouopenins wide' If he doesnot

s7
Imitation ol SimPle Actions

Addltionql Imitqtive Responses to be Tcught in Front of the Mirror snd then in the Usuql Fqce-io-Fqce Posltlon
Smile Smacklips Shakeheadno Puff up mouth with air Puckerup lips Brushteeth Stickout tongue
Frown Pout (lower lip out) Nod head yes Bite lip Roll head in circles Wink (closeone eye)

when it is response Remember eachnewlylearned that the childshouldbe ableto imitate you beginto teachnew responses. intermixed with previously learned responses before

MAKING PNOGNESS IN IMITATION TNAINING By recordingthe child'sprogress,you should find that each new responseis learnedmore easilythan by imitatingyou without any prompting the previousones,In fact, when the child can respondcorrectly you will havetaughtyour child an imitatiue set or tendency, is presented, the f rsttime a novel response which is exactlywhat we have been working toward! The amount of time that is requiredto teachthis imitative set, or what is also called generalized motor imitation, varies enormously from one child to another.Thus, some childrenneed more promptingand slowerfading of the prompts, whereasothers within I week 60 imitativebehaviors requirelittleor no prompting at all. Some childrenhave mastered haining, We are per day, and othershave required3 or 4 months of more intensive of 1-hour sessions in masteringbehaviors. uncertainabout the reasonsunderlyingtheselarge individualdifferences manual We recommendat least3 to 4 hours of traininga day when the child is only receiving probably you a miniprograms have are introduced, should Later, when additional imitationhaining. for you and your child if seuerolassistants mum of t hour of imitationhaining per day. It would be easier you have to shape the basic stepsfor the child to imitate,but then You now helped with the teaching. others could take over from there, at first merely maintainingwhat you have taught. Later, as theseasprocedures, they willbe ableto teachthe child new imitathe basicteaching sistants beginto understand tions. It is important that the imitationprogram be run by as many persons,in as many surroundings (e.g., house, car, park), as possiblein order to keep the child alert all day, to keep him learning.

CONCTUSION your child can learn and you should now extendit to lmitationis one of the most important behaviors severalpartsof his life.For example,you shouldnow be moving him out of the chairas much aspossible and teachinghim to imitate you in different locations,such as in different parts of the house, in the car, the training. or on a walk. If possible,have severalother personsteach him too. That is, generalize Use your imagination and expand teaching into other areas. If he has begun to imitate your rnovement and gestures,you may want to model dancing stepsfor him and teach him to dance. Imitation should be used as much as possiblewhen teaching the child taskssuch as brushing his hair (you sh65re him to imitate you when you brush your hair), brushinghisteeth, and making hisbed. You

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eachtime bereduced should buttheproblems newtaslts, problems wlthteaching some expect should before. not seen he has to something thatthe childpayattention b..auseeachnewtaskrequires program wejust imitation manual the of outgrowth 12isa direct in Chapter Theplayprogram your childsome to teach you maywantto goon to thatchapter atthispointsoyoucanbegin described. fun activities. free-time

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89

CHAPTER
MATCHING VISUAL STIMULI
Identit'yingthe similaritiesand differencesbetween objectsis one of the fundamental skills of learning that a child must acquirebelorehe can move to more advanced skills.For example, the child learnsthat some objectsgo togetherbecausethey look the same (e.g., same color or same size) or that objectsgo they have the sameuse (e.9., utentogetherbecause sils).A child must learnto utilizehis past experiences in detecting similaritiesbetween present objects or events in order to benefit his present learning situation and to transfer learning from one situation to another. Being able to detect similaritiesamong diverse situationscan help provide regularity and

"smoothness" in a child'sbehavior. betweeneventsis called matching-to' One way to help chitdrenlearn to detectsimilarities to match.Quitesimply,the childis handedan objectand is taughtto placethat obor learning sample, on a tablein front of him. For example, jectnextto the identical(or similar) objectin a groupof objects shoe,and not nextto the cup or the bookthat arealso he maybetaughtto placea shoenextto another presents a programon matching to put "like with like," or to match.Thischapter on the table.He learns thisprograma great enjoy useful.Mostchildren and extremely easyto teach,flexibte, that is relatively deal. form (asthree-dimensional in theirconcrete your childto matchelements You will beteaching to their . The childwill alsolearnto matchconcreteobjects form (aspictures) and in their abstract objects) (matching an objectto a picture).As you learn how to teach representations abstract conesponding child's to fill a particular new programs you will be in a positionto create procedures, thesematching to a a childto matchan object wouldinvolveteaching a programfor earlyreading For example, needs. written word denotingthat object.

7l

NECESSANY MATERIAI.S Selectsome objectsand pictures that are readily availablesimply by hunting through your house. It is suggested that you make use of itemswith which the child hasregularcontactso that what he is learning will be immediatelymeaningfulto him. For example,food items (suchas cookies,piecesof fruit, vegetables), toothbrushes, hair brushes,silverware, and smallarticles of clothing (suchas shoesand socks) are ideal to use in the early matchingtasks. Objectsthat exist in identical pairs, such as two brown shoes,trvo white glasses, or two metal spoons, are necessary for the early matching programs. Later programsrequire similarversionsof these various objects.Other programs require that the child match an object with a picture of that same object (which can be taken from a magazine)and then later match the object with a picture of a similar object. Magazinepicturesshould be mounted on index cards or thin piecesof cardboard so that they are easy for your child to handle. Additional materials are needed for teaching the child to match colors and shapes. Two squaresof each differentcolor to be matched are needed. Piecesof conshuction paper, at least3 inches by 3 inchesin size,can be usedfor thistask.Three-dimensional and two-dimensionalrepresentations of variousshapes,in differentcolors and sizes, are neededfor the shape-matching tasks.It is suggested that a set of wooden blocksbe used for the three-dimensional forms, and that the two-dimensional forms be made from construction paper.

MATCHINGIDENTICAT TTTREE.DTMENSIONAT OBIECTS

Begin by teachingyour child to match identicalthree-dimensionol objects.lnthe followingexplanation the letters A, B, and C represent thoseitemsthat are on the table;the letters A', B', and C' represent the corresponding items that you will hand to your child for him to match. One problemthat is likelyto occur in any stepof the matchingtasksis that of the child not looking at the itemson the tablebeforehim. As a result,he tendsto placethe item to be matchedon the table withoutlookingat the other items.Such a problemmay be partlyavoidedif you directyour child'sattention to the itemson the tablebeforeyou starteachtrial. For example,you can directyour child'sattention to the objects on the tableby tellinghim "Look here," whilepointingto each item individually,making sure, of course,that he follows your fingerprompt with his eyes. Or you can help him follow your finger as you draw a continuousimaginaryline behind the objects. The taskof directingand buildingthe child'sattentionis one of the most difficultproblemsany adult facesin teachingdevelopmentally retardedchildren.Even though the child is looking directlyat you want him to evaluate, the objects thereis absolutely no guarantee that he is "seeing"them. "Seeing" is not the same as "looking." Teachinga child to pay meaningfulattentionto the task (to "see" or to "hear") is a slow process. As we understand thisproblemright now, such attentionis built through"discrimination training."That is, afterthe child hasrespondedto the wrong object (and has lost out on the reward, or otherwisewas admonished)but at the sametime was rewardedfor respondingto the right oblect.then slowly his attentionshould be built. He will have to attendto the right objectin order to be reu'ardedand not admonished. Once you have this attention,the teaching of the behaviorper se smseasy. lf your child makes an incorrectresponse that he has acquiredknowlafter he demonstrates ed,ge of the step you are presentlyteachinghim, you may want to becomelouder and more firm in the 'e,wv rlral gou let him know that he is wrong. If your child has no consequences to suffer once he knows 7t Imitqtion, Mctching, cnd Ecrly Lcngucge

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for him to even care about the task; he may just as what he is supposedto do, it would seempointless wellbe playing gameswith you. So don't be afraidto let him know that you are upset when he responds At the sametime, should your child respond correctly, and particularlyif incorrectlyout of carelessness. he responds correctlywithout your prompting him, reinforcehim heavily.Rememberthat the contrast between"Good" and "No" should be substantial. Your child probablyshould not be attending to thistaskfor more than 15 minutesat a time. If he makes severalincorrect responseswithin a session,be sure to end the sessionafter he has made a by prompting him so you shouldhelp your child makea correctresponse If necessary, correctresponse. that the session can be terminatedafter he is correct.This has a twofold purpose: your child will have and he will alsolearn that he cannot be allowedto leave a session feelingsuccessful ended the session in some way. without having met your expectations As in all other programs,make sureyou have your child'satOne final note to get you started. is looking and listening to you beforeyou beginthe trial. Do not allow him to drift Make sure he tention. during any trial. If you do, it is very likelythat he will respondinconectlyand you will have been wasting your time and his time. Step l: Mctching Simple Obiects-Flrst Pqlr Choose the first pair of objectsthat you wish your child to match (hereafterreferredto as objectsA and or shape.For A . This need not be any particularobject,but it should not be too complexin its features A) on the tabledirectlyin front of example,beginwith a pair of yellow cups. Placeone yellowcup (object (object A') and hold it out in front of cup an identicalyellow your child and clearlyvisibleto him. Take your child, makingsurethat he looks at it. (You may need to point to the item while tellinghim, "Look ' " Your child should here.") While handingA (thecup) to your child, inshucthim, "Put samewith same. take cup A' and place it on top of or near cup A on the table. Some childrenwillhave difficultyknowing where to placethe objecton the table.One way to help sucha child is to place A on a sheetof 3 inch by 10 inch paper, or in a pie tin, and to reinforcethe child for placingA within that samearea.The pieceof paper (or the pie tin) helpshim definethe correct if the adult movesthe paper it alsohelpshim to look at where to placethe object(particularly response; to differentpositionson the table from one trialto the next). You want to avoid having him passively (without looking) placing the object on the table. Once he placesA conectly near A, heavilyreinforcehim. If you feel that your child needs more experiencewith this step, continue for 2Q or 30 trials.You must remember, however, that there is only one objectpresent,so your child may become bored. You are likely to have lost his attentionby the time you are ready to begin the next step. Since you are just beginning to teach your child to match, it is highly unlikely that the task will go this smoothly. It is possiblethat your child will have no idea of what you want him to do. If this is the case,you have to prompt his placementof A as you tell him, "Put samewith same." As soon as he has learnedto pick up A , you may fade the prompt by merely pointing to the area of the table besideobject A, that is, directinghim where to placeA'. Reinforcehim afterhe has placedA'on the table.Work on the placementof A' until he can place A' adequatelyon the table without prompts. Stcp 2: Mcrtchlng Simple Obiects-Second Pcrir Selectthe second object (B) you wish to teach your child to match. It should be as differentfrom the first object as possible.For example, do not choose a fork if the first object was a spoon, or do not choose a glassif you have hained him on a cup. If your first object (A) was a cup, choose a spoon' or a sock, for Mctchlng Vtsuql Stimuli

73

of the child, so that the the secondobject (B) . place A and B (the cup and the spoon) on the table in front from him. Next, hand the child B' (a spoon identicaltothe one on the table),and are equidistant objects tellhim, "Put same with same." (thatis, switchto If his placementis incorrect(he placesB' near A), do not let him self-correct and startthe trial the right responseafter he has made the wrong one). Merelysay, "No," rettieveB', problem with selfmain The to help the child respondconectly. over again,usinga prompt if necessary responseto correctionduring early haining is that the child may merely learn to switch from one in the early self-correct another,without reallylooking at anything.we find it helpfulnot to let the child each affects Self-conection in later learningmay be essential. hials. On the other hand, self-correction which procedures see to child in a different way. The best approach is to be flexibleand to try different approachbenefitsyour child the most. A), reward If your child has respondedconectly (placedB' on the tablenear B and not near A and B constantuntilyour child has of objects him. Continueto presentB' while keepingthe positions allow your child to met criterion.The reason{or leavingA and B on the tablein the samepositionis to positionprompt (you may usethe positionof the objectsas a prompt. All childrenmay not need such a do. be ableto rotate the position of A and B on the tablefrom the onset),but many you may do response' guiding the child's in prove effective If this position prompt does not A into place item some additionalprompting. such as isolatingitem B on the table and then fading your child with item B', and with besideit. To do this, place B closerto your child than to you. Present a positionbesideitem B' each new trial, graduallymove item A forward on the table until it assumes Repeatthe positioningprocessabove unti.lyour child has met your chosen criterion' Pregentcrlion step 3: D'tsrchtlg sirnple obiects-Rqndom from the child'smidline' Keep the positionof A and B shouldbe placedon rhe tableequidistant Objects A' and of objects A and B on the tableconstanrthroughoutthis step and randomizeyour presentation your Since etc. trials, 8,. For example,presntA'for two trials.then B'once, A'once, B'for three that in the firstfew trialsyou A' with A sinceStep 1, it is suggested child will not have matchedobtrcr you may want to refreshyour child'smemory by presentthis item alone. (At the startof a new session A' and iunning a few trialsfrom the srepjust completed beforeproceedingwith the next.) Hand objects until step , your child and reinforcehis conect responses this repeat as you have in the earliersteps; B to on the he has met criterion.You may need to do some prompting (by pointing to the correctobject was your child previous steps of Step 3. You must remember that in the two table) in the early staEes to match,he may now matchingonly one obiectat a rime. Although your child may know which objects positions' different be confusedby the fao that he has to deal with two objectsat once in two There are several wagn in which you may inadvertentlymislead your child in these early Firstof all, if obpct A is closerto your child than objectB, it is very likelythat he will matchobject stages. of whetheror not it is a correctmatch. Therefore,try to make oblea regardless A,or B' with the closest from your child'smidline,and seeto it that they are equallycloseto both itemson the tableequidistant his sideof the table. to If you have a tendencywith eachnew trialto changehandswhen you are givingthe objects toward one sideor anotherof your body, your child, or if you hold the arm you usesomewhatoff-center direct your child to the objecton one side of the table. For example,if you you might unintentionally give the object to your child with your left hand, you could inadvertentlybe directingyour child toward trial, it the objecton your left. Since your tendencyis to changehands as well as items with each new 74
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that you be consisis suggested for your childto followsucha lead.To avoidthis,it wouldseemlogical whenyou handyour trial;in addition, in every tentwiththehandyou usein givingyourchildthe objects childtheobjects,holdyourarmoutasclosetothemidlineaspossible. Makesureyouavoidmakingmanybodycuesorfacialgesturesduringthetrials.Itisveryeasy ihildren with suchbody cues.After you havehanded disabled guidedevelopmentally inadvertently to bodyto one sideor the other' Do not place your childan object,makesurethat you do not leanyour you handyourchildthe before object atthecorrect eitherelbowon the tableduringthe trial.Do not look apof matching'Do not smileor frown as your child object,and don't look while hL is in the process If your childis unsureof the task'it of matching' itemin the frocessing or incorrect thecorrect proaches information' to providehim with additional asthese is verylikelythat he may look at you for cuessuch ' himself until he hascommitted Witnfrotaany feedback the he hasso manychoices' one in the program'Because the mostdifficult step 3 is perhaps at thispoint' stepin matching He may learnthe basic childhasto learn,o*" ,Lln, in orderto succeed. thatA' goeson one sideof thetable havelearned and if he doeshe is overthe worst.or, he may simply prothefollowing cues)' (and to avoidposition on theother.To helphim do u"i"ul".ut.n and B, goes maYbe used. cedure Positlons Step {: Mctchlng Stmple Obiects-Rqndom from your child'smidline'with placeobjects A and B on the tableso that they are aboutequidistant (A'and B') you presentto your child' as in the oblects the (interchange) randomize trial new each (A and B) on the table'That is' some' thepositionof the objects step.In addition,randomize previous ' criterion meets left.continuewiththe hialsuntilthechild the on sometimes side, right the on is A times Pqlrg Step 5: Matching Simplc Obtects-Ttuec it with a new object(c)' Makec different andreplace A or objectB from the-table eitherobject Remove steps 2 a cup and a spoon' let C be.a sock' Repeat from A and B. For example,it you have used object willreplace you huu" refton the table.(rnstep 2, objectc through4 usingc andthe otherobject by items steps3 and 4 usingallthree B, and repeat object reintroduce 4, step you complete When B.) theorder whilerandomizing on the table(A' B' andC) constant of allthreeobjects thepositions keeping of positions the C') ' andby randomizing to your child(A', B you hand objects the of presentation of ":' theobjectsonthetableaswellastheobjectsthatyouhandtoyourchild. or More Palrs Step 6: Mctchtng SLmple Obfecis-Fout Steps2 that you diJ objectC, that is, by repeating rirn"*uy (D), tn" in object fourth a lnboduce through4withobjectDandoneof.theotherobiectswithwhichyourchildhasalreadymetcriterion. and repeatsteps3 and 4 objects for step 4, reintrodu." on" of tt e otier'two when criterionis achieved and repeatsteps3 and 4 with four objects' object the remaining Finally,reintroduce with threeobjects. steps2 new.ii""i into the task'Simplyrepeat to introduce you cancontinue when thisis completed, with whichyour childhasalready on" of the oblects irh"l;i;;und you are object the through4 with reintroduced' A u''tif all of the old objectshave been met criterion;then repeatSteps3 una or that aftera while objects' with too many confused becomes child your that find may You to your child to teachnew objects you may continue you run out of ,p*" on the iable.If this happens of the old itemswhen simplyby not reintoducingas many task the in items of number the and reduce time' are optimalon the tableat any one four or five objects you repeatstepsland 4. Perhaps 75
Mctchtng Ylsucl Stlmull

Table 9-1 representsthe first 5 stepsof the haining sequencein outline form to help facilitate their progiession. Once the child has learned to match a dozen objects,the difficult part of your task is completed, and it's going to be relativelyenjoyablefor you to designnew matchingprograms. Many children enjoy the matching programs and their motivation often improves. The basic matching procedure can be used for a number of new tasks.

TWO.DIMENSIONAT ITEMS(PICTURES) MATCHINGIDENTICAT

You may find it easierto teach your child to match two-dimensional objectsif they correspond to the items he has just learned.For example,if you taught your child to match identical three-dimensional cups or spoons, you may want to teach him to match identicalpicturesof those cups and spoons. Teachingyour child to match picturescan proceedin the same manner as we have outlined When matchingpictures,have your child objects. aboveon teachingmatchingwith three-dimensional place the picture he is holding on top of the one on the tableto be matched. on index cardsor thin piecesof cardboardso that You should mount picturesfrom magazines they are sturdierfor your child to handle. There are severalfactorsinherent in the picturesthat may You may want to cover, or if you have found the picturesin magazines. cau5eproblems,particularly he bordersmay hinderthe child in matchingbecause remove,the borderon the picture.In many cases, pictures you as picture to cut the itself . Similarly, should hy out may attendto the border insteadof the uniformlyas possible becauseyour child may attendto the shapeof the picture (e.g., circleor square) and not to the picture itself. You may find that some picturesare oriented verticallyand that others are oriented horizontally. Picturesof different orientationsshould not be used until the child is more proficient in matching. At that time you may want to reinhoduce other distacting featuresas well (borders,differentsizes or shapes),sincethe child very likely has learnedto attendto the relevantfeaturesby this time.

Tqble 9-1. Outline oI mctching steps

Object Matching step
'1. zi

Given to child
n
A I

On table
n

First pair Second pair Random presentation

B' A'andB' A'andB' intermixed A" B" a n dC ' intermixed

A ,

Random position Three pairs

AandB positionfixed AandB positionfixed AandB positionintermixed A, B, and C positionintermixed

78
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I'I,ATCHING THREEDIMENSIONAL OBIECTS WITH IDENTICII TWO.DIMENSIONAT NEPNESENTATIONS on thetableand for thistask.placethetwo-dimensionalpicture pairsof objects areneeded pictures an.d so that he can placethe threethree-dimensional-objects hand your child one of the corresponding In addition,the commandfor thistaskis objecton top of itstwo-di.",isionul counterpart. dimensional "Put (object)w'ith(obje't)," e'g', "Put shoewith shoe'" the threebetween discriminate visually At the onsetof thistask,your childshouldbe ableto ableto been have he would never otherwise counterpart; item and its two-dimensional dimensional item a three-dimensional between tasks.Granted,makingthe connection the two previous complete noryoung very to to your child;it is confusing may be confusing counterpart and itstwo-dimensional in the educais basic representations to theirsymbolic objects asweu.However,matching mal children wayas proceed in the same withthetraining taskfor thechildto learn. and is an important tionalprocess training' in earliermatching-to-sample MATCHING OBIECTSIN CIASSES obbut not identical, to matchsimilar, of rearning concepts In thistaskyou will teachyour childthe basic shoes of kinds thatdifferent concept simple you -uy wantto teachhim therelatively jects.Forexample, to teach want you may Later appearance' go together,even though they are not identicalin their as that are more variedin sizeand shape' such that is, objects matchingof more complexobjects, foods,and animals' clothes, among differonly slightly whosemembers groupsof objects you needto introduce Essentially shoes'you will needto teach matchidenticalbrown eachother.For example,if your child learied to yourchild the object shoe'Place red shoe,or a striped him to matchthe brownshoewith a blackshoe,a and proceedasin earlier crasses, of different to matchon the tablealongwith objects learned originally of version hand him a different training.With eachn",",itiulinvolvingthat object, matching-to-sample theobject.Gradually..stretch,,theconceptsyouteachtoincludemanyheterogeneousmembersformset' ing one homogeneous IIATCHINGGENERALIZEDTWo.DIMENSIoNAI.oBIECTS two differfor thistask'Place areneeded in crasses objects you usedin matching pictures of the objects with matched to be on tte table,andthengivethe childa picture concepts) (of two different entpictures of a spoonand a exampl",lou may placepictures For before. as reinforce and prompt one of them; suchasof from one orthe otherclass, ob]ect prciure of a similar brownshoeon thetable;thengiveni. u a fork, or a red shoeand tell him to match' IIATCHING GENERAI.IZED TI{NEE-DIMENSIONAI'

oBIEcTsToGENERALIzToTwo.DIMENSIoNAIREPBESENTATIoNS
neededfor this task' used in the two previoustasksare All of the objectsand picturesof the objects and place objects of two-dimensional from a differentclass it"on" and class one from item one select
Mctchlng Vlsuql Sttmult

thesetwo itemson the table. Hand your child a three-dimensional objectbelongingto one of the classes represented by one of the itemson the tableand askhim to match.With eachnew hial, hand your child a different three-dimensionalobject belonging to a classrepresentedby one of the items on the table, and have him matchit to the appropriate picture.In practice, this may work asfollows:placea pictureof a shoe (e.g., a lady'sshoe) and a pictureof a spoon on the tablein front of the child. Now hand him a brown shoe, and ask him for the appropriateplacement.Reward as before. Then rotate the pictures, and give the child a knife, then a fork, then anothershoe, and so on. He is learningto identifyclasses of (two-dimensional) different objectsand to match these against symbolic representations of those objects. Be awarethat learningto match membersinto setsthat are definedby a common functionis difficultand may require some prior conceptual(language) skill. Therefore,very advancedmatching may have to await prior languagelearning,which we will introducein Units V and VL

},I.ATCHING COLORS
in a Sincecolor itselfis not an object,you will only be ableto teachyour child to match colorspresented form. As discussed earlier,you will need two or more identicalcolored squaresfor two-dimensional each color you introduce.Follow the same stepsusedfor teachingmatchingof objects.Sinceit is less among colorsthan picturesor objects,and sinceyour child will already difficultto visuallydiscriminate have a good idea of what matchingis all about by the time thistaskis introduced,he should learnthese quickly. You should usethe instruction: "Put (color)with (colorl." The bestprocedure tasksreasonably is to keep a programin operationfor aboutthreeto four weeks(1 hour a day or more); if the child makes no progress, set the program asidefor a month or so, and then startover again. If he stilldoes not improve, you may begin to suspectsome underlyingproblem, such as color blindness, but this happens rarelv.

MATCHING SHAPES The samesequence for objectand picturematchingis usedfor teachingyour child to of stepsdescribed just match shapes.Sincethe child has completedcolor matching,there may be some confusionif the color of the item you hand to your child is the sameasthe color of anotheritem on the table.For example, if a yellowsquareand a greencircleare on the tableand you hand your child a yellowcircle,he may that you attendto the color, and not to the shape, of the item he matches.Therefore,it is suggested eliminate any confusion on tasks until your child has graspedthe idea of both tasks. One way to avoid matchingshapeson the basisof color is to use all blackforms. Later, when you introduce differentlycolored shapes,make sure that every shapepresentedis a differentcolor, or that all shapeson the tableare the samecolor. In eithercase,we recommendthat the item you hand to your child be a differentcolor from the conesponding item on the table, and that you hand your child a differently colored versionof that item with each new hial. In this way you teach your child to attend to the shape, and not to the color, of the items. The materialsfor this task may be obtainedby simply cutting different shapesfrom differently colored cardboard,conshuctionpaper, or plastic. 7t Imitcrtlon, Mcrtching, cnd Ecnly Lcngucrge

shapes by introducing shapes Lateryou may want to teachyour child to matchgeneralized (a a square' that differin size.For example,placea large(l2-inch) cardwith variousshapes hiangle, (2-inch of shape across) in frontof thechild.Now handhim a cardwitha small on thetable anda circle) suchas a hiangleand ask him to match. This procedurecan then be canied out for other shapes, or circles. squares

OTHEN PROGNAMS proceone canbeginto teachby usingthe matching no end to the kindsof concepts Thereis virtually you For example' device. powerfulteaching is an exhemely Matching in thischapter. duresoutlined different expressing and to matchpictures can useit to teachthe childto identifygroupsof behaviors, you canteach Similarly' or driving)' (likeeating, sleeping, or activities (happy sadfaces) versus feelings (like witha picture Mom) name a printed the childto matcha cardcontaining by teaching ieading, early the childto by teaching Or, you can teachnumbers, pictures of Dad or sibling). of his Mom (versus a group of dots (lateruseobjects) numeralwith a cardcontaining a particular matcha carddisplaying considthusrequiring canbemadeverysubtle, matchings The various quantity. equaltothenumerical favorvery been has with matching on the partof the child.Our experience inteltectualbehaviors erable programs' able,and it is a programthat can be kept goingthroughalmostall of the other its taskacquires matching The learnto enjoymatching. manychildren perhaps, surprisingly, You for the children' eventsis rewarding between of similorify own rewardvaluesincl the detection (Chapter 10), wheresome drills with the verbalimitation that the samethingshappens may observe nonfun of it, or with teaching your voicefor the sheer matching apparently echolalic, become children who teachhim' likethe adults to enjoyacting (Chapter Sl. ine childbegins verbalimitation

Mctchlng Visuql Stimuli

79

CHAPTER
FOTLO$TING

10

VERBAT INSTRUCTIONS

This program is designed to teach your child to some of what is saidto him. Specifically, understand this program will teach your child to respond correctly to simple instructions or requests, such as "Stand up," "Give me a hug," or "Raiseyour arms." This is known as training in "receptive language" becausethe child is taught to "receive" your verbal messageand to act appropriately in responseto that

message. This program on early receptive language shouldbe taught afterthe child has acquiredthe imitation responsestaught in Chapter 7. Remember, your child has made a start in receptive speech by to such commandsas "Sit down," "Hands quiet," and "Look at me." The programis easy responding true to teach. It will help both you and your child and he willbe easierto manage.This is particularly "Don't later," or it "Wait, we'll do as, you meaning such teach him the of statements begin to when touch the stove, it will burn you." Some parents and teachers will say, "Well, he already knows and understandsthese early commands,so I can skip this step and go on to more advancedwork." What they mean is that some' he saysamazingthings, or sometimeshe looks as if he timesthe child will do what they want, sometimes knows what is being said. That's good: the child showspotential. However, it isn't very helpfulfor either of you for your child to be so unpredictable.Therefore, our advice to you is to teach the early stepsin this program carefully and to establishcontrol, which means that you conhol these early behaviorsso that he does what you want him to do, when you ask him to. Obtaining good and reliableconhol in the early stagesof the program builds a solid basisfor later learning. You do not want your child to exhibit tantrums or self-stimulation,but rather good sitting on chair, good eye-to-face contact with hands down, andrelioble (predictable)responses(obedience)to early instructions ("Stand up," "Sit down," "Raise arms"). If you cannot control your child now, you probably will not be able to later becausethe programswillsoon become more difficult to teach. On the other hand, you willbe pleasedand surprised how much more relaxed and content the child willseem once he knows you are in the driver'sseat,once he knows what is expectedand understandsthat he can't get away with all the nonsenseand crazybe8l

Followlng Verbcl Instructions

havior,and oncehe is in a learning situation wherehe canbe a successful for a change. Do not student be impatient andjump ahead;it is important first.It is asnecessary to buildthe basics hereasit is in any A childcan'tdo the advanced work if he doesn't otherlifeventure. havethe fundamentals down.

EANLY RECEPTIVETANGUAGE For all of these and your childseated in chairs facingeachother,about2feet sessions, haveyourself apan.
Armg" the instuction, "Raisearms." Say it Step 1: The stimulus.Begin teachingyour child by presenting up that he is sitting loudly, slowly,and clearly.Make surethat the child is not self-stimulating, command, in the chair, and that he is lookingat you. Do not give him a complicated straight contains such as, "John, listento me, now I want you to raiseyour arms." Such a statement (discrimito words (noise),and will preventyour child from attending too many unnecessary nating)the criticalor releuantpart of your instruction,which is simply "Raise arms." Make If your child betweenyour instructions. sure there is a distinctpause (threeto five seconds) respondsto criterion (responds conectlyto 9 out of 10, or 18 out of.20, hials),go on to the next behavior.If your child does not respondcorrectly,go on to Steps 2 and 3. Step 2: prompt. Sincethe child has alreadylearnedto imitatethe actionof raisingarms, The uisuol as a prompt for the child to followingthe instruction you shouldraiseyour arms immediately you the imitation,or can eitherreestablish do likewise.If the child failsto imitatethis action, make him keep the response; prompt the child. Have the child exaggerate you can physically you reward him. This should help him know (dishis arms raisedlor 2 or 3 secondsbefore criminate)why he is being reinforced. fade your prompt by performing less Fading the uisualprompt. Gradually and systematically and less of the visual prompt following presentationof the instruction"Raise arms." For example, after the child respondsconectly for five consecutivetrials, raiseyour arms so that your hands are only as high as your head. The child must still raise his arms straightup in the air to receivethe reward.With eachtialgradually reducethe prompt, that is, raiseyour arms so that your hands are at shoulderlevel,then at chestlevel, and then at waistlevel,until you provide no visualprompt at all. Sometimesit can be very expedient and helpful to see if the child can respond to the instruction without your having to go through allthe fading. This can be determined by withholding the prompt for a hiat or two. These are called probe triols. They "probe" to see if the child has already learnedthe response.Some children learn very quickly, so you can skip all or some of the fading, If the child cannot perform the instruction,go back to usingthe prompt and then fade it. In all cases,the child must raisehis arms sbaightup in the air and should be required to hold them there for 2 or 3 secondsbefore receiving a reward. It is important that the child learnsto raisehis arms when you tell him to. If you let him raisehis arms "at will" during this earty learning he willprobably not learn to listento you. Therefore, if he raises his arms at other flmes, say "No!" loudly and stop him. When the child can raisehis arms on command to criterion, begin teachingthe next behavior. '?sise

Step 3:

82

Imitctlon, Mcrtching, cnd Ecnly Lcngucge

"Touch Note" Step 1: The stimulus. Present the instuction,"Touchnose.""Touchnose"is an appropriate second pick stimulus because it sounds andlooksdifferent than"Raise arms."You shouldnot a stimulusthat is similarto the othersduringthe earlylearning you wantto maximize the because child's success. Forexample, "Armsout,"maybetoo muchlike,"Raise arms,"andmayconfusethe childduringthe earlystages. It becomes in laterlearning that the commands critical possible, be similarin orderto buildthe child'sattention detail as much as but it is justtoo to difficult in the beginning. If the childresponds to "Touch nose"teachthe nextbeto criterion go havior.lf he cannotrespondconectly on to Steps2 and 3. prompt. Sincethe child has alreadylearnedto imitatethis action,you should Step 2: The uisual prompthisbehavior so thatthe by touchingyour noseimmediately following the inshuction promptthe childif he failsto imitateyour action.The child childwill do likewise. Physically you by touching when he imitates his nose.Makesurethat the child shouldbe rewarded keepshis finger(s) beforeprovidingthe reward. on his nosefor 2 or 3 seconds prompt. you, gradually andsystematically uisual Oncethechildisreadily imitating Step 3: Fadingthe response fadethe prompt. For example,afterthe childconectlyimitates the nose-touching your your fingertoward facebut hold it about 1 inch from for five consecutive trials,bring your nose,then2 inches, then 3. Next,gradually raiseyour handwith fingerpointedonlyto your your you at all.In all no visualprompt chin,then chest, until areproviding the levelof to holdit directly cases, the childmustplacehisfinger(s) on hisnoseandshouldbe required touch his noseon the child can hisreward. When before receiving therefor 2 or 3 seconds go on to randomrotation. to criterion, command Random Boictlon "Touch nose"and you now say"Raisearms,"the childwill probably teaching If you havejustfinished mean;he yetwhatthe different instructions The childreallydoesnot understand touchhisnoseinstead. you job now is to teachhim that the two instuctionsaredifferent; hears whatyou sayas"noise."Your Randomrotationis part of this process. him to discriminate. will be teaching ("Raise an in. If your childdoesnothingor performs arms")again thefirstinstruction Step 1: Present and prompt the correctresponse, say "No!" loudly;repeatthe instruction correctresponse, lf thispromptfails one usedin hainingthe response. The firstpromptshouldbe the weakest promptshouldbe usedon the nexttrial. Continue a stronger to producea correctresponse, conectly. trialsuntilthe childresponds the strength of the prompton succeeding to tncrease fade out the prompt again,as you did in the initial correctly, Once the child is-responding conectlywith no Continuehaininguntil the child hasresponded hainingof the response. to attend to is not due to a failure failure to respond promptfor fivetials. (Besureyourchild's past. willbecome he problems is wrong If he in the handled how he has the task.Remember again. or he may startto self-stimulate may reappear frustated.Someof the old aggression now.) Don't let him act like that the secondinshuction("Touch nose"). Prompt the child so he givesthe correct Step 2: Present preconectlywith no promptfor threetrials, to that instuction.Whenhe responds response ("Raise arms")again.Promptand repeatasbefore.Aftertwo correct sentthe firstinstruction instuction, and repeatas before.Once the child masters second tials, switchback to the easilyon the firsttry, go on to Step 3' thesetwo commands
Followlng Verbql Inslructlons

EI

Step 3:

It is important to make certain that the child knows the differencebetween these first two inshuctions before teaching the next one. Therefore give the child a seriesof tials presenting the two instructionsin a random order. For example, ask him to touch his nose two times, then raisehisarmsonce, then touch his noseonce,then raisehisarmsthreetimes,and so on. It is important to keep changingthe sequenceand the frequency of the inshuctionsso that the child cannot figure out a pattern and use this pattern rather than your instructionsas a basis for responding. For example, if you go regularlyfrom one instructionto the other he willlearn and won't really listento your instructions.Don't repeatthe same to alternatethose responses that is, to command too many times in a row, becauseyou may teach him to perseverate, repeat the same thing over and over. You want to be sure he is using your uords as a cue for his response.Continue to presenttrialsuntil the child respondsto criterion,

Muliiple Requests such as "Clap hands," "Sit down," "Stand up," and "Pat Now you may introduceadditionalrequests, can be found in the listof nonverbalimitationsin Chapter 7. Firstteachthe tummy"; other instructions instruction, and then intermix it with the first two instructions.Do this for about to the correct response so that the child getsa thorough drill. 10 inshuctions, you continue to presentnew requests,alwaystest to be sure that the child can stillrespond As to previouslylearned instructionsand to the new instructionwhen it is interspersedwith the others. Use to test the child'scomprehension. of the variousinstructions random presentations If you find that the child is having difficulty with one of the instructions,go back and work on that instructionto get a conect response.Presentonly that inshuction and prompt the correctresponseif necessary. Continue this retraininguntil the child respondsto criterion.Then return to randomly preto be sureit hasbeen initiallygivingmore trialsof the probleminstruction sentingall learnedinstructions, learned, Once the child can correctly master 5 to 10 instructions,you should keep him very busy by havinghim respondto the variouscommands.Give him a command every 5 secondsor so (that's12 commandsa minute), and take a 1-minutebreak every 10 minutes.Work with him in this way for at least t hour a day, ideally, 3 or 4 hours spacedapart during the day. "surprise" him occasionally, (in order throughoutthe day, with variouscommands.The point is to keep him busydoing usefulthings you, and to and other bizane mannerisms),to "tune his head" to listento to reduce his self-stimulation teach him to pay attention.Rememberto give your child lots of kisses,hugs, and other goodiesfor doing the right things (he could be kisseda dozentimes a minute this way, if he can take all that loving); or and don't forget the sometimes necessarysharp smack on the behind if he startsto self-stimulate doesn'tfollow your commands. Notice that this kind of exerciseis quite simple and can be canied out by relativelynaive and the training untrained assistants, such as older siblingsor high school students.Rememberto generalize while he is standingup, when he is in other partsof the house,and when he is so that the child responds outdoors.The child can be kept quite busy now, whereverhe is.

BEHAVIORS SOPHISTICATED PRE.TRAIMNG

behavior on the child's part than that The next group of inshuctionsrequiresslightlymore sophisticated r*eededfor the early inshuctions.For example, the child must be able to deal with objectsnot within his

l ir" ),1 1 i

Imitcrtlon, Matchlng, trnd Ecrly Longucge

:i;

l "!;,9, i,'#j,

reach.This"pre-haining" immediate isfor teaching the childto labelhisown actions and to beginlabelin hisenvironment. ing objects The procedures usedfor teaching these tasks aresimilar to thoseusedin the previous section.
"Get (Qbject)" (abook,aglass, Thestimulus. Placeanobject orabrush)onthetablewithineasyreachof the child. Choose an object that is easyfor the child to retrieve. Begin by presentingan instruction, suchas"Get bdok." If the child responds which may to criterion,try anotherinstruction, be "Get brush" or "Get glass" (seebelow). If not, prompt the conect response(Step 2). The prompt and fading the prompf. Presentthe instruction"Get book" while manually guidingthe child'shand to the book, havinghim hold it, and moving it toward you. Take the book and reinforcethe child. Placethe book back on the table, repeat the instructionand start fading the prompt; that is, give only as much physicalguidanceas is necessary to have him completethe response.Once the child respondsto criterion, gradually move the book farther and fartheraway from him on the table,and eventuallyask him to rehieve the book from a different part of the room or from a different room. Labeling objects.The next instructionafter "Get book" is masteredmay well be "Get brush" or "Get glass."You must be surethat the child is discriminating betweenobjectsand not just requirescorrectlabeling. choosingthe objectbecause it is on the table.The correctresponse First,it seems We have suggestions to help your child respondconectlyto your instructions. easierfor a child to identify an objectby associating it with a familiarfunctional behaviorrather than just pointing to it. For example, it is easierfor a child to identify a hair brush when he "Point to brush." Second, hearsthe inshuction,"Brush your hair" ratherthan the instruction it is easierfor the child to reach for a glassof milk when you say "Drink glassmilk," than when you say "Point to glass."Therefore,use instructions containingthe action (e.g., "Drink glass milk") to get the child to rehievethe object,and then slowlyfade the action ("drink"), ending which he then hands to you. up with just the name of the object (glass), gradually add new instruclntroducing new instrucfions.As the child's learning progresses, such as "Get toast"or "Get doll." Later you can givetwo tionsfor him to handlenew objects, inshuctionsfor two objectsat the sametime. Begin this part of the task with one objecton the child'sleft and one on his right. Graduallymove the objectsaway from him (6 feet, 12 feet, and eventuallyin another room) so that he has to move around and searchto get them for you. The more instructions the child has mastered,the busieryou can keep him. Now let's turn to a different kind of instruction, requiring slightly different haining steps.

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

Step 4:

,,,,your to responds chird ,"n,"tilil:,,,",ilffi:f,T:fifi:?fl:,:1T"J* stimutu, r: rhe step

promptthe correct correctly, If the childdoesnot respond teachanotherbehavior. criterion. (Step 2). response at the lightswitch' whileyou and the childare standing the instruction Step 2: Theprompt. Present hand,bringit (avoid the child's take delays), 1-second more than instruction the Afterstating the child the childin the motionof turningon the switch,Reinforce to the switch,and assist the in' and present seconds, Thenturn off the light,waitseveral for thispromptedresponse. inthe following For example, again.Promptthe childonly asmuchasnecessary. struction
Following Verbsl Instructions

85

struction,wait for a second or two to see if the child will reach for the switch before prompting this action. Once his hand is on the switch,whetherhe put it there or you prompted this action, wait a second to seeif he will operatethe switch unassisted before prompting this action. Step 3: Fadingthe prompt. Fadethe prompt by touchingor holdingthe child'shand more lightlyand by removing your hand from the child's hand before he pressesthe switch, then before he reachesthe switch, then when his hand is half-wayto the switch, and so on until he is canying out the motion unassisted. Rememberto allow the child to succeedat each level of prompting a few times beforereducingthe prompt further. Remember,do not let him turn on the light without your having instructed him first. You want him to learn to listen to you. Step 4: This step teachesthe child to respond to this instructionwhen he is not standingwithin reach of the light switch. Once he is respondingto criterion on the original task, move afew feet from the light switch and presentthe instruction. If the child failsto respond,prompt him by giving him a gentle push toward the switch. If he still fails to respond, move closer to the switch.When the child can crossthe room and turn off the lightto criterion,beginteaching a new behavior. You will find that some behaviorsmay be rewardingin themselves. For example, children who like to turn lightson and off may not need to receivean additionalreward for completingthe task. However, you must be surethat the child is responding to your instruction, and not rewardinghimself, when he turns on the lights.If he does so without beingasked,you must show your disapprovalso the child learnsthat he must attend to your instructionand not do as he pleases. Tecching Alfectioncrte Behcrvior You can usethe methodsdiscussed in thischapterto teachthe child affectionate behaviors, suchashugging, kissing, pattingyou on the head, or shokingyour cheek.Thereare many questions one can entertain about this way of training affection: "Can affection be trained in the first place?" "Won't it be 'shallow'?" "ls it right when affectionhas to be taught?""shouldn't it be spontaneous?"There is no really good answer to these questions, except that the training works. (ln fact, it is possible that normal childrenlearn affectionatebehaviorin the samemanner.) Children who have been taught to show affection are easierto work with, and if they are not taught affectionate behavior, they will never know whetheror not they like it, Also, it is importantto consider your needsand what you want, not just what the child wants. Children who show affectionare part of the reinforcement adultsneed when working with children.So, for the sakeof the child and your own "survival,"the child ought to be taughthow to show affectiontoward others.

MORE COMPTEX BEHAVIONS Yourchildcanbetaught to respond to manyotherinshuctions of a similar nature. Try to teach thechild behaviors thatwillbe useful to othermembers of thefamilyaswell,suchas"Close the door,""Turnoff the TV' and "Pick up the toys." As you teachnew behaviors, remember to reviewthe previously treamed behaviors, retraining any that may havebeenforgotten.Also remember to presenttheseinstructions off andon throughout the day,sothatthechildiskeptbusylistening to you, andacting appropriately. He hasto learnto bealertfor your instructions, sothatyou gradually breakthroughtheindifferenceand self-stjmulation. Keephim busy. tf
I il;' , ]li..Jt

Imitqtion, Mcrtching, crndEcrly Lcngucge

yourchildshouldknow how to followseveral in thischapter As you finishthebainingoutlined periods of time' andreducehisself(S-minute) sitstillforreasonable imitatemanyactionsl instructions, on the individualchild,For depends theseresults The lengthof ti." requiredto achieve stimulation. to tellwho is months.It is impossible it may takeonly a week;othersmayrequireseveral somechildren beforeyou startthe baining'We do know thatif the goingto movefastand who is goingto moveslowly programs' in subsequent .hilJ.ou., rapidlyin this learningprogramhe will moverapidly at thispoint. Your childwill startto look more b"n"Jii, willbeginaccruing unexpected Certain betterat night' because to sleep grownup, hiseyeswililook more alert.At the sametime, he willbegin The childprobsideeffects' otherdesirable he istiredfrom allthe hardwork of taining. Therearemany (allour childrendid), and he will be betterableto to you emotionally ablywill becomemore attached sothat he will look morejoyful frustation.He shouldstartto showmorevariedaffect, handleeveryday . In short,he will startto look moreand morelikean andsad(atfailures) or moreanxious (atsuccesses), child. average DIFFICUTTIES go wrong evenin the earlystepsof this program'Some As you will soonfind out, many thingscan asif "Raisearms,"acting to the command re-spond tt ey *itt-uurely For example, areveryrazy. children inadequately, If the childperforms that lind of behavior. their handsweremadeof lead. Don,taccept (like"Touchhead")' and he willend up confused' maybeginto look likesomeotheraction hisbehavior spankhim if you have to) when he per(yellat him and perhaps Let him know you are displeased formspoorlY. shouldexpect thatthe childmay now beginto tantrum'You Also,it is truein theseprograms t a n t r u m s a n d a n g e r w h e n y o u i n t r o d u c e nyou ewprogramsbeca u s e t h e c h i l d h a s b e eimnhandlingnew cannotgethim to stopthatkind of behavior years. several for way this in novelty and demands it willtake otherwise whenit appears; thebehavior you haveno choice butto try to eliminate mediately. over completeqild you are lettinghim self-stimulate theseprograms.because may be slow in learning you justget may comebackbecause deff-stimulution ,l attention little vou. paying is he and too much, t i r e d a n d d e p r e s s e d f r o m u s i n g a v e r s i v e s u n d b " i n g s o hin ardonthechild.That 's v ereryhuman.But will it the self-stimulation check,and eventually keep to easy increasingry it becomes remember, quirevery littleefforton your part' Ifyourchildseemstohaveahardtimelearningearlycommands'whichareveryeasyformost (your punishments wrong. Your rewards-and something children,checkand see if. you are doing of before'lt is one the thispossibility ,,Good,,s ahkl to him. we mentircned maybe sounding and,,No,,s) m o s t c o m m o n m i s t a k e s o n e m a k e s i n w o r k i n g w i t h t h e s emo'e deve l o p m e nyou t a l lare' ydis a bbetter' ledchildren.You the d'amatic sweet'Ham it up' The very act to hy or angry, oct to ty should loud and makehim smile'"No" shouldbefullof ,,Good,,should a'ndgoodness be full of softs*eetness apprehensive' angerand threatand shouldmakehim mildly you fadethe to the programyou are teaching'If ,pu"iii. may arisethat are Otherproblems raise willthus to imitateyou and the childmaycontinue andless, your armsless promptby raising visual by prompt or sr1!e the correctresponse physicolly happens, this If you do. as high as his armsonly Then let go of his handsand arestraight' armsup by hishanis untilhiselbows gentlypullingthe cf,ild,s his I{ he lowers seconds' for several armsup unassisted his hold to continued has he when rewardhim

n
Following Verbql Instructions

armswhen you let go, pull them up againand reinforce only afterseveral seconds of unassisted arm raising. Gradually andsystematically fadethisprompt by pulling morelightly on thechild's hands andby lettinggo of his handsearlierand earlier,for example, when his handsare at head level,then at shoulder level'Continue to reward onlyfor correct responses: raising thearmsstraight above thehead. You should alsobeon thelookout for thechild's tendency to "hookon theprompt."Children with developmental disabilities are often distracted, rather than helped, by extra stimuli such as prompts.For example,if you are inadvertently movingyour eyesin the direction of the desired response whenasking the childto geta particular object, thechildwill verylikelybeginattending to your (rather eyemovements than to whatyou say),and learnthe wrongcues.Try to makesureyou do not givehim suchextracues. The taskof teaching your childshould be enjoyable and rewarding for you; a lackof enthusiasm or discontent on yourpartdoesnot makefor thebestlearning environment. You musttakebreaks from the taskof teaching. Breaks areasnecessary for you astheyarefor the child;takecarenot to burn out. You couldarrange yourteaching schedule so thatfamilyandfriends areableto watch thechildrespondto your teaching. Also, because you work so closely with the child, you may not noticehis achievements as clearlyas those who observe.Feedback from observers is your reinforcement to continue.

Imltqtion, Mctchtng, cnd Ecrly Lcngucgo

,i

CHAPTER
VERBAL IMITATION

11

Imitcrtionof Sounds andWords

The program in this chapter is the most difficult one in the book, It outlinesthe firststepsin teachingyour him how to imitate child how to talk, that is, it teaches with soundsand words. Mostslow speech,beginning childrenfind it very difficultto learnto imitatespeech. It is easierfor them to learn to imitate actionsand gestures (Chapter8). It is wiseto startteachingthis program early and to devote a part of each day to verbal imitationtraining.The amount of time you put into verbal imitationhaining depends on how important you feel it is for the child to talk, relativeto the other skillshe needsto acquire.We spendabout half of the teachingtime on the languageprograms, which in meansthat we spend a greatdeal of time, upward of 4 hours a day, teachingthe child to the beginning you spendat leastt hour a on speechunless imitatespeech.You probablywillnot make much progress day on the training,preferablyone-halfhour in the morning, and one-halfhour in the afternoon,when the child is in his bestform. Ideallyyou shouldalsotry someimitationtrainingat differenttimesthroughout the day. It is wiseto mix the traininga bit so that the verbalimitationtrainingis mixed in with nonverbal trainingyou every3 to 5 minutesof verbalimitation commands,and so on. Perhaps imitation,receptive should present some trials of already mastered material from other areas. This helps reduce the monotony of the training. is a complexjob and we shallonly presentthe beginningstepsin thisbook. Teachinglanguage in this introductory program may want to consult a book we Those who experienceconsiderablesuccess on languagetraining, The Autistic Child, LanguageDeuelopment through Behauior wrote specifically Modificotion (Lovaas, 7977), that includes more complex taining for languageprograms. Bef.oreyoubegin to teach verbal imitation, you must be warned that not all children can learn to talk using the program we have outlined in this book. It is difficult to say beforehand which child will if he alreadyusescomplitearn,and which will not. If the child is lessthan 6 yearsold, and particularly quickly. the other hand, if your On probably learn will then he cated consonant-vowelcombinations, Verbcl Imitation 89

child is over 6 yearsold, and if he is not making some sounds or words involving "difficult" consonants (suchas k, g, p), but merelygivesan occasional vowel ("ooh," "ah"), then it has been our experience that he will progressvery slowly. Perhapsall children can learn some speech,but this may require such a hemendous expenditure of effioft that the verbal imitation program becomesrather impractical,considering all the other skillsa slow child must learn. If you work for 2 or 3 months on verbalimitation training and your child is not making much progress(cannotimitatefive or more succinctsounds),then you should considerminimizingor dropping the program. You may want to come back to it later. A child can learn to communicate effectivelywithout actually using his vocalcords; he can learn to "talk" with his hands.Chapter24, on manual signing,is for thosechildrenwho failto learn verbalimitation.If you find that your child is not learning to talk, spend time strengtheninghis abilitiesin other areas. The child who becomes proficientin verbalimitationdoes not simultaneously learnthe meaning of the sounds. He is merely learningto imitatewords. Unit V, "lntermediateLanguage,"contains programsfor teachingmeaning.If your child alreadyhas acquired someecholatic speech,it is stillimportant to have him undergo verbalimitationtrainingso that you get good conhol over his imitations. Finally, at the same time that you begin work on the languageprograms {which probably will never be completely masteredby the slow child), start teaching your child other skills. Becauseit will take some time to finish this program on verbal imitation, we usually introduce the child to our play program (Chapter 12) at this point. Also, we introduce some more practicalprograms before we teach more language. Therefore, Unit IV deals with basicskillsthe child needs to take better care of himself, such as eating and dressing,Programs for teaching more advanced language are found in Unit V. However, you should keep practicingthe verbal imitation program for part of each day, mixing this program with earlierprogramsand with the play program. Verbal imitation is a hard skillfor your child to learn, and he will need lots of practice. The program in this chapter is composed of five phases: 1) increasingvocalizations, 2) bringing vocalizations under temporal control, 3) imitation of sounds,4) imitation of syllables and words, and 5) imitationof volume, pitch, and speed of vocalizations.

PHASE I: INCREASING VOCATIZATIONS

A vocalization isanysoundmadewiththevocalcords, including grunts, "ah's,"and laughter, babbling, "ee's."The goal of thisphaseof the programis to increase the frequency of thesevocalizations. You wantyour childto learnthat verbalizing willbe rewarded with food and praise,and that he cancontrol the supplyof food, praise,and other rewards by makingsounds,so that he will not usehis abilityto just for self-stimulation. vocalize You and your childshouldbe seated faceto faceand aboutL to 2feetapart.Sincechildren typically "clam up" (stopvocalizing) whenthey areanxious, it is important that the situation now be asfriendlyand happyaspossible. Try to avoidusing too manyaversives for tanhums andself-stimulation quiet because thatwill him downtoo much.Any tanbums andself-stimulationshouldbe at manageable levels by now. Step 2: Say,"Talk," and immediately rewardeachvocalresponse with praise and food. You may repeat the insbuction every 5 to 10seconds. Try to establish a nice"flow" or "naturalpace" to your requests of "Talk." If you are doing it right, then your pleasant, happy manner,your timingof "Talk," and the natureof your rewards shouldhelp prompt vocalizations, which you canthenreward.
Imltqtlon, Mcrtchlng, cnd Early Longucgo
:,i !,,S[

Step l:

;ffi

caressprompthim with tickling, you mayphysically Step 3: If your childdoesnot makeanysounds, reinImmediately ing, or bodilyactivity(likejumping),which may inducehim to vocalize. that your child makes.If thistype of promptingfailsto produceany vocal forceany sounds to the programon "lmitationof FacialExpressions" you may want to backtrack response, (Chapter 8) and intermixthat trainingwith the promptsfor vocalizations. that eventhis earlystepwill be hardto learnfor almostall the children,Evenif a Remember proa lot, it willtakehim a longtimeto "catchon" to the notionthatvocalizing childis usedto vocalizing to you thathe shouldcatchon to thatquickly'butit willnot beobobvious on you. It seems duces effects by maybeconholled involved:1) hisearlyspeech theremaybetwo problems viousto him. Technically, (that confrol operant under to bring difficult andtherefore stimuli(thatis, it may be respondenf) eliciting hasbeena or 2l the earlyspeech behaviorl, his on given contingent is, underthe controlofrewards infeedback sensory the his rewardthrough that is, the child hasbeengetting form of self-stimulation, underthe conhol of your externalrewards, the behavior itself.Bringing volvedin the actof vocalizing time. then,takes roughly10 or morevocalizations you canconsider whenthe childmakes I mastered Phase whenit lookslikehe is mastered thephase In otherwords, timespans. 2-or 3-minute per minute,over from you by vocalizing' of food and otherreinforcers supply the ideathathe can controlthe is getting PHASEII: BRINGING VOCATIZATIONSUNDERTEMPORATCONTROT

afteryou say,"Talk'" In within3 seconds The goalof phaseII isto teachthe childto makea vocalization him Nowyou willteach by vocalizing. of rewards supply phase himthathe couldconholthe I youtaught to but only if he firstlisfens by vocalizing, He will gettheserewards a littlemorecomplicated. something (within than3 secless and,in a sense him how to listen, stepin teaching you uo.ulir".It is a beginning he willberewarded. onds), faceto faceand aboutL to 2 feet apart' step 1: You and your child shouldbe seated afteryour ,,Talk,"and reinforce withinabout3 seconds thatoccurs eachvocalresponse Ste; 2: Say, makesa vocal demandwith praiseand food. Thesetials shouldcontinueuntil the child trials' for 10 consecutive within about3 seconds to your instruction response 2 to about decreased be now should and hisresponse yourinstruction Step 3: The intervalbetween you say, after within2 seconds Thatis,yourchildmustnow makea vocalresponse seconds. "Talk." theintertrials, about10 consecutive intervalfor at a 2-second Step 4: Whenthechildhassucceeded within 1 secWhenthe childhasmadevocalresponses to 1 second. val is furtherdecreased trials,go on to for 10 consecutive the better) ond afterthe demandis stated(andthe sooner III. Phase the time intervalfollow,,spontaneous" that occuroutside (thatis, vocalizations vocalizations by noddingand saying,"Good talk'" to "Talk") shouldbe rewardedlessprofusely, ing your request thatoccurwithinthe timeinterval' (food,kisses) for vocalizations you shouldreserve the bigreinforcers at all duringthe earlytraining' vocalizations "spontaneous" Somepeople*uy pref"r-notto reinforce isbeingreinwhichbehavior the child'staskharder-he cannotdiscriminate makes it probably because is beingrehe that he may not learn forced.That is, if he is beingrewardedfor beingspontaneous' time' at a specific wardedfor vocalizing
gl

Verbcrl Imitqtion

The hainingis now becomingmore complicated-you have more options,and it is not always obviouswhich courseof actionis best.You are not the only personwho does not know exactlywhat to do- No one hasworked out allthe details yet; perhapsthat is why somechildrencatchon to the imitation program,and othersdo not. Sinceyou don't alwaysknow which programis best,try differentones.Try one approachconsistently for a few days and see how it works (collectdata on how well the child is doing); then switchto anotherapproach,and seeif the child improves.If you have a team workingwith you, have one or two personsteachone program, let the othershy a differentone, and then compare how the child is doing on the two programs.This method should not confusethe child unless eachperson tries something different from trial to trial. Experiment. Be prepared to make mistakes.There is no way to find out what method worksbestfor your child if you are unwillingto make mistakes. As far asthe child is concerned,he has to get usedto inconsistency and mistakes, sincethe world is full of them. It is betterif your child getshis first lessonsin inconsistency and mistakes from you becauseyou can besthelp him handlehisreactions to that. You haveto be consistent in collecting data so that you can decidewhat works best. Once you find the right program, you should be consistent with your training.

PHASE III: IMITATION OF SOUNDS

The goalof PhaseIII is to teachyour child to imitatespecific soundsthat he will laterusein sayingwords. Your child should initiallylearn to imitateabout 10 sounds,includingat leastthree consonants. A sample group of sounds is: a m ("ah") ("mm")

b o

("buh") ("oh")

f e

("ef") ("ee"\

d u

("duh") ("uh")

k ("kuh") t ("tuh")

The firstsoundsto be brought under imitativecontrolmay be soundsthat the child frequently emittedwhile you were increasing the amount of his vocalizations, or they may be soundsthat he made when you were establishing temporal control, or they may be "eaSy"sounds, like "ah," "mm," "oh." (Wait with s, k, g, l, and so on because they are more difficultsounds.) The First Sound The followingprocedurecan be usedin teachingyour child to make his firstsound in imitationof your sound. Step 1: Step 2: Step 3: You and your child should sit face to face about I to 2 feet apart. On eachtrial, say one sound, such as "ah." On the firstfive trials,any sound that the child makeswithin 3 seconds of your sound and that is even just a rough approximationof the sound you made, is rewarded. For example,in early training,if you are saying"ah," and he is giving you "eh," that is acceptable. For certainsounds,the child may fail to match, even roughly, the sound you make. In these cases, visualand/or manualpromptingshouldbe usedto produce a rough approximation of your vocalization. In the uisuol prompting procedure exaggerate the shape of your mouth when you say the sound. For instance,when saying"ah" you should open your mouth very wide. Reinforce your child for imitatingthe shapeof your mouth whetheror not he vocalizes. If necessary,open his mouth for him. When the child has successfully imitatedthe shapeof your mouth, then demand that the child imitatethe shapeof your mouth ond make a sound. The Imitqtion, Mcrtching,crndEcrly Lcngucge

Step 4:

tfi
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r"ii

ii.{i

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resultingvocalizationshould be at leasta rough approximation of the sound you made. The visualprompting procedureis continueduntil the child hasroughly approximated the sound you made for five consecutivetrials. In the manualpromptingprocedure,you hord the child'smouth in the appropriate shapewhile the child vocalizes. Thus, you can manuallyprompt the sound ,,mm,,byholding the child'slips togetherwhen he vocalizes. The prompt forcesthe child to produce at leasta rough approximationof your sound. A speechtherapistcan give you many suggestions on how to prompt difficultsounds,suchashying a mild gag to produceconsonants g or k, or depressing the child's tongue with a tongue depressor to get a good "ah." The full prompt is useduntil the child hasroughly matchedyour sound for five consecutive trials.The prompt is then gradually laded untilthe child hasroughly approximatedyour vocalization without any manual prompting for five consecutive trials. Step 5: After the child has roughly approximatedyour vocalization on five consecutive trials (using the procedurein Step 3 or Step 4), the child'sresponse is shopedto more closelymatchyoui vocalization. That is, on successive trials,you should reinforceresponses that more closely match your vocalizations. Specifically, on a giventrial you shouldreinforcea response only if it approximatesyour vocalization as closelyas, or more closely than, the last reinforced response.However, if your child failsto match your sound closelyenough to be reinforced for a number of trials, backtrack and reinforce a less accurate approximation to keep his "alive." If your child receives vocalization too littlepraisehe will lose interest in the imitation task. Step 6: The shoping of the child's responseis continued until the child can accuratelyimitatethe sound you make. When the child has correctlyimitatedthe first sound for 10 consecutive trials,imitationtraining of the secondsound can begin. The Second Sound The secondsound chosen for imitation haining should be quite differentfrom the first sound. For example, if "ah" was the first sound taught, "mm" would be an appropriatesecondsound. Steps 1 through 6, used in teachingthe firstsound, are the samestepsused for teaching the child to imitate the secondsound "mm." Step 2: After the child hascorrectlyimitatedthe secondsound, "mm," for 10 consecutive trials,reintroduce the first sound, "ah." Continue to presenttrialsuntil your child has respondedcorrectly for five consecutivetrials. Step 3: RepeatSteps 1 and2 until the child makes, at most, one error the first time you say each sound. Step 4: You should now begin random rotation with the two sounds, for example: "ah," "mm," "ah," "mm," "mm," "ah,t' "ah,tt"ah," "mm," "ah." If thg child losgs ong of thg sounds during this step, go back and rebuildit, then place the two soundsback into random rotation. Continue to present trials in random rotation until the child has imitated you conectly to criterion.Your child is now ready to learn to imitatea third sound. Sounds 3 Through l0 Step 1: The procedurefor teachingthe remainingsoundsis the sameas that for teachingthe firsttwo sounds.
Verbcl Imiicriion

Step 1:

t0

Step 2: After each new sound is acquiredby the child, you shouldmix presentations of the new soundrandomlywith presentations (so of the sounds learned earlier asto keepthe old learning intact)until the child hasresponded correctly to criterion, Step 3: Whenyourchildcanimitate youshould sixto tensounds, begin the nextphase, building syllables and words.However,you shouldcontinue to teachyour childto imitate the remaining in the list. sounds Againbe aware,asyou areworkingon verbalimitations, whichis a hardjob bothfor you and the child,thatthe childmay "regress," you that is, startto tantrumand self-stimulate. If that is the case, haveto go backand settle him down. Thereis no sense in tryingto work with a childwho is squirming and paying no attention, at least not whenyou aredemanding difficult learning, asin verbalimitation. Yet, as we said,you haveto go easyon the aversives in this kind of training. Also,since the work is verytedious, consider "sprinkling in" various instructions thatthe child canfollowsuccessfully in orderto breakup the monotonyandto helphim retaina sense For of success. (such example, oncein a while(every 2 minutes or so)givethechilda nonverbal imitation as, to imitate "Arms up," "Touchstomach," (such instruction as, "Standup" or or "Touchnose")or somesimple "Patthe table").

PHASE IV: IMITAflON OF WORDS

Word List up open pee pee eat go cookie water baby

mama papa bye bye down

tummy eye milk out

The words you chooseto teach should be composed of soundsthat the child can readily imitate. For instance "banana" should be chosen only if the child can imitate the sounds "ba" and "na." "Tickle" should be chosen only if the child can imitate the sounds "t" and "k." It's easierto start with words that have "like" sounds (homogeneous chains)like "mama" or "papa," or nearlylike sounds,like "cookie" chains) like "table" and "clock" or "baby." Words composed of very dissimilarsounds (heterogeneous should be presentedlater.

The Flrst Word (20-50) any approximaStep 1: For the firstfew trials, saya word,suchas"mama,"and reinforce in the word.Thus"ma," "mam," "ma-a,"or "muck"are tionsthatinclude the mainsounds of initialapproximation adequate initialapproximations of "mama"; "daga"is an adequate "doggie." Step 2: If the child makesan adequate initialapproximation to the word on the firstfew bials,you yourverbalshoulduseshoping approximate on the laterhialsto makethechildmoreclosely your your child'sresponse ization. That is, in a givenhial, reinforce only if it approximates word asclosely as, or moreclosely than,the lastreinforced response. Continuethe shaping procedure untilthe child'sapproximation the word is clear enoughto bereadof consistently ily understood by mostpeople.The child's response neednot exactly matchyourpronunciation;an adequate imitation of "tickle"wouldbe "tihka"or "tihko."

oa

Imitqtion, Mctching, crndEcnly Lcngucge

rlfr

Step 3: Forsomewords,your childmayfailto approximate evenroughlyyour word on thefirsthials. For example, the child may fail to imitateone or moreof the sounds that makeup the word (component sounds), An inadequate approximation of "mama" is "ah," "milk" is inadequatelyexpressed as "mah," and an inadequate approximation of "doggie" is "dah" or "gah."In these you cases, mustbuildthe wordusing procedure. a shaping Divide the word into itscomponent soundsand present eachsoundasa separate trial.Thus,"mama"breaks down69"Jnp"-('ah"-"mah"-"mah mah"-"mama." Thechildimitates each component whenit ispresented, andisreinforced for repeating In thefollowing each component. sample sequence the "good" saidby the adultrepresents the rewardyou useduringthe exercise, suchas food or socialreinforcement. Adult: "ah" Child: "ah"
A d u l t : " G o o d.!. . m a h " Child: "ah" Adult: "mm" Child: "mm" A d u l t :" G o o d ! . . . a h " Child: "ah" Adult: "mm" Child: "mm" Adult: (Maywaitfor the childto say,"ah.") Child: "ah" sequence.) Adult: "Good!" (Repeat The point of the traininghere is that you want the child to "chain," or "hook up," two differentsoundsso that, once he hassaidone sound, that is hiscue for the secondsound. For example,"mm" becomeshis cue for saying"ah" without your giving him the "ah" first. You do this by graduallyfading your cue ("ah"), eventuallywaiting him out. Building the first word is a difficult procedure to write out in detail, and you may have to improviseto help a particularchild along. For example,if you are working on "mah," the child may give you "ah" when you say "mah" becausethe last sound in your "mah" is "ah," which is the strongest sound for him, sincehe heard it more recentlythan "mm." He may give you "mah" if you say "mm." Therefore, stay with saying "mm" for a while, then fade in the "ah" in your "mah" slowly, retaininghis "mah" with rewards. After the child has performed the sequencecorrectly on five consecutivepresentations,you As speedup the rate at which the soundsare presented. in the succeeding sequences, shouldgradually, gradsounds presented the component presentation between speedsup, the reinforcements the rate of ually are dropped. At this point the sequence may be: Adult: Child: Adult: Child: Adult: Child: Adult: Verbcl Imit<rtlon "mah" "mah" "mah-mah" "mah" prompts') (Waits for the child'ssecond"mah" or minimally "mah" "Very good!"
l'I

!1.5

il,

|;1,

It is important to intermix presentations and two-syllableunits, for example, "mah," of one-syllable "mah-mah," "mah-mah," "mah," in order to help him discriminatebetween those two kinds of sounds. The child may persistin making slightpausesbetweenthe sounds of the word for quite some time ("mah. . . mah"). However, these pausesgradually can be eliminated by selectivelyreinforcing only those instances in which the child saysthe word with lesspause.

The Second Word The second word chosen for imitation training should be quite differentfrom the first word. For instance,if "mama" is the first word taught, "baby" is an appropriatesecond word. You may accept "baba" or "bebe" as adequateapproximations. The secondword, like the first, should be composedof soundsthat the child can imitate separately. The secondword should be taught in the same way the first word was taught. After the child trials,you should begin random rotationof has correctlyimitatedthe secondword for 10 consecutive the firstword earlier.Present the two words. Use random rotationin the sameway aswe have described to the child. Continue to presentthis word until the child has correctlyimitated it for five consecutive the word into itscomponent trials.You may need to prompt the word on the firstfew trialsby separating soundsas you did in the initial haining. Now reintroducethe secondword. Continue to presenttrials trials.Then presentboth words untilthe until your child has respondedcorrectlyfor five consecutive child makes, at most, one error the first time you presenteach word. Randomly rotate the order in which the two words are presented. Words 3 Through l0 the firsttwo The procedurefor teachingthe remainingeightinitialwords is the sameasthat for teaching of the new word words. After your child learnsto imitateeachnew word, you should mix presentations with presentationsof the words learned earlier using random rotation until the child has responded to criterion. you should beginthe next phase:imitation When the child can imitate 10 words consistently, of volume, pitch, and speed. Concurrently,however,the child should be taughtto imitatethe remainthat regularlyand any other labels ing words on the list, the names of people with whom he interacts would be functionaland usefulfor him in his environment,such as "(Jp," "Down," and "Open." lntroduclng Additionql Words you When shape words that contain differentsoundingunits, start with the last unit of the word and work backward.This is called"backwardchaining."For example,if you work on "mommy," firsttrain "mee," then put "mah-mee" together.If you train "cookie," then "kie" is initiallyenough for him to get his reinforcer(cookie);later demand that he say "coo-kie." Usuallywhat will happen when you take apart a word like that is that it will sound "mechanical" or awkward at first, almost as if it were two sepaover time, so rate words. Don't worry about that-you will be reinforcing him for betterapproximations that eventuallyit will sound natural. Rememberto teachwords that can be made functionalforthe child, that is, wordsthat he can usto fill his needsand desires. he can be taughtthat he hasto say For example,"Up" is good, because rharin order to get up out of the chair. "Cookie" is good, because sayingthat getshim a cookie."Open" "open" ggod will s meanshe be let out of doors. because he can be taught that saying

s
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Imitcrtion, Mctching, cnd EcrrlyLcngucge

Many children can be overheard to say some words before you begin training, but they do not say the word when you ask them to, and they rarely use the word appropriately. Our advice is to hy to andgaincontrol. goback,simplifythings, and, if thatdoesnotsucceed, getreliableholdof thesewords, Demand simplesounds and/or words to startwith, get reliableimitationfirst, then becomemore elaborate later. of words and soundsthe child can imitate. Do it Finally, presentmany informal rehearsals everywhere,and presentit as an enjoyablegame, hoping he willlearn to like his imitations.If he does, he will "play" with speech,imitateyou a lot, even if he will become"echolalic,"which is good, because he doesn'tknow the meaningof what he says(you can teachhim meaninglater).If he doesnot beginto imitateyour speech,and if each word is very difficultfor him to learn to express,even spontaneously months of haining, then you have a child who willprobablynot talk a lot lateron. You will afterseveral have to supplementhis vocal speechwith manual (hand) signing,which is describedin Chapter 24' Don't get too upset about this, however; some people do quite well without speakinga lot.

PHASE V:

IMTTATION OF VOIUME, PITCH' AND SPEED

pitch, and As your child learnsto imitatehis firstwords, he may show problemsin the areasof volume, using shaping. overall speedwith which he says his words. Theseproblemscan be r"zmedied Volume Imitcrtion imitate.Reinforce Step l: Beginby sayingin a very loud voice one of the soundsthat your child can trials,shapethe childto the child simplyfor imitatingthe sound on the firsttrial.In succeeding trial you reinforcethe child only if he imimatch your volume. That is, on each succeeding is as loud as' or louder than, the tatesthe sound correctly ond ifthe volume of the response prompt a loud volume by gettingthe You may try to volume of the lastreinforcedresponse. for "loudness"as would a school child excitedand moving around, or by activelygesturing your or symphony conductor.The drill is continueduntilthe child is matching cheerleader volume' by being very quiet and gentle, Step 2: Make the secondsound in a near whisper.Prompt softness if yourselfand the child down. Put your fingeron his lips.The child is reinforcedonly settling is as soft as, or softerthan, the sound correctlyand if the volume of the response he imitates Trainingis continueduntil the child is matching the volume of the last reinforcedresponse. your near whisPer. the loud sound Present Step 3: you should now randomly rotatethe loud sound and the softsound. and the soft sound with quiet movement. Gradually with its prompt (the "loud" gestures) is continueduntilthe fadetheseprompts.Randomlyvary and rotatethe two sounds.The drill Step 4: Step 5: child can shift from loud to soft easily' a soft volume' Continue Next introduce and train new sounds one at a time at either a loud or volume' to drill the child until he can imitate each new sound at the appropriate that the sound is time When the child can appropriatelymatch the volume of a sound the first generalize you should beginto iresent words that the child can imitatein order to presented, volume the imitate can child the imitationof volume to words. The drill is continueduntilthe of a word the first time that that word is presentedin a session.
,i

Verbcl Imitcrtion

v,
rl!
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rl

Step 6:

If you want to be exha fancy at this point you can begin teachinghim the meaningof the words "loud" and "soft." Say, "loud," very loudly, and reinforcehim for imitatingit. Say, "soft," in a whisper;reinforceas above.Considernow your (decibel that loudness level)isa prompt for his loudness,which you may now want to fade so that you end up saying"loud" and "soft" at equal (conversational) volume, while you maintain,with reinforcement. histwo differentvolumes. That is, he givesthe appropriatedecibellevel when you say "loud" or "soft" even though your decibellevel staysthe same.

Pitch Imitqtion The procedurefor teachingyour child to imitatepitch is very similarto the procedure used in teaching volumeimitation. Step 1: Begin by sayinga sound that the child can imitateat a high pitch. over a sequenceof hials shapethe child'sresponse to match your pitch (e.g.,by reinforcing closerand closerapproximationsof your pitch). Presenta secondsound that the child can imitate,this time at a /ourpitch. Again, shapethe child'sresponse to match your pitch. The two soundsare now presented in random rotation.The drill is continueduntilthe child is shiftingpitch easily. Introducenew soundsnext. Continuethe drill until the child can imitatethe pitch of a sound the first time that that sound is presentedin a session. After the child can imitatethe pitch of soundsthe firsttime that they are presented, beginto presenta three-sound cue, such as "da-dee-da,"sayingthe soundsat differentpitches(lowhigh-low). Shape the child's responseuntil he can imitate the pattern of pitchesthat you make. When the child has mastered one three-sound cue, a secondone is introducedwith a differentpatternof pitches,and the child'spatternof pitchesis again shapedto match your own. New three-partcuesare introducedand the child'sresponses are shapeduntil the child can imitatethe pattern of pitchesthe first time a given pattern is presented. Imitation of Speed Begin by repeating a sound that the child can saythreeto four timesat a rapid speed,A typical cue is "da-da-da" or "mee-m ee-mee."As in teachingthe child to imitatepitch or volume, firstrequirethe child to imitateonly the soundsof the cue, and then graduallyshapethe child, over frials,to imitatethe speedat which the cue is spoken. Now presenta secondcue at a slowrate,Then presentthesetwo cuesin random rotationuntil the child can shift the speed of imitationeasily. Presentnew cues at eithera fast or a slow rate, and shapethe child'sresponse on eachcue until it matches the speedof your presentation. Introducenew cuesuntilthe child can imitate the speed at which a cue is spoken the first time that it is presented. Words that the child can imitateshouldbe presented next, and the child shouldbe requiredto imitatethe speed at which the word is said as well as imitatingthe word itself.

Step 2: Step 3: Step 4: Step 5:

Step 1:

Step 2: Step 3:

Step 4:

98

Imitotion, Mctching, ond Ecrly Lcngucge

CHAPTER
APPROPRIATE PIAY SKILTS

L2

This chapter outlines the program for using the nonverbal imitation skills your child has acquired as a basisfor teaching him to play with toys, to participate in recreational activities, and to do art work. Brief pointerson the selectionof toys that seemto facilitate the learning of play skills for developmentallydisabledpersonsare also given. In our treatment programs, we discovered early that by using imitation it became possibleto teach the developmentallydisabledchild a number of complex behaviors,which would seem virtually impossibleto teach otherwise. This seems particularly tue in teachinglanguage.If the child were not (Chapter it that he would have been taught to talk, to use to imitate sounds 11) is unlikely firsttaught , For the samereason,the learningof the complex wordsand sentences, or to use meaningiullanguage, playing skillsis alwaysprecededby intensive with in drawing, and later in self-help toys, skillsinvolvedin imiin Chapter8. If your child cannot correctly described hainingin imitationof more simplebehaviors goals in this are outlined probably that reach most of the he will not be able to behaviors, tatethe simple chapter. Remember, also, that the earlierprogramson imitation are only a partial solution to the kind of training that the child needs for masteringplay skills,sports, and art. Although the child will imitate an that are too novelfor him to imitate,and that have adult in many ways,there are alwayssomebehaviors Examplesof such behaviorsare presentedthroughout this chapter. to be trained separately. of the basicstepsinvolvedin shapingso You should have by now a fairlygood understanding in as much detail as the earlierprothe programsunderlying play skills,sports,and art are not discussed grams.Rather, we will take specialnotice of the specificdifficultiesthat may ariseasthose particularprograms are taught. Beforc you start teaching any activities,you may want to keep in mind that some children develop an interest in a certain activity. In other words, the behavior becomesself-reinforcing,which meansthat the child is in good shapefor beginningto learn; however, some children could not care less about the learning activity. You will not know that until after the child has had the exposureto and has in the task, even after you acquiredsome proficiency at the task. Should your child remain disinterested 99

haveworkedwith him for a while,thenthereis reallyno sense in continuing with that activity at that time; perhaps you may wantto returnto it later.Afterteaching several of the activities described in this chapter, it is probable thatyour childwill takea likingto one or moreof them.Your goalshould be to teachsomeconstructive activity thatlooks"appropriate, " thatwill acquire itsown reinforcing properties, andthatwillthenreplace thestereotyped, ritualistic, andinappropriate behavior called self-stimulation. In alllikelihood, play,art,and sports arebasically self-stimulatory in nature. jig-saw Thatis,completing puzzles, shooting baskets, anddancing do not reatly solve anyof theworld's problems, good butit feels (tosomepeople) to do these tasks. The taskitself generates the kind of sensory feedback rewards that serveto maintain the child'sinterest in the task.The trick is to teacha child appropriate formsof selfstimulatory behavior, whichwill replace socially undesirable, inappropriate formsof thatsameclass of behavior.

PTAYING WITH BTOCKS

One very useful activity for any child to learn, and one of the easiesttasks to teach, is building with blocks.Because of the nature of this activity,make surethat you have duplicatesetsof blocks.As you play with a particular kind of block,the child getsto play with the samekind of block. You want to teach the child how to build a particular stucture with blocks; you then let the child build his own, using yours as a model. Eventually,it is hoped that the child can be instructed to "Go ptay with blocks,"or that he may do so on his own initiativeand build the shuctures you have taught him through modeling. In this fashionhe can be taught independentplay (discussed laterin this chapter);that is, he can be taughtto play conshuctively with materialsin his environmentwithout your constantsupervision and direction. In preparingto teachthis activity,you and the child should sit facingeach other across a table wide enough to provide good separationbetweentwo working areas (each 1 foot square),but small enough to provide easyaccess to a supply of blocks,which you place betweenyou and your child on the sideof the table.In the beginningyou may want to havejust a few blocksin this pile, but as trainingprogresses, you should add blocksso that there are more from which to choose.If the tablecannot accommodate two separate working areas, move onto the floor, which should be cleared of unnecessary objects, The floor will do just as well, providedthat the child hasa clearview of his working areaas well

asyours. Step l:
Take one block from the pile and place it in front of you and place a similar block in front of the child. In teachingthis behavior,as well as in teachingother behaviors,you should start with the simplestform. This may be to simply touch your block, and to teach your child that he can touch his block in imitation of your touching. You can start with the instruction "Do this," and then touch the block, prompt the child to touch his block, reinforce,and gradually fade the prompt. In the beginning,he may touch your block, but you should prompt and reinforce him for touching his block. Eventuallyyou should be able to touch your block, and he should touch his block in imitation of your action. Then go on to teach more complicated behaviors,such as lifting your block and putting it back down. Prompt and reinforce him as before for imitating your behavior. Perhapsthe next step would be for you to pick up your block and tap it a couple of times on the table or the floor; then prompt your child to do likewise,and fade the prompt, until the child masters the task. Now teach the child to handle two blocks. You may begin this task by placing two blocks in front of you and two similar blocks in front of the child. Now touch one block and then the Imitcrtion, Mcrtching, crnd Ecrly Lcngucge

$tep 2:

nm

other.Prompt yourchildto do likewise; fadethepromptandreinforce in sucha fashion that, onceyou havetouched thefirstblockandthenthesecond block, thechildwillactsimilarly. A simple extension of thiskind of activity will occurwhenyou pick up one blockandput it on top of thesecond block,directly in frontof you,andthenpromptandreinforce thechildto do the samewith his blocks.Once a child can imitateyou stacking two blockson top of each other, go on to usingthree or four blocks, so he is involvedin imitating you building a
"tower.tt

Step 3:

Step 4:

Once the child hasbegunto move blocksaround and arrangethem in a tower, it is a relatively easy step for you to arrange your blocksto constructmore imaginativestructures,such as a "bridge."This particular taskrequires you to demonstrate buildingthe bridge.In separate and distinctmoves, place two blocksside by side and place one block on top, touchingboth the blocksunderneath.Prompt and reinforcethe child for matchingyour moves. It may be helpfulfor you to instructthe child by saying"Do this" or "Do as I do" because this may serveinitiallyas a "ready signal,"which tellshim to pay attentionto what you are doing. Once he has learnedto match your separatemoves, "condense"the imitationby completingyour structure beforehe is allowedto start.Now you areteaching him to match "finalproducts,"not just separatemoves. Once he has built a bridgein this way, then he could build a bridgewith a tower next to it. Later he may learnto imitateyour buildinga house (eightor more blocksin a rectangular shape) then a house next to a bridge next to a tower, and so on. If you build several structures like that, you can introducenew objects, such as takinga doll and placingit insidethe "house," or placinga toy cow insidethe "corral." This step may have to wait until ofler the child has completed Unit V (lntermediate Language).Once the child has learnedthe necessary componentsof buildingin imitationof you, you may want to remove your structureand then ask your child to build that structure. Then gradually,once he hasbuilt the shucture-a tower, for example-teach the childto call it a tower. While you are fading your structureas a prompt, teach him to follow the instruction, "Build a tower." The purposeof this stepis to bring his toy play under your verbalcontrol, so that you can just tellhim what you want him to do with the blocks,You don't have to do allthe work.

The kinds of combinations and creations that you can make with blocks and objects (toy animals,toy figures,clay) can be quite complexand imaginative. You have made a beginningin teaching your child how to play appropriately.

PLAYINGV/ITH TOYS
One of the early tasksin teaching appropriate play skillsis to teach your child to play with simple toys, suchas dollsand hucks. Again, as is the casewith teaching block play, buy two of eachtoy. If you want to teachyour child to play with dolls,the firststeps,then, would be very simple. Pick up your doll and prompt the child to do likewise;fade and reinforceuntilthe child picksup his doll in response to your request"Do this," or "Let's play dolls." In subsequent stepsyou would not only pick up your doll, but put the doll in your arms, and then prompt and reinforcethe child for doing likewisewith his doll. Other stepswould include rocking the doll back and forth, patting the doll on the back, laying the doll dou'n. and to reinforce coveringthe doll with a blanket, and feeding it. Rememberto prompt when necessary Appropricte PlcrySkills
lCIl

Later you may want to teachthe child to washthe doll, to dress it, to put it on the potty, and so on. Remember thateachof thesearereasonable complex behaviors. It is idealif you canteachthe childto engage in these behaviors throughimitation because the morethechildcanimitateyou, the morehe will learnfrom you. It is hopedthat you may now be ableto seehow you couldteachthe childto playin a similar manner,usinga truck or any other toy. A truckdoeslotsof things:it stopsand goes,it can be driven through a city(made of blocks), it canbe filledwithgas,it canbeloaded and unloaded. You maywant (if to verbalize your actions, teaching the child you can)to describe his own behaviors as he plays.The you can run concurrently, more programs the betteroff everyone is. Remember to startwith a simple task,suchasjust movingthe huck backand forth. The advantage of havingduplicate setsof toysor objects is that the childdoesnot haveto "remember" whatit is you wanthim to do; a toy is immediately available you. for him to usein imitating Afterhe becomes proficient increasingly in matching you,thenyou maywantto delay, andimitating in gradualsteps, thecompletion of histask, sothatthetimeintervalbetween yourbehavior andhisisgraduallylengthened. Thisis done with the goalin mindthat eventually you will needjust one setof objects play.You wouldperformthe taskfirst,thenhandthe toy to the child,and askhim to do as for imitative you did. Thiskind of delaybetween your behavior and hisrequires that he remember whatyou did. Memory,the storing of suchinformation, is probably learned, and thereis everyevidence that your childcouldalsolearnto storesuchinformation.

PANTICTPATING IN RECNEATIONAI, ACTIVITIES Once you get the feel for how to teach imitative play, as when you use blocks, trucks, and dolls, it is a relativelyeasytask to extend this kind of behavior to activities such as sportsand dancing. Suppose you want to teach your child to play with a basketball.Get two balls,and pick up your ball while telling your child "Do this"; prompt and reinforce as before. Drop your ball and catch it and inshuct your child to do likewise. In some activitiesyou will use a lot of direct imitation, but it also willbecome apparent as you get going that for some of the more difficulttasksyou have to do a lot of hond s haping (thatmeansphysically guiding your child through the sequenceof actscomprisingthe behavior you want him to perform and then reinforcing him for doing it). Suppose you are going to teach a child to catch a ball after it bounceson the floor. Almost invariably you will have to teach him to catch a ball as a separateact. This act is taught by having the child hold his arms outshetchedand then merely placing the ball in his arms, reinforcing him, and then very slowly and in gradual steps,tossingthe ballto him from increasingdlstances,suchasfrom 2 inches,6 inches,and then L or 2feet. That is, you may have to hond shopesome of the componentsin the kind of imitative act you are trying to teach. If you are concernedwith teaching him how to shoot baskets,teach him first to bounce the ball off a wall, and then, with a basket at eye level, teach him to drop the ball through the hoop, graduallyraisingthe basketin smallsteps(6 inchesat a time) to the point where he actually has to throw the ball into the air to make it fall through the hoop. This may seem like a tenibly arduous task, and an extremelyimpracticalway to teach a child to play basketball. It is. For some children, it just is not going to work, but it is surprisingthat for some children shootingbaskets becomesa reinforcingactivityand some become quite expert at it. You just won't know until you have hied. If your child is no star at shooting baskets,perhaps he willbe a great dancer. Many developmentally disabledchildren are very fond of music, and many have a great senseof rhythm. For such a l,fil Imitqtlon, Mctchlng, crnd Ecrly Lcrngu<rgo

record,standfacing to music.Turn on hisfavorite response dancingin teach to easy relatively is it chird asrockingfrom one foot to behavior'-such simple very some with start and "Do this," the child,tellhim behavior' elaborate i,., s,ua'd steis' then' introducemore necessary prompt if child the other. leftand the you' kn"t'' turningyour body to the bending backward, and forward toot you, do this suchasmoving around.Again,if the childdoesn't turningcompleiely and right, the to head your then nodding movehim throughthe actions' physically underway, or.-0, him tJ getthebehavior throughimitations, Aswillbecomeobvioustoyouwhenyoubegintoteachrdancing,somechildrenlovetodance are different-someare nn'o quitJget the knack' children and becomeverygood at it, while others elsein this respect' your child is just like everybody others. good at are some things, good at some the childby modeling that are usefuland fun that you canteach.a Therearemanybehaviors you have your models'Sometimes him for matching first,andthenpromptingand reinforcing behavior rigidappearance to breakup thekind of plastic, thatserve ,,ham,,to actoutihe kindslf behaviors and to be a Theyoftenblhave withoutmuch expression' li*Ufed. developme.t"ffv ur" *ho of manychildren of vou *"t+iTir[:*t trucks,aswellasthe beginning brockbuildingand playingwith dollsand lt is viractivities' in recreational t"u.hing you, childto participate of example, are dance, and activathletics allthekindsof playandrecreational wouldincrude manualthlt training a write to tuallyimpossible aroundthe childto confor the adults It is necessary necessary. this is nor taught; be could child the ities child are met' particular so that the needsand goalsof the programs structindividual DNAWING AND WNITING in of the child'straining that canbe taughtasan extension behaviors elaborate are writing is and writing on Drawing in detail;the program is discussed to, aru*ing pictures prograThe isto teachthe nonverbalimitation. on drawing Thefinargoulof th" program fr.,.nd;;i.; unaroiio*s natuially request' your verysimilar, to in response figuresand objects r".og-nizable dru* can he that so skills child enough andpaper'He may crayons whenhe sees and-draw up u tt-uyon "Draw a picture,"or sothathe willpitft ones' As with creative imitaiion'and he -uf Itu* originai' througi learned has he that draw figures in drawing'some childifferwideli in theirinterest children disabled developmentally work; you normalchildren, figu'"' and someinteresting producingintriguing drawing, in creative dren are extremely won,tknowifyourchildwilldothisunlessyougethimstarted. Drcrwing of paper.Givethe childa line on a piece horizontal single a draw pencil, a step 1: Tracing.with c r a y o n a n d p r o m p t h i m t o t r a c e d i r e c t l y o v e r y o uAfte' ,p"n. itlin e ' S completed a y . . D o t h this i s , ' trac'andactually you have hand with a crayonoverthe pencilline' you guidethe while thisprocedure "good trawing'" Repeat "hild', or *irking," "good fo, child the ing,praise the drawing'but rint ttrattr'e ct'itdis not watching reduceuou, oronli;. t;;;* gradually he mustwatchwhatis otherthanthe taskat hand' Clearly, something to attending is ' As in rather the paper'pencilline' and crayon to attention his toLring have will reingoingon, and you bv positively the childuinnaioin" taskat hand r"rnii,i"f' have you tasks at allthe other (or withholdingthe positives reprimand some giving and correct forcinghim for being linewithout horizontal cf,ifJcanreliJly traceyoursingle ttre Wi"r, incorrect. being for least), bothpencillines' line and u'k th" childto traceover draw u.roth"riorizontal anyprompting,
lGl APProPricrte PlcrY Skills

After masteringthis, require correcttracingover a singleverticalline. Although the child may be able to trace horizontal lines, vertical lines are a new experience, and may require prompts' Once the child can discriminate and reliablycopy horizontalversusverticallines, have him trace double verticallines, and then lines that intersect.The child can be taught to trace shapessuch as triangles,squares,and circlesand eventually he willbe able to hace box figures. Remember to praise the child when he correctly taces your pencil marks and to reproach him for incorrect responsesor for not paying attention to the materialsin front of him. Also, beforeadvancingto a more complextask (i.e., going from tracinga singlevertical line to tracing double verticallines), be sure the child has masteredthe previous task and can hace your line(s)without any prompting.The time it takesto learn the skillsdescribed in this step varies considerably for individual children. Some may pick it up in a few minutes, whereasothersmay require a month of patientteaching. Step 2: Copying. Begin to teachthe child to copy or imitateyour pencillinesinsteadof requiringhim to traceover them. That is, the child must draw his linesnext to, below, or aboveyour lines. As in Step 1, gradethe materialin very smallsteps, starting with singlehorizontallines, go on to double horizontal lines, then use singleverticallines, double vertical lines, lines that intersect,triangles, squares,and eventuallybox figures. You may find at this point that it will be easierto facilitatedrawing by using a chalkboardbuilt into a deskwith an attached chair.This willprovide the child with allthe necessary drawing materials in one place. Of course,such a tool is optional. Step 3: Aduancedcopying. Usingthe skillslearnedin the abovetwo steps,the child can be taughtto imitate your drawingsof various geometricshapes,and then he can move on to copying small animalsand plants, such as dogs, cats, and flowers, and eventuallylargerand more complex objects,such as human figures,houses,and hains. At this point you may beginrequiringthe child to imitateyour use of color. For example, you draw a flower usingred, yellow,green,and orangecrayonsand requirethe child to correctlyimitate your use of thesecolors. Step 4: Original drawing.Originaldrawingis quitecomplexand may haveto be postponeduntilafter Unit V. Once the child has learnedthe necessary componentsinvolvedin imitativedrawing, the behaviorcan be shiftedfrom imitation of your drawing to a verbalrequest, such as "Draw a picture." This may at firstrequireyou to prompt the child by taking his hand and guidingit through the be3inningphasesof a drawing. Fade your manual prompt slowly so that the child can make a drawing on his own, when he is asked. This newly acquiredbehaviorcan be graduallybrought under the conholof more appropriatestimuluscontexts(otherthan "Draw a picture"), such as the child'ssightof objects in his environment, either in concreteform or in a representation,as in magazinepictures. At this point, it may become apparentthat the child has taken a greatinterestin a particular area. For example, he may show an affinityfor drawing animals,or he may show an interestin sequences of objects,such as numbersor the lettersof the alphabet.A stong enough interest can provide the child with an "internalsource of motivation"that willgreatly enhancethe effectiveness your praise. attention and To we would probably of be consistent, call it an advanced form of self-stimulation.Also, the drawing skills learned thus far may prove so pleasurable to the child that you can beginto train him to occupy his free time enI

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gagedin this appropriate form of playratherthan other,inappropriate formsof self-stimulatory behaviors. Wrlting your childto writecanbe shuctured The program for teaching in muchthe sameway asthatfor drawing. First,teachyour childto tracesimplehorizontal and vertical linesand curvesas in Step 1 above. Then moveon to tracing,and finallycopying,letters. your When child hasmastered theseskills, teach him to copy, and then write on his own, simplewordsor phrases.

INDEPENDENT PIAY Allthe proceduresdescribedthus far have been employed in the presenceof an attending adult. You have probablyobservedyour child when he is alone and unattended; too often the child revertsto drifting inattention or to inappropriate self-stimulation when left alone. Therefore, you can begin teaching the child to continue activities such as the ones described in this chapterwhen no adult is present. The teachingof appropriateindependentplay can be approachedin the following manner. First,you should teach the child to play with toys in your presence,without your activeparticipation. You should teach him to play with two toys and then graduallyadd more until all available toys have been introduced.Or you may want to instructthe child to completesome simpletasks,such as "Build a bridge," or "Draw a flower." As the child beginsto play, graduallyfade yourselffrom the child by sitting farther and farther away from him, eventually leaving the room, so that the child is left alone for a minute. If the task(s)are completed or if he is working on the task upon your return, praisethe child profusely.If the child does not finishthe task,reprimandhim, askhim to do it again,and prompt his play by at the door (or nearby)for a shorterperiodthan before.In gradualsteps,the number and comstanding plexity of tasksrequired and the time allowed to complete them can be increased.During this time, you leave the child alone with play materials(coloringbook, crayons, paper, magazinepiccan occasionally tures, and puzzles),with no instrucfions,so that the mere presenceof toys beginsto cue his playing. On such occasions,the child should be observedas unobtrusivelyas possibleand should be allowed to remain unattended only as long as he usestheseplay materialsappropriately. If he remains unoccupied for a ior a total of 5 minutes or if he engagesin any inappropriatebehaviors, such as self-stimulation, total of 15 seconds, remove the child from the room, terminate play with the materialsand perhaps have him do somethinghe does not like allthat well, such as householdchores, or difficultlanguage in the amount of time the child staysin the room engaged drills.You shouldbe ableto graduallyincrease appropriateindependent play. Although it willtake some effort on your part to teach the child the rules of this kind of play, it should become apparentthat, once he has learnedwhat you expect, he may be capableof gaining enjoyment from it, just as any other child would.

TOY SETECTION
Not a greatdealof factualinformation is availableon toy selection,that is, on whether one can help chil' dren play more by selectinga particularset of toys over some other set. However, wef.eelthatit is worththat ma'ny developmentallyretarded while to give more attention to toy selection.We have suggested Approprlcte PlcrySkills 105

children spend a great deal of their time in primitive, repetitive,and monotonous behavior in an apparent attempt to provide their bodies with needed auditory, visual, vestibular,proprioceptive, and tactile stimulation.We have already argued that one goal of a good toy-play program may be to substitute appropriatetoy play for the more bizarre-looking behaviors.That is, you can probably selecttoys to "channel" or "substitute"a more appropriate form of self-stimulatory behavior for a lessappropriateform of (e.g., rocking). In other words, you may be able to provide the child with the needed self-stimulation reinforcers(visual,auditory, vestibularstimulation)by teaching him to play with toys, insteadof acting bizane. Hill and McMackinof the Lynne Developmental Centerin Dallas,Texas,recommendedthat the child be observedand his various kinds of self-stimulatory behaviorsbe noted in order to classify the kinds of sensorystimulation a particular child is seeking.The following categorization,including examples of the inappropriate behaviors, has been developed: Wsuol Stimulotion The child gazesat lights, fixates at rotating objects, regards his hands, flaps his fingers in front of his eyes. Auditory Stimulation The child vocalizes, hums tunes, clickshis tongue, taps furniture. Tactile Stlmulation The child stokes his own body parts, pinches himself, places his fingers in his mouth. VestibularStimulation The child rocks his body, bounces, spins his body. Proprioceptiue Stimulotion The child's body assumesstange positions in space; he postures, toe walks, holds his head to one side. Hill and McMackin suggestthat an initial toy selectionto reduce uisuolself-stimulation should include toys such as flashlights,whirling lights, wheels, an hourglass, magnetic swinging balls, Light Brite pegs,a FlashGordon gun, pinwheels,an Etch-a-Sketch, a Pachincomachine,a pinballgame,a kaleidoscope, View Master, Slinky, tops, and wind-up toys. For those children who twirl shing, hy fishing-rodgamesor stringpuppets. For replacement of auditory stimulations select toys that make noise. For example, use clackers,bells,whistles,talking toys, buzzers,a toy piano, music boxes, a radio, noisemakingpush-pull toys, hair dryers, stethoscopes,or music of any type, For replacement of tactile stimulations, select items that touch the body. Examples are an autoharp, Silly Putty, vibrators, facial scrubbers,soft furry toys, puppets, gum, body paints, and blankets. For replacement of uestibularand proprioceptiue stimulations, try selecting items that recreatethe motion or position. Examplesare a rocking horse, a rocking chair, large physicaltherapy balls to roll on, barrels to roll on and in, wagons, a spinning office chair, a hammock, many forms of playground equipment such as swings, trampolines, and teeter-totters. Many of thesetoys or items will be "favored objects"the moment they are introduced. On the other hand, the child may have to be extrinsicallyreinforced (e.g., with food or praise) so that he will handle certaintoys. It is difficult to determine how long to maintain the child on extrinsicreinforcement for "good playing" before the reinforcingvalue of the toy itself"takes over." The rule may be to by different toys during this training and "exposure" period, for upward of a week per toy. If a child becomesquite attachedto some toy or activity (like music), then access to that toy or rtivity can be his reward for engagingin some behadiorthat he does not like that much. For example, p&avtng with a toy (evenfor a few seconds)could become his reward for sitting attentivelyin a chair and lcarnrng some task necessaryfor more adequate social functioning.

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Imitatlon, Mctching, cnd Ecrrly Longucge

Hill and McMackin alsosuggest a usefulshaping procedure within a particular play activity. For example, a childwho is abody rocker canbe placed in a rockingchairand reinforced for rocking in thatposition. Then,in gradualsteps, teachhim to standnextto a chairwhilerockinga doll in thechair, to rockthe doll in a crib,thento swinganother childon a swing.In thatfashion theremay be a progressionand elaboration in the child'splay. Keep in mind that no child would take interest in a toy if he were not exposed to that toy. Remember alsothatsomedevelopmentally retarded children showelaborate play,aswhentheyassemble complexpuzzles, play intricatemusical selections, or manipulate numbersat an advanced level. Theseare examples of the "splinterskills,"or isolated areasof superior functioning so oftenfound in developmentally retardedchildren.You will neverknow whetheryour child hastheseexplicitskills unless he getsthe opportunityto discover and developthem himself.

Approprlctc Plcy Skfls

lot

CHAPTER
GENERALIZATION AND MAINTENANCE

t3

Generalization, roughly analogous to transfer, is one of the most important conceptsor processes in teach_ ing. Generalization is concernedwith the efficiency of teaching,that is, determiningthe change in the child'sbehaviorspecifically as a resultof what he has been taught. This chapterdraws heavily on a paper by Carr (Note 1). Generalization is usually divided into two aspects:stimulusgeneralization and responsegen_ eralization.

STIMUTUS GENERAIIZATION If you are a teacher,and you have taught your student well in crass, you may wonder whether he will manifestwhat you have taught him in classin other environmentsas well. If you are a parent and you have taught your child some important things at home, you may wonder whether he will behaveaccordinglyin schoolor elsewhere in public.Theseur" qu"rtionsof sfimu/us generalization. stimulusgeneralizationis the extent to which a behavior that is taught in one situation is subsequentlyperformed in anothersituation,eventhough that other situation wasnot involvedin the originalteaching.Whetheror not a particularbehavior will generalizeacrossenvironments cannot be determined beforehand.sometimes behavior generalizes, sometimesit does not. You should help the behavior generalize,if it does not initially generalize.There are certain procedures that help ensure stimulus generalization. 1 . work in seueral enuironmenrs.If your child is only being taught in one environment (such as in schoolor in a clinic) and not in other environments(such as at home), then over time he will discriminate between the different environments, and little, if any, stimulus generaiizationwill be observed'To remedy this, the child should be taughtin more than one environment.Whateverhe is taught at school should be taught at home, and vice versa. 2 . Haue seueral "teachers," It is critical, particularly with developmentally disabled children, and especially the older ones, that many "significant adults"teachthe child. Too often, a child who is behavingvery nicely and learning well with a teacher behavespoorly and does not learn any con-

r09

shuctivebehaviorsfrom the parents.The rule should be that all adultsteach. After a certainnumber of adults teach the child, his discriminationbetween adults breaksdown and the new appropriate behaviors generalizeacross all adults. 3 . Programcommon stimuli.ltmay help, at leastin the beginning, to make home and schoolsimilar in appearance. Have some of the same toys at home that the child has at school. Try to createthe home mealtimeenvironmentat school (e.g.,sittingat a tablecoveredwith a tablecloth). If he plays well with some childrenat school,try to have the childrenvisitand play with him at home. Bef.ore the child beginsschool,play school with him at home usingschool-like equipment; it will then be easierto transferthe new behaviorsto school later. 4 . Common reward schedules. If a behavior is on a very "thick" (continuous or nearly so) reward scheduleat home, and it is suddenlyshiftedto a thinner (intermittent) scheduleat school,the behavior will probably not generalize,at least not after the first few days. Such abrupt changesin rewardschedules are likely to take place when the child goesto school,if for no other reasonthan because the ratio of childrento adultsis different in the two places.To avoid suchchanges in reward schedules, try to thin the child'sreward scheduleat home before he goes to school. Also, have extra teacheraidespresentat school during the first few weeks to provide for an initiallythicker reward schedule. Thereare a largenumber of other dissimilarities betweenenvironments that may haveto be attendedto in order to maximizegeneralization. Remember the basicrule aboutstimulusgeneralization: il you don't get it, build it.

RESPONSE GENENATIZATION generalization Response refersto the extentthat you can producea changein a largernumberof behaviorsby only working on one behavior.For example,by teaching the child to sit and look at you on command, does he becomegenerallymore compliantor attentive? If you teach him to hug and kissyou, does he startto like you more? It is clear that, as with stimulusgeneralization, we are in part dealingwith practicalteaching efficiency:how much behaviorchangedo you get for free when you teach one or a limited set of behaviors?Some degreeof generalization, be it stimulusor response,is criticalfor successful teaching.You haveto get somechanges "f.orfree" because you cannotbuild all behaviors in allsituations. Proceduresfor obtaining responsegeneralization are lessclear than in working with.stimulus generalization. The following suggestionsare offeredfor maximizingresponsegeneralization: 1. Build communicatiue responses. Build and strengthen thoseaspects of language that arefunctional in gettingthe child what he wants.For example,it may be more helpfulto build verbalrequests for (e.g., "juice," your "cookie," things "open," "stop," "swim") than descriptive child wants labels (e.g., "nose," "ear," "green") becausein many instances functional speech will replace more chaoticbehavior, Iike self-stimulation and tantrums, which may in part be basedon the fact that the child cannot expresshis wants appropriately. Build "practical" seff-helpskills. For the same reasons, a child will probably greatly benefit from learningany behaviorsthat will increasehis self-sufficiency and facilitatehis gettingwhat he wants. Being ableto open a door, to take off wet pantsor a hot sweater,or to ride a bike placeshim in more immediatecontactwith the rewardshe seeks. Imltqtion, Mctching, cnd Ecrly Lcngucge

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forms of self-stimulation. For example,a child who spinseverythinghe sees(ashtrays,cups, dishes) can be taught to use a spinningtop, therebyreducingthe amount of inapproprlateself-stimulation. Similarly,dancing may well replacerocking, and so on. 4 . Build compliance.Once adults acquirecontrol over two or more behaviorswhich the child has already mastered (such as "Sit down," "Stand up," or "Close the door"), a number of other (alreadymastered)compliancebehaviorswill increase simultaneously. It is important to note again that there is a great deal of individual difference acrosschildren in regardto this and similarresponse generalization, For example,a child willevidence,,generalizedcompliance" insofar as there existsa set of already acquired compliance behaviors. In effect, you are achievingcontrolwheresomecontrolalreadyexisted.For some children,generalized compliancemay not emerge. 5 . Teachobseruational learning.ldeally you shouldteachthe child, at some point, a process whereby he can learn.In the chapters on nonverbalandverbalimitation (and in Chapter34 on observational learning)' programs are presentedwhereby the child learns"on his own," by merely observing behaviors of other people, and without directshaping. 6 . Building new socialrewards.As you interactconshuctively with the child, when you as a person come to mediate important gratifications and aversives,your person will acquire meaningful reward and punishment properties.In other words, adults will acquire a larger range of controliing properties,and the child'sbehaviorwill becomeincreasingly shaped without the adultsexplicitly doing the shaping.New behaviorwill be built through more informal interactions. 7 . Building infrinsicrewards.Perhapsthe child's largestgains will take place when he learnsto discriminate(attendto) rewardsinherentin the taskor the behavior.Methodsfor buildingsuchintrinsic rewardsare not known, but a minimal requirementis to extensivelyexpose the chitd to the behaviorseveraltimes. Although relativelylittle is known about this process,there are examples that it operates'If you teacha group of mute childrento imitateyour soundsandlor words, a certain portion of the childrenwillbecome imitativeon their own; they willbecome echolalic. That is, they will continueto imitatethe adult even though there is no explicitor sociallyconholledreward for doing so. Their mere "matching" of verbaloutputsappears rewardingto them. The taskof imitating has become its own reward.

3 . Build appropriate play. Certain kinds of play are appropriatesubstitutes for lessappropriate

MAINTENANCE: GENERAIIZATION ACBOSSTIME

There is obviouslylittle merit in teachinga set of behaviors only to seethem disappear some months or yearsafter your effortshave stopped. We learnedsome very bitter lessonsin that regard. After painstakingly teachinglanguageand other complex behaviorsto severaldevelopmentallydisabledchildren, we dischargedthe children, and 2 years after we had terminated teaching we observeda comprehensive loss.We reinstatedthe teachingprogramsfor a short time and recoveredmany of the earliergains, only to observea second losssome 3 yearslater. Thesefollow-up data have been extensivelydiscussed elsewhere (Lovaas, Koegel, Simmons, & Long, 1973). There are certain stepsyou can take to protect the gains that your children will make in your program. Build that protection into your initialteachingprogram. The following points should help you make use of generalizationin your teaching programs. 1. Make the transition between school and other environmentsimperceptiblysmall. In other words, createthe school environment everywhereso that the child cannot discriminatewhen he is out o{
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Generaltzciion

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school. The best way to do this is to train the parents and other significantadults to be teachers.In thisway, there is no "discharge,"no "vacation,"for the child. His postheatment environmentis no different from his treatment environment. Use an intermittent ("thin") reward schedule.While you may initially reward a child for every correct response,once the behavior is learned, start "missing" some rewards; for example, arbiharily skip rewards to perhaps a third of his conect responses(selectthe ones to skip at random). The child will "tell" you how quickly you can thin. If his behaviorstartsto weaken, then "thicken" the reinforcement schedule.Eventually,you may end up with one reward for every 10 or 20 correct responses, or perhapsless. Use rewardsthat the child will receivein his natural environment. Artificial, exaggerated,or schooltype rewards,suchas gradesor tokens,are not likelyto be found outsidethe teachingsituation. Try to "normalize" lhe rewards as soon as possible. Teachfunctionalbehaviors. Teach the child behaviors(thatpart of language,play, sellhelp) that get him important reinforcersin his everydaylife. Teachingsonie erudite task that does not get him anythingon the outsidewill not be maintainedon the outsideeither.

Maintenance of behaviorchangecan be attributed to generalization. Behaviorswillbe maintainedto the extentthat the child cannotdiscriminate betweenschooland no school (or clinic,no clinic) settings. There are other, lesswell-known variables that effectmaintenanceof gains. Some variables pertainto the memory storagecapacityof the organism.Perhapsa retardedchild alsois one who has a poor capacityfor long-term storageof learning. The relationshipis difficult to determine; relativelylittle is known about long-termmerlory storagein mentallyretardedpersons.

NECONDING TEANNING PROGRESS You may want to considerrecordingthe child'sprogress on the variousprogramsdescribed in thisUnit. In general,we adviseagainstsuch recordings because they are so time-consuming and one can generally judge progresson the concreteand specifictasksin this manual by whether or not severalobservers agreethat there has, or has not been, any noticeable learning.If you do wish to record, you should beginwhen the child hascome to a standstill;that is, when he seemsnot to be makingany progress on a task.How long do you work on a taskbeforeyou decideno progress hasbeen made?That dependson the task,how intensively you work with the child, and so on. If you have worked for a week,a coupleof hours a day, and he appearsto make no progress,then you have a problem and you should start recording. Recording will allow you to determine a "baseline"againstwhich to decide what alternatives may be effective. You may want to consider a trial-by-trial format for recording learning data. Rememberthat a trial was defined as beginningwith the teacher'sinstruction;it includesthe child's response or failureto respond,and it may includepromptsand consequences suchasrewardsand punishment.The most simplerecordingschemefor trial-by-trial data would simply indicateif inshuctions were given,and whetherthe child was corrector not. A samplerecordingsheetis shown in Table 13-1. To record data, simply circlethe hial number as each instruction is given, and give a checkmark in the correspondingcolumn if the child is correct. You may want to group the data by averagingthe number of correct responses to all the trials divided by total number of trialsgiven). This information may Ettvn in one day (sum of correctresponses dirsrlb graphed as shown in Figure 13-1. Grouping the data into "blocks" of a day will allow you to ltt Imitction, Matching, cnd Ecrly Lcngucrge

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2n

determinewhether,for example, your child has stoppedrespondingto a particular type of inshuction (Days3 and 4, Figure 13-1), and to check on the success orfailure of differentteachingmethodsyou may hy (Days5 through 9, Figure 13-1). By usingthiskind of graphing,you will be in a betterpositionto ascertain whetheryour child is improving, stayingthe same, or gettingworse. It is a baseline againstwhich to evaluatenew ways of teaching.Thesenew ways may include: 1) droppingthe prompt and "waiting him out," 2) simplifying or otherwise changingthe instructions, 3) givingstrongernegative consequences for incorrectresponding, and 4) interspersing different kinds of learning. Suppose you have tried to teach the child a task for 1 to 2 hours a day, for a week and he has made no progress.You hy different kinds of proceduresin an attempt to improve his performances, but he stillshowsno improvementover the next 2 or 3 weeks.At that point you may want to drop that task and return to it in a month or so. Sometimes the child willchange enough in that time interval (or you will) so that when you return to it, he may be able to learn it.

Ftgure l3-1. Sample recording form for grouped average correct responses. Days 3 and 4 show low averages, indicating that the child is no longer learning the task being presented. On Day 5, an attempt is made to improve the situation by giving stronger negative conseguences for incorrect responses. However, this does not seem to work well; Days 5 and 6 show continued poor per{ormance. On Day 7, the instructions are simplified, and great improvement is shown. A hiqh average of correct responses is again obtained on Days B and 9, indicatinq that the child is improving with the new teaching method.

Proporllon of c o r r e c tr g s p o n s e s

r.00
0.75

0.50

0.25

0.00

Generqlizcrtlon cnd Mcintencnce

llt

Rincover, A., & Koegel,R. L. Settinggenerality and stimuluscontrol in autisticchildren. Journalol Applied Behauior Anolysis,L975, 8, 235-246. Lovaas, O. I., Koegel,R. L., Simmons, J. e., A Sidman, M., &Stoddard,L, T. ProgrammingpercepLong, J. S. Some generalization and follow-up tion and learning for retarded children. In Ellis, N. R. measures on autisticchildrenin behaviortherapy. (Ed.), lnternational Reuiewol Research andMental Journol ol Applied Behauior Anolysis, 7973, 6, Retardation(Volume II). New York: Academic 1 3 1 -1 6 5 . Press, 1966. Stokes, T, F., & Baer,D. M, An implicit technology of generalization. Journalof AppliedBehsviorAnalyNECOMMENDEDREADINGS sis,1977, 10, 349-367. Lovaas, O. I., Berberich, J. P., Perloff, B. F., & Refercnce Note Schaeffer, B. Acquisition of imitativespeechby schizophrenic children. Science, 1966, 151, 1. Carr,E. Generalization of treatment effects follow705-707. ing educational intervention with autistic children Metz,J, R. Conditioning generalized imitation in autisand youth. In Wilcox, 8., and Thompson, A. tlc chlldren. Journolol Experimentol (Eds.), CritlcalIssuesin Educailng Auttsilc ChtlChild Psychology, 1965,2, 389-399. dren and Youth, To be published, 1980.

REFERENCES

ll{

Imitatlon, Mciching, and Ecrly Langucrgo

UNIT

ff
BASIC SEIF.HELP SKITLS
Many developmentallydisabled children have difficulty learningbasicself-help skills.They oftenrequire an enormousamount of help and effort from the attending adult in order to be "sociallyappropriate"in skillssuch as dressingand toileting.However, with carefulteachingand patience,most of thesechildren can learn quite complex self-care skills.Your child is no exception;once he becomesmore self-sufficient, he will becomelessof a burden on his familyor caregivers. This Unit contains programs for teaching your child tofeed, toilet, dress,and undress himself, and programsfor teachinghim to brush his hair and

your childneeds brushhisteeth.Obviously, moreself-help thanthe few we haveoutlined in this skills your own. Unit, but enoughpointersare givenin theseprograms so that you are ableto construct The feedingand toiletingprogramsmaybe started afteryour child hasprogressed through UnitII, the "GettingReadyto Learn"unitof the manual.Dressing, andtoothbrushing hairbrushing, are programs morecomplex and shouldbe started afteryour childhaslearnedgeneralized motorimitation andcanfollowseveralverbal instructions. Do not try to teachtoo muchat once.Choose oneskillata time and wqrk with your child regularly until he masters it. The programs on self-help skills,discussed in Unit IV, were writtento enable the teacher to proceed programs withoutthe student havingcompleted whichwere the on imitation of simpleactions, in Chapter 8. Therefore, described theprograms in UnitIV relyon breaking the various complex behavphysical prompts, guiding iors down into smallerelements and using the student such as manually It was the intent of the programon imitationin Chapter8 to facilitate throughthe behaviors. the progress with the student's acquisition suchasself-help behaviors. To the extent of complex behaviors, that the student canimitate(or learnto imitate) uses to elicitthe the adult,the promptthat the teacher student behavior ratherthan physicalguidance. Early correct shouldbe her own (modeled) behavior, mastery and continuous trainingin imitationof gestures the student's of Unit IV. shouldfacilitate and many may find The programs for teaching selthelp skillsin this book are introductory, developed by Baker. theminadequate for theirpurposes. We havemadeextensive useof theprograms (7972). (79771and proprograms Watson's Heiletz & Murphy developed by Watson Brightman, the gramsmay be particularly helpfulfor the severely retarded.

u5

CHAPTER
EATING

14

Children are generallytaught to spoon-feedthem_ selves first because the spoon is the easiest utensilto manipulate.As in teachingany complex behavior, eatingshould be broken down into smallsteps and a verbal cue given for each step. It is recommended that complex eating skills, like dressingskills, be taught using the backward chainingprocess.In this process,the child learnsto perform on his own the laststepin the sequence first,then the next to the last step, and so on, until he can perform allthe stepson his own. For teachingthis behavior,choosea spoon that your child can manipulateeasily.you may want to investin a smallchild'sspoon lf his handsare very small.Your child should learn to feed himselfindependentlya littlefasterif he is not struggling with a spoonthat is too largeand clumsyfor him. puttingthe food in a bowl insteadof on a plate should also help the child obtain bettercontrol of his food. When teachingthe child to eat with a spoon, you should use soft foods, such as applesauce, pudding, or yogurt, because they are easierto put on a spoon than chunks of meat o, u"g.tubl"r. You may want to breakdown the use of a spoon into four steps.Note that in a hue backward chainingparadigm, you should start with Step 3, (that is, the adult placesa full spoon in the child's hand), but sincethere are so few stepsinvolved,we have usuallybeen successfulstarting with Step 1. Step 1: Say "Pick up spoon," and then ptaceyour hand over your child'shand and arrangehis hand so that it grasps the spoon. Wth your hand stilloverhis, lift up his hand, spoon and all. praise him for pickingup the spoon. You shouldteachyour child to masterthisresponse beforeyou go on to the next step. Step 2: Say "Get food," and guide his hand so that the spoon dips into the bowl. The act of getting food on the spoon will be difficult; make sure that you show him how to turn his wristto make the spoon dip downward. Praisehim. Once he has placedfood appropriately on the spoon. go on to Step 3, his reinforcementfor completing Step Z. Step 3: Say "Eat," and gentlyapply pressure under his clenchedhand so that he liftsthe spooncon. taining food upward toward his mouth. Praise him. Continue to guide his hand with th

tt7

Step 4:

spoon in it to his mouth. Your child will probablyopen his mouth to acceptthe spoon naturally. Praisehim as you help him put the spoon in his mouth. If he's hungry, he'llget the idea soon enough. Be sure to praisehim for each step. Once the spoon is in his mouth, you may needto remind him to take it out. Some childrendo not naturally reiectthe spoon from their mouth but continue to "mouth" it. Say, "Spoon down," and guide his hand, stillgrasping the spoon, away from his mouth and onto the table. Praisehim.

If your child self-stimulates a lot with his hands or with the spoon, or if he frequentlytriesto put hls handsin the bowl, tell him, "Hands quiet," and insistthat both handsstayflat on the tableuntil he is ready to take the next bite with his spoon. Be sure to praisefor quiet hands. When your child has swallowedthe food in his mouth, beginthe sequenceagainwith, "pick up spoon." You should discourage your child from "shoveling"his food. Make surethat your child has finishedthe first bite before startingto take another. When your child has been through the entiresequenceenough times that you can feel he is learningthe task, beginto fade out your assistance. Startby lettinghim perform the laststep in the sequencefirston his own' For example, let your child put the spoon on the tableby himself.Praise him generously. When your child has released the spoon on his own a couple of times, let him perform on his own the whole sequence of takingthe spoon from his mouth and putting it on the table.Alwaysgive the verbalcue "Spoon down" at this stageand be sure to praiseenthusiastically. Continue to give lessand lessassistance; that is, let your child perform more and more steps on his own. Fade out your assistance slowly, makingsure your child has had severalsuccesses at each stagebeforerequiringhim to do more by himself . Eventually, you will alsowant to fade out all your verbal cues. Wait a few moments beforegiving the cue to see if your child even needs a reminder. If he does,you may be ableto indicatewhat the next stepis by somevisualcue, suchas pointingat the spoon and then at the table for "Spoon down." This sequence of behaviors was taught without the adult modeling appropriate use of the spoon for the child. Instead,the child waspromptedthrough manualassistance and reinforced for each step.In the long run, it is betterto teacha behaviorby usinga combinationof modetingand physical assistance. It is a good rule to try to demonshate (model) the action yourself before you physicallyprompt it' If he imitates you, you savea lot of effort. If he doesnot imitateyou, then your demonstrating the actions (asyou physically prompt him) will teachhim more aboutimitation.The more he is taughtto do in imitationof you, the easierit will be for him to learn later. Once your child can readilyfeed himselfwith a spoon usingsoft foods, graduateto a bowl of bite-size portionsof solid foods. You should only have to prompt gettingthe food on the spoon and perhapsmaking sure the spoon is held steadybeforeit goesinto the mouth so that food does not fall off. Your child should be able to perform the rest of the stepson his own. You can teachthe child to use a fork and a knife in the same manner. Break the task down into small steps, use verbal cues for each step, fading out your assistance slowly, beginning with the last slepfirst.

t &

& fr'

&

$,,}iS

Bqslc Sell-help Skllls

CHAPTER
DAYTIME TOILET TRAINING

15

Toilet tralning your child requires an initialtime investment on yourpart.Be prepared to spendabout6 hoursworking on the taskwith yourchild.Using the proceduredescribed in this chapter,adaptedfrom the methodsdeveloped by Azrin and Foxx (I97I), we haveusually beensuccessful in toilettraining the child in one day. It takesa lot of work in the beginning, but afteryour child is hained, you both will be happierpersons.

PNEPANINGFOR THE PNOGRAIU

The following suggestions should aid you in toilet haining your child: 1. Your child should not be wearing diapersduring training. You should have about 1.2pairs of training pantson hand. You will need enoughso that you can changethe child into dry pantseachtime he soilsthem. Your child should be ableto easilymanipulatehis clothing.Have your child wear simpleclothing, such as slackswith an elasticwaistband or a short skirt. Your child should be comfortablesittingon the toilet. It is important that the child need not have to struggleto keep from falling in. To avoid this problem you can use a potty chair or put a child-size toilet seaton the regular toilet. If you use a regulartoilet for training, provide a low stool or block on which the child can place his feet while sitting on the toilet. You should keep plenty of your child's pref.erred beverages on hand. You want to increase the child's fluid intake so he will eliminate more frequently. You shouldalsokeep smallfood heats (e.g., nuts, dried fruit, candy, chips)ready in the bathroom to use as rewards. You should chooseheatsthat will increase the child'sthirst so that his fluid intake is increased,

2. 3.

4. 5.

The next section contains the major steps for the overall procedure of toilet training- Additionaltoilet skillsare discussed in the last section. ll9

INTENSIVE TNAINING
S t e p 1 . Sittingon the Toilet. The goal of this step is to make it clearto your child that he is expectedto

eliminatein the toilet. This is accomplished by placingyour child on the toilet and givinghim many liquidsto drink' Reward him profuselyeverytime he eliminates. This stepusually takes about 2 hours. During this time the child should be completelyundressed in order to avoid the possible confusionof having to remove clothes. (Later, some clothing may be left on.) Il your child eltminofes, praisehim enthusiastically and give him hugs,liquids,and food' Remember,the more he drinks,the more often he will eliminate,and the more often he can be rewarded. After you have rewarded him for his performance, allow him to leave the bathroom for about 10 minutesto play, beforereturningto the toilet. lf your child does not eliminate, praise and reward him every 3 minutes or so for "Good sitting." Step 2: Building lndependent Toileting Skil/s.The goal of this step is for the child to learn go to to the toilet in order to eliminatethere. Your child should be seatedon a chair next to the toilet. He should still be undressed during this step. If your child goes to the toilet and eliminates, reward him immediately,while he is stillon the toilet, with liquids,hugs,and other rewards,and give him a short break.When he returnsto the bathroom, place his chair a littlefarther away from the toilet and put haining pants or underwearon him. lf your child does not eliminate after S minutes, reward him for "Good sitting." Rememberto give him plenty of liquids. Il your child eliminates whilesitfingon the chair,havehim go through an overcorrection procedure: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Step 3: Reprimand him shongly for eliminating in his pants. Have him clean his clothesand the chair. Give him a shower.Optimally,a cold showershould be given; at least,it shouldnot be a pleasantshower. The chrld should not receiveany rewardsfor a S-minuteperiod. Placeyour child back on the toilet untir he eliminates there.

lncrease Toileting Skt/ls.The goal of this step is for your child to gradually learn to go to the toilet when it is some distance away, that is, walk to the bathroom, remove his clothing,and eliminate in the toilet. Placethe chair farther away from the toilet each time your child is successful.Also, with each success, add more piecesof clothing. If your child eliminatesin the toilet, praise him enthusiastically, while he is still on the toilet. Give him a short break, and, when he returns, move his chair farther away from the toilet, and add an articleof clothing. If your child does not eliminate alter 5 minutes,reward him for continuing to sit in the chair. If your child eliminatesin his ponfs, have him go through the overcorrectionprocedure outlined in Step 2. Move the chair closerto the toilet and remove an article clothing. of You should continue with Step 3 until your child can successfully get up from the chair, go to the bathroom, remove his clothing,and go to the toilet. When your child has masteredStep 3, go on to Step 4, Maintenance.

tn

Bqslc Sell-help Slills

Step 4: Maintenance. Thisstepinvolves checking yourchild's pants every15-30 minutes. Askyour child, "Are you dry?" You may haveto prompthim to answer this question by helpinghim placehis handon the crotchareaof hispantsso that he canf.eelfor wetness. Il your childis dry, praise, cuddle,and kisshim. Reward him alsowith sometreat that he likes. him ("Bad!Wet pants!")and havehim go through ff your child is wet, reprimand the overcorrection procedure. Thenreturnto Step3. Continue with Step3 untilyourchild canget up from the chairand eliminate in the toilet. If your child independently toilets, rewardhim profusely. Withcontinued success, lengthen "dry pants thetimebetween checks," untilitisno longernecessary to check, Fading Out hompts and Returning to Normql Schedule Onceyourchildunderstands whatis required of him, you willwantto gradually fadeout yourphysical assistance, the amountand frequency of the reinforcers, and,finally, yourverbal cues. Afteryou have followedthroughwith this intensive trainingfor 2 to 3 days,you witl want to returnto a more normal schedule: Give"dry pantschecks" before or aftermeals or snacks, and at naptime and bedtime. You may alsowantto havethesechecks at timeswhenyour childis mostlikelyto eliminate. 2. Whenaccidents occur,reprimand as usual, and havehim go throughovercorrection. 3. Avoid puttingdiaperson your child again.If necessary, instruct babysitters and teachers in your procedure so thatthey will not continue to usediapers. 1'

ADDITIONAT TOILETING SKIttS

The following toileting skills should be taught after your child has learned successful toileting. If your child eliminated,and it is necessary to wipe: 1. Inshuctyour child to "Get somepaper," while helpinghim get enough toiletpaper from the roll. 2. Praisehim for gettingthe paper. 3. Help your child graspthe paper correctly,then say, "Wipe yourself,"while helpinghim through the entire motion of wiping. 4. Praisehim for wiping. 5. When your child haswiped himself,instruct him to "Drop the paper," while helpingyour child releasethe paper and drop it into the toilet. Getttng Off the Tollet I' Tellyour child "Stand up," or "Get down," while prompting him to do so, if necessary. 2. Praisehim for getting down. Dresslng 1' Say, "Pantsup," and prompt your child by helpinghim take hold of the waistband of his pants and using his hands to pullthe pants up to his waist. 2. Praisehim for pulling up his pants. Dcytime Totlet Trcining Wtplng

lil

Flurhing the Tollet 1. Tellyourchildto flush, andprompt himbyguiding hishandto thehandle andpushing firmlyto flushthe toilet. 2. Praise himfor flushing.

DcrtcSrll-hdp S}tlk

CHAPTER
DRESSING

l6

Theskills involvedin learning to undress arenot only closely related to thoseinvolvedin learning to dress, but alsoare more easily taught.Therefore, undressing is usually taughtfirstto ensure, the success of the child. It is recommended that ,,backward chaining" be usedin teaching undressing and dressing. Thisessentially means thatthe childbetaughtthelast actionin a sequence of actions first,then the nextto the last, and so on, until the first actionin that se_ quenceis taughtlast. However,you will want to promptyourchildthrough the entire sequence a few timesbeforeinsisting that he learnthe individual actionshimself.

UNDNESSING children usually learnfirstto takeoff theirshoes and socks, thentheir pants,and thentheirshirts. It is recommended thatyou teachthe items in thisorderandthatyou work with one itemuntilthechildis ableto removeit by himself. Removlng Shoes and Socke step 1: Your childshouldbe seated so that he canreachhisshoes. Step 2: Say,"Undo laces," or "Unbuckle," and then takehisprefened handand physically move him through the motions praise of untying or unbuckling his shoes. him. Step 3: Say,"Shoes off," and thentakehishandandpluc"-his indexfingerin the heelof hisshoeand pushdown on hishanduntilthe shoedropsoff. Praise thechildthenrepeat theprocedure for the othershoe.

r23

Step 4: Say, "Socksoff," and placethe child'sthumb and index finger under the top of his sockand
push his hand down untilthe sock comesoff. Praise the child and repeatthe procedurewith the other sock. Once your child seemsto be hying to cooperateand has the generalidea of what is expected of him, start with the losfsfep in the sequencefirst, and let him take off the lastfew inchesby himself.Praisehim generously for doing so. Once your child can removethe lastfew inchesof sockby himself , have him pull it off his heel by himselfand remove it the rest of the way. Be sure to praisehim. Continue to fade your prompts (reduceyour assistance) slowly, making sure your child has had severalsuccesses at each stagebefore requiring him to do a little bit more by himself. Work backward in this manner until your child can take off his shoesand socksindependently. Once the child knows how to take off his shoesand socks,have him do it severaltimes (you put the socksand shoesback on aftereach trial) in response to your instruction "Shoesand socksoff." This is to practiceundressing to your command, to help bring him under verbal control.

Step 5:

Step 6: Step 7: Step 8: Step 9:

Removing Pqnts

Step 1: Your child should be wearingpantswith an elasticwaistbandor pants that can be removed Step 2: Step 3:
without being unsnappedor unzipped. Say, "Pants off," and hook your child'sthumbs under the waistof his pants at the side and pull his pants down with your hands over his hands. Praisehim for pulling down. Say, "Lift your foot," and, if he does not follow this instruction, prompt him by placingyour hand behind one knee and liftinghis foot out of one pant leg. Repeatthe procedurewith the other leg. Reward his cooperationwith praise. If this step is too difficultfor your child to do standingup, then have him sit down, Say, "Sit down," and, if necessary, prompt him to do so by pushingdown on his back with one hand and on his stomachwith the other. This will causehim to bend over. Pushinga littlemore on his back will help him get the idea that he is to sit down. Once he is seated,say "Leg out," or "Pull your leg out," and help him graspthe pantswhile liftingone leg out of the pant leg with your hand on his shin or behindthe knee. Repeatfor the other leg and be sureto praisehim. As with the shoes and socks, begin to give lessassistance starting with the last action. Allow your child to lift his feet the lastfew inchesout of his pants by himself. You can ensuresuccess here by pressinga little harder behind his kneesjust before you let go so the momentum will carry his foot out of the pants leg. Give lessand lessassistance until your child lifts his feet by himself when you say, "Lift your feel." When your child needs only occasionalremindersto lift his feet, begin fading out your assistancefor pulling his pantsoff . Again, startout by lettinghim pull down the lastfew inchesby himself. Be sure to praiseyour child and allow him a few successes at each stagebeforegoing to the next. Continueto fade your assistance until your child can perform the whole sequence when you "Pants say, off." Rememberto praiseat each small step. Rememberto practiceoften in order to gain verbalcontrol.

Step 4:

Step 5:

Step 6: Step7:

Step 8:

t8r

BqstcSelf-help Shills

DNESSTNG Dressing should be taught in the samemanner asundressing, thatis,fromthe lastaction in a sequence to thefirst'You should, however, waitto teach fastening skills suchassnapping, zipping, andbuttoning untillaterbecause thesetasks requiremoredexterity and cannotbe expected of very youngchildren. It may helpto teachfastening skills bv attaching fasteners to a board throughtheskills ""d;id;;ril.iira whilethe fasteners are in front of him beforeaskinghim to perform them on his own clothing. As with undressing, the skillof puttingon eachgarment shouldbe brokendown into small steps' Provide verbalcues for eachstep,andphysically proirptwhennecessary. Thenfadeout yourassistance starting with the laststep.However,don't moveon to the next step until the child hassucceeded a number of timesat the previous step.Be sureto praise him at eachstep. The following steps for eachgarment aresuggested. They arelistedin the orderin whichyou wouldteachthem,that is, in reverse sequence.

It iseasier rorchirdren ir theysitdown -i',:tli:tt':l"l:i:rr,

Step 1: Step 2: Step 3: Step 4: Step 5: step 6: Step 7: Step 8: Step 9: Step l0: Step 1l:

pants on.

Position waistband of pants. Pull up pantsfrom buttocks to waist. Pull up pantsfrom kneesto buttocks. Pull up pantsfrom ankles to knees. Standup. Pushfeetthroughpant reghores so pantsareat the ankres. Put pant legsoverfeet (oneat a time). Whilestillholdingpants,reachdown to feet. pantsat side,holding Grasp front_side up. Pickup pants. Sit down. Putting On Shirr Pull body of shirt down to waist. Put armsthroughsleeves (oneat a time). Hold shirtso that armscango through (oneat a time). sleeves Pullshirtover head. Place shirton top of head. Hold shirtin proper positionso that it will go on correctly. Pickup shirt. Putting On Socks Pull on top of sock. Pull the heelof sockover heelof foot. Pull sockup to heelaftercorrectly positioning it on toes. Position sockon the toes. Hold sockconectly, readyto be put on. Pick up sock. Sit down.

Step l: Step 2: Step 3: Step 4: Step 5: Step 6: Step 7:

Step 1: Step 2: Step 3: Step 4: Step 5: Step 6: Step 7: Dressing

lt0

on shoes stepl: push heer offoot into heer rlltjl"o "r heelof foot. Step 2: Pull heelof shoealmostover
step 3: Pushfoot into shoe,afterconectty positioning it on toe. Step 4: Position shoeon the toes. Step 5: Hold shoe,correctly, readyto be put on. Step 6: Pickup shoe. Step 7: Sit down. In teaching undressing and dresstng you havebeenprompting skills, the childby physically assisting him throughthe action.Anothermethodof teaching these skills is throughmodeling. Thatis,try to teachthe childby havinghim imitateyour actions. Advantages of imitation training arethatthe child will learnmore and moreto imitateyou and lesstime will haveto be spentwith the tedious shaping of eachseparate step' You may stillneedto shapehis behaviors but to a lesserdegreethan before.you shouldhy to promptthe child'sbehavior throughimitation of your actions and thenreinforce him. insteadof relyingexclusively on manual(physical assistance) promprs.

tr

Easic Sell-help S}tlh

CHAPTER
BRUSHING OR COMBING HAIR

T7

You must decide ahead of time how your child should brush, or comb, his hair and then break it down into a logical sequence of steps. Each step should contain a verbalcue. Choose a sequence of stepsthat is natural for your child and appropriate for your child'shaircut.Thesestepscan include: picking up the brush with the prefened hand, brushing the hair startingat the part and shoking downward on the left and right sides,brushingthe hair on the back of the head, and brushing the bangs.Additionalsteps include brushingthe undersideof the hair for long hair, or using front to back strokesrather than down_

sitting in frontof a mirrorsothathecan,"" *nurlTit::ff

Step 1: Siep 2:

Youshould teach while heis vourchild

step 3:

step 4:

Thefollowing procedures shouldbe followed when"teaching how to brushor combhair. Givethe command ,,Brush for eachstep,for example, back.,, Modelthatstepby performing you maywantto say,,Do the action yourself. this,,,to getthe childreadyto imitate you. Praise him for imitating you. Repeat the modeling procedure for eachstep,if necessary. once your childhasthe general ideaof whatyourcommand means, you may wantto providephysical promptsif he cannotget the teil ofperforming the actionproperly.Givethe command' thenguidehishandthrough theappropriate motion.provideonlyenough assistance to allowhim to complete the action.piui." ni.. when yourchildcanperform theaction, butneeds a reminder, provide a visualprompt. For example, pointto thebackof hisheadfor thecommand, "Brushback.,, If thispromptissufficient'provideno furtherassistance andpraise him whenhe completes the action.If the visual promptis not sufficient, thengivea physical prompt(guide the actionwith your hand),but onlythe minimumpromptneeded to reminj him.

t27

Step 5: Gradually fadeout (decrease) yourassistance by firstgradually reducing the amountof physt, you provide.Next, gradually cal assistance reducethe amountand frequency of visuatcues and promptsyou provide.Finallyfadethe verbalinstuctionsfor eachstep. When the programis completed, your child shouldcomb or brushhis hair independently whenyou giveone inshuction, "Comb hair."

il

Bsrlc Solf-hdp Sklllr

CHAPTER
TOOTH BRUSHING

18

of a long and is composed The actof tooth brushing with any case is the As actions' of sequence complex shouldbe taught tooth brushing behavior, complex complex act, it a such With in very small steps. in teachquiteclearhow muchthe program becomes 7) can help. It would be so ing imitation(Chapter inthe sequence, much easierto just demonshate evetystep' We hope steadof havingto hand-shape through to be ableto saveas much time as possible (modeling)the right actions,using demonstrating fails' whenmodeling hand-shaping your childhow to teaching for guideline asa isrecommended of steps sequence , The following brushhisteeth: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Turn on the water. by its handle' Pick up the toothbrush Wet the toothbrush. Turn off the water. hand' tube with the nonpreferred Graspthe toothpaste caP' Removethe toothPaste Setthe caPdown. to the brush' ApplYtoothPaste down. Lay the toothbrush the toothpaste' on cap the Replace tubedown' Lay the toothPaste toothbrush. the up Pick

from ProiectMore, University of KansasBureau Much of the information presentedin this chapter has been adapted Kansas' Center' Parsons' o{ Child Research,ParsonsState Hospital and Training

129

of upperand lowerteeth. 1 3 . Brushthe outsidesurfaces

1 A

.1.$.

15
Ib.

l7 18 19 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26, 27. 28. 29. 30.

of teeth. Brushthe bitingsurfaces o{ upper and lowerteeth. Brushthe insidesurfaces down. Lay the toothbrush Pickup a cup. Turn on the water. Fillthecup withwater. Turn off the water. Rinse the mouth. Put the cup down. Wipethe mouth. Turn on the water. the toothbrush. Rinse down. Lay the toothbrush Rinse the sink. Turn off the water. Dry hands. away. Put the equipment

the order of of stepsis recommended,not required,It may be that rearranging This sequence that the sesure However, make your child. some of the stepswill be more convenientfor you and quenceyou choosecontainsstepsthat follow in a logicalmanner. seeif your child can perform any of the abovesteps to teachtooth brushing, Beforebeginning materials(toothbrush,toothpaste,cup) and ask him to on his own. Provide him with all the essential your child alreadycan perform part of brush his teeth. Sometimesyou can saveseveralstepsbecause the task. You can simply indicateto him the appropriatetime to perform that action. the stepsyour child can and cannotperform on his own, choosea Once you have established verbalcommand to accompany eochstep. You should have as many verbalcommandsas you have steps.Your child may not need as many stepsas are recommendedhere. For example,if your child already understandsthat wetting somethingrequiresthat he turn on the water, put the objectunder the water, and then turn off the water, Steps 1 through 4 could be combined into one step, "Wet toothexactlywhat is brush." Choosethe right number of stepsfor you and your child so that he understands requiredof him when you give the command for that step. As in other complex behaviors,the beststrategyfor teachingyour child to brush his teeth comfor of modeling,imitation,and prompting.The followingmethod is recommended binesthe techniques eachstep: Step l: Step 2: Give the command for that step, for example,"Wet toothbrush." action just by being asked, provide no further assislf your child can perform the necessary that step. If your child can't perpraise him when he completes tance. However, be sure to form the action, show him by modeling, that is, perform the action yourself, You may need to say "Do this" to get him to imitateyou. Praisehim for imitatingthe action. If your child is unable to imitate the action, then prompt him by guiding his hands with yours' trials, decreaseyour amount of assistance. Gradually, over successive When your child understandswhich action he must perform to your command, but sometimes needs a reminder, provide a visualprompt or instruction. Bqslc Self-help Sktlls

Step 3: Strp 4:

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strp 5: If a vbualp::f* is nol enough of a remlnder, thenprovtde a physical promptbyguidtng his hands through the actton. Provide onlyenougi*r[r"n.. asis necessary get to himto performthatstep.Be sureto pralse htm. $t*p 6: Fadeout (decrease) yourassistanc.g byfirstgradually reducing theamount of phyeical asslstanceyou provide' Next, graduatly reducethe amountand frequency of visual cues of prompts you provide.Thengradualy fadethe verbar commands. Whentheprogram is completed, yourchildshould beable to perform hisenilrctoothbrushingroutlne whenyoutellhlm only,,,Brush teeth.,,

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RETFRENCES

loosa, Alabama:BehavlorModflcationTechnol. ogy,L972.

Azrin,N. I'1.,and Foxx,R. M. A rapldmethodof toilet hafnlngthe instftutlonaltzed retarded. Joumalof Ap. RECOUIIENDED NEf,DINCS plled Behautor Anolysts,L97L, 4, 89-99. Baker, B. L., Brightrnan,A. J., Helfetz,L. J., & Bernal, M.E., &North,J. A. Asurvyof parenttrainMurphy, D. M. Stepsto Independence : A sktlls trotnlngmanuals. Journal ol Applted Behautor Anolysts, ing serieslor chtldren wlth speclal needs. Cham7978,77,533-544. palgn,Ill.: Research Prcss,t977. Foxx, R. M., & Azrln, N. H. Totlettratntng the reWatson,L, S. Hou to usebehaulormodtltcattonwtth tarded:A program for day and ntghtilmeIndepen. mentallyretarded and autktlc chtldren: progromslor dent tolletlng. Champatgn, Ill.: Research Press, admlnlsfrators, parentsand nurses, teachers, Tusca7974.

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UNIT
INTERMEDIATE TANGUAGE
By thistime your child haslearnedto follow certain simple (Chapter instructions 10), and is learning to imitateyour speech (Chapter11) and hopefully making someprogress in bothareas, lt'stimethen,to proceed withmorelanguage haining. Thematerialin this Unit is a little more complexfor your child to learn,but is not necessarily more difficultfor you to teach. Programs are introducedthat will help the childdescribe hisenvironment morecompletely and his behaviormore accurately. Thereare two partsto language. One has to do with behaving appropriately to language as an inputof information. Thisis receptive speech and it is illustatedin the section in which we taughtthe childto followsimpleinstructions. It is calledreceptiue because the childisreceiving language, and acting on it. The otherpartof language iscalledexpressiue, that is, the child himselfwill express in his own wordswhat he sees,hearsor feels(others may act on whathe says). Thesetwo aspects of speech, receptive and expressive, areusually taughtsideby side, with the receptive part beingpresented initially,followedby the expressive counterpart. We beginby teaching a childto respondappropriately to an object(e.g.,by pointingto a cup) when an adultsays its name("cup"). We teachhim lo receiue whatis said.Later,he istaughtto express (e.g.,he whathe sees "cup"). says, Somechildren talkinappropriately, thatis,theytalktoo muchand whentheydo talk,it does not makeanysense. For example, somechildren willechowhatyou say,either immediately or aftera delay(theywill repeatyour question, suchas"What'syour name,"instead of answering the question). Or, theywill persist in repeating favoritesayings from TV commercials quiteout of context,and apparentlywithoutknowingwhattheyaresaying. Or, somechitdren willshingtogether wordsin combinationsthatdo not makeany obvious (forexample, sense a childwho exclaims in anycontext, "Helicopter pillowpilot").Althoughit isgoodthatthechildtalks,suchecholalic or psychotic talkofteninterferes with hissocial and educational adjustment. As far aswe canunderstand, echotalic and psychotic talkis selfstimulatory behavior.Chapter23 contains programs certain to help the child decrease suchtalk. Somechildrenhaveserious difficulty in bothreceiving and expressing vocallanguage. If you haveworkedwith a child for several monthsand he is makingno progress on verbalimitation,or on t33

receptive (vocal)labeling, then consider teaching him to sign instead of vocalizing. Sometimessigning programsfacilitatethe development of vocal language,and other times they provide a good substitute. In any case, keep in mind that some children may have serious problems with understandingvocal (auditory)input and may do relativelybetter with manual signs(visualinput). But hy vocaltraining first, becauseit is most practical in our society. The haining protocols for intermediatelanguageare presentedin some detail. This may seem redundant, since they are similar to those in the earlier chapters, but we decided to present them in detail,to be on the safeside. Giving names to (labeling)objects(with nouns) and simple actions (with verbs)are amongthe most fundamental of language skills. Your child must learn to comprehend and use the names of "things" and "actions"in order to interactand communicate with other people. This Unit describes a set of programsthat can be used to teach your child to understandand use a variety of names or labelsthat will be necessaryin his everyday interactions. The first four chaptersof this Unit cover the following areas: 1) understandingnames of objects, or receptive object labeling, in which the child learns to respond to instructionssuch as "Touch ct)p," ot "Touch book";2) learningto name objectsor expressive objectlabeling,in which the child is taught to answer questionssuch as "What is this?" and "What do you want?"; 3) understandingnames of simple actions, or receptiveaction labeling,in which the child learnsto perform or indicate an action when given instructions to do so, such as "Walk," or "Show me jumping"; and 4) learningto verbalize the names of actions, or expressiveaction labeling,in which the child is taught to respond to the question, "What are you (or am I, or is he) doing?", usinga verb to describethe action. Your child must learn a great number of names or labelsin each category in order to interact effectivelywith other people. Please note that the separation of receptive and expressivelabel training in this manual is somewhat artificial.After the initialstagesof the program, receptive and expressivelabeling should be practicedand trained concurrently. Receptiveand expressive training should be intermixed particularly portions of the programs. in the generalization Remember that the program on language in this book is an introduction to language; it's and want to do more than what is sugmeant to get you going. If you feel you are making progress, on gested here, then you may want to read about the extension of this progtam in a book specifically teaching language, The Autistic Child: Language Deuelopment through Behauior Modification (Lovaas,1977l'.

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Intermediate Lcngucrge

CHAPTER
RECEPTIVE OBJECT tABEtING

19

The procedure f.or receptive labeling is most easily canied out with objectsplaced on a small table between you and your child or with you and your child seatednext to one another with the objectson a table in front of you. A large number of common, everyday objectsshould be used in this program.

FIRSTtABEt
We chose a cup for a first object because it is frequently encountered. It is important to pick an object that is familiarand that he can handle. Any number of objects, suchas a truck, a doll, or a ball, or foods,suchastoastor cereal, can be used.You areparticularly fortunate if your child can point to an objectbefore he has receivedany formal haining. If so, stort with the objectshe can name olready. It is true in labeling, as it was in teaching him imitation and to but he does not usethem follow inshuctions, that the child may already"know" some of theseobjects, and that often. Your job now is to get control over theseearly labeh, by rewardingcorrectresponses, punishingincorrectones, as well as punishingthe child'sfailureto cooperate.Determineat the start(by observing,or, if you are the child's teacher,by askinghis parents)what the child alreadycan name (even if he is unreliableat it) and get control over those labelsfirst. It will save you a great deal of time. Beginhainingbyplacing outof sightandreachofthechild. Step 1: Removeallobjectsfromthetable, the cup, on the table about 1 to 2 feet in front of the child. Then present your instructionsto the child, in this case, "Touch cup." If the child respondsto criterion,go on to the second label. If the child respondsinconectlyfor five trials,go on to Step 2. prompt. You can prompt the child'sresponseby placing your hand on the cup so Step 2: The uisual If the childfailsto imitatethis action,follow the proceduregiven that the child will do likewise. in Step 4, the physical prompt. A correctresponsehas occurred when the child imitatesyou to the command "Touch cup." by reachingout and placinghis fingerson the cup in response praise has responded correctly (imitated child and food. When the Reward the child with your action) for 5 consecutivetrials, go on to Step 3. 135

Fadingthe uisualprompt. To fade the visual prompt, you first move your hand toward the cup, without actuallytouchingit. Then you gradually reducehow much you move your hand in the directionof the cup, until you aren't moving your hand at all. Reinforceeach conect response,and, when the child respondsto criterion,go on to the second label. Step 4: The physicalprompt. A physicalprompt may be necessary if the child fails to imitate you, or if, as previouslynoted, the child imitates so wellthat he fadeshis responseas you fade your prompt. In eithercase,physically prompt the correctresponse by takingthe child'shand and placingit on the cup. Then remove your hand and reinforcethe child after he has kept his hand on the cup for 2 or 3 seconds.Gradually and systematically fade, or reduce, this prompt by pulling more lightlyon the child'shand and releasing his hand soonerand sooner beforeit hasreachedthe cup. Continuetraininguntil the child touchesthe cup on your command without any physicalprompt at all (e.g., your hand staysin your lap or at your edgeof the table).After the child respondsto criterion,begin to teach the second label.

Step 3:

SECOND IABEI In orderto minimizethe child'sconfusion,the secondobjectchosenfor labeltraining shouldbe quitediffetent in physicalform and in functionfrom the firstobject.Thus, if a cup were the first object,a glass, similarin shapeto a cup and also used for drinking, would be a poor choice for the secondobject.In addition,the labelsor names of the two objectsshould be maximallydifferent.For instance,if "Cup" werethe firstlabeltrained,"Cookie" would be a poor choiceasa secondword, because both wordsstart with a "k" sound. Also, they have very similarfunctions-both go in the mouth. A good choicefor the secondlabelwould be a doll, for which the command would be "Touch doll." A shoe would be another good choice. Step 1:
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Remove all itemsfrom the tableexceptfor the doll being usedfor training.Placethe dollon the table in front of the child. Give the inshuction,"Touch doll." If the child respondsto criterion, go on to discrimination trainingusingrandom rotation.If the child makesfive consecutive errors, go to Step 2. Steps 2'4: Thesestepsare carriedout in exactlythe samemanner as those in the first label.When the child has masteredthis secondlabel, go on to random rotation.

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RANDOMROTATION
S t e p 1 : Once the child has reached criterion on the second object (doll), the first object (cup) is again
presentedby itself. Conduct severaltesttrialsto ensurethat the child stillrespondscorrectlyto the instruction,"Touch cup." If the child does not respond correctly,the correctresponse shouldbe retrained. Step 2: The second object is reintroduced. The trials are presented (following the procedure in Step 1, above) until the child responds correctly with no prompt for five consecutivetrials. Step 3: Steps 1 and 2 are repeated until little or no prompting is needed the first time that an objectis
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Place both objects on the tableabout\ to 2 feetfromthe childand about1 foot apart.present onecommand, e.g.,"Touchdoll,"andreinforce thechildwithpraise andfood if he iscorrect. On succeeding hials,you mustalternate yourinshuctions in a random fashion so thatthechildcannot usethe patternof commands ratherthan your actualcommands as a basis for responding. For instance, on a series of hialsyou mightaskfor: cup,cup,doll,cup,doll,doll,doll,cup,Joil. In uddition, theposition of the two objects shouldbe alternated in a randomfashion duringthe series of trialsin orderto prevent the child from associating a commandwith a position(rightor left) ratherthan with the objectbeing named'A typical sequence of trials mightshowoneobject in thefollowing positions: R(ight)L(eft)-RR-L-R-L-L-L-R. If thechildresponds to criterion, thenhe candiscriminate between objects andyou maygo on to teacha third label.If your childresponds inconectly for fivetrials,go backand retrain both labels separately, then beginrandomrotationagain.

THE PNOMPTS The simultaneous presentation of the two objects and the requirement that the childlearnto select the correctitem on the basisof your verbalcue may be quite difficult.There are several procedures for prompting a correct response, and you shouldtry eachoneuntilyou find onethatiscomfortable for vou and successful with your child.Let us illustrate two procedures. Proximity Prompting Thisprocedure placingthe objectnamedin your instructions involves closer to the childthanthe other object.On the firsttrial,placeone object(thecup) 1 foot fromthe childand the otherobject(thedoll)2 feetfromthe child,thensay,"Touchcup." On succeeding you continue trials to say,"Touchcup,,, as you gradually movethecup backintolinewiththedoll. You mustchoose (left the side or right)on which the cup isplacedin a randomfashion asyou fadethe proximity cue.Remember to allowthe childa few successes at eachlevelof promptingbeforemovingthe cup closerinto line with the doll. Continue to present hials untilthecupisbackin linewiththedoll.Afterthechildhasresponded correctly to thecommand,"Touchcup," with no promptfor fiveconsecutive you begin trials, to say,"Touchdoll."On the firsthial, placethe doll about1 foot from the childandthe cup2feetawayfrom the child.On succeeding trialsfadethe proximityprompt,that is, movethe doll backinto linewith the cup, asyou did before withthecup.Continue to present trials untilthechildhasresponded to "Touchdoll"correctly without a promptfor fiveconsecutive trials.Repeat the prompting procedure for cup, thenfor doll, and so on, eachtime decreasing the distance of the proximityprompt usedon the firsttrial (from 6 inches to 4 inches to 2 inches) andfading untilthechildneeds, at most,oneprompted you present trialeach time a command for the firsttime. ' Now use random rotationwhen presenting the two commands. Some slightproximity prompting maybe needed for severaltrials. Continue to present trialsuntilthechildhasresponded to criterion. Your child now haslearnedhis firstreceptive labeldiscrimination. Modeltng Thisprocedure is mostappropriate for the childwho readily imitates. Select a matching for setof objects yourself andforthechild. Placetheobjectsonthetablesothatyourarrayisamirrorimageof thechild's. Givetheinshuction prompt "Touch " cup, and the child to touch his cup by modeling the response, that , your cup. On succeeding is, by touching hials,randomlyalternate the two commands and the left-right
Receptive Obiect Lcbeling

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positions of the objects. Remember that the positions of the objects in your'sand the child'ssetshould alwaysmatch.Over a series of trials,reducbthe modelingprompt by cominglessand lesscloseto touching theobjects in yourset,Remember to allowthechildto succeed at a givenlevelof prompting a few timesbefore promptfurther.Continue reducing the modeling present to trialsuntilthechildhasresponded to criterion, withoutprompting. You now havetaughtyour childhisfirstreceptive labeling discrimination.

IABETING OTHEB OBIECTS Oncethechildhaslearned go on to teachhim to identifyotherobjects to identify two objects, in hisenvironment. present You shouldalways a newobject by itself andteach the childto respond to thisobject following theprocedure outlined above for thefirstandsecond labels. Eachtimethechildhaslearned a new object labelin isolation, it shouldbe presented simultaneously with two or moreobjects thathe can already name.As the child buildsa repertolre you of receptive objects labels that he can discriminate, shouldpresent manycombinations items of these to be surethe childhaslearned eachlabelwell.

GENERATIZATION TRAINING
When the child has masteredsix or more labelsyou should begin generalization training. The chitd must learn to identify other examples of an object correctly, not just the single item with which he has been hained. For instance,you want to teach your child to identifyall cups, not only the cup with which he was hained. At first, training should be extended to items that are quite similar to the original object. Gradually, you should inhoduce objectsthat are more diverse. You may need to use prompts during generalization training. Follow the same procedureyou used in teachingmatching (Chapter8). Continue haining until the child can correctlyidentify a new member of a class(e.9., a type of cup that he has never been askedto label)the first time it is presented.When your child can correctlyidentify a member of a classthe first time he is asked to do so, he has a "concept" of that class. Once your child can easily label a variety of objectsof different classes,you should begin to generalize his use of theselabelsto new situations.For instance,you should place itemsthat he can label around the livingroom (e.9., a cup on a coffeetable,a doll on the floor, a ball on a chair)and askhim to flnd them. You should regularly quiz your child on the names of objectshe encountersin his environment (e.9., the cup from which he is drinking,or his shirt).In essence, you must extend your haining into every possiblepart of your child's daily life. Only in this way will he become competent in generalizing skillshe acquires in the more shuctured therapy sessions to the less structured real world. The following list containssuggested items you may want to teach. You may want to add items not on the list or forego teachingothers. Your primary considerationshould be to chooseitemsfor training with which your child has frequent contact.
cup cookie banana pants apple
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doll block shirt book teeth meat

foot milk shoe knee boat ball

juice pen eyes truck bowl brush

tummy head sock

car cereal eat

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Intermediate Lcngucge

CHAPTER
EXPRESSIVE OBJECT tABEtING

20

(point to) apAfter your child has learned to identify you may begin to proximately 10 objectsreceptively, to use exteach him to name these objects, that is' labeling. pressiue In this program' your child willlearn to say that object the name of an object when he is shown common' and asked,"What is it?" A large number of program' everyday objects should be used in this recep' startingwith the same objectsused in teaching child the tive language (Chapter 19)' Moreover' you when should no*kno* how to verbally imitate training for you give the names of the objectschosen ithrough the verbal imitation training)'

FINSTtASEt
each other acrossa table' Place Step 1: you and your child should sit facing your child wants' you may want to choose objectsthat an object on the table in

front of the child. In the beginning, by name' you *unt to teach him to ask for these objects such as foods or a favorite toy, since be exif you startwith "cookie"' the child should and to get them when asked.-Forexample,

pectedtosay..Cookie,,beforeyougiveittohim.Thisservestomakehisspeechpracticaland as the child Place a cookie on the table and as soon functional, which also strengthensit. trial' that is' the It is important that the onset of the looks at the cookie, ask, "what is it?" succinct' your question "whll is it?" be as distinct' placement of the cookie on the table and to criterion' the chili's attention' If the child answers or discreteas possible,so that it catches five coninconectly or fails to respond for go on to the second label. If the child responds iecutive trials, go on to SteP 2' "what is it?" As soon as the on the table. Do not ask the child cookie the Place prompt The 2: Step by saying"Cookie'" If the child imitates response child looks at the cookie, prompt the correct until the and remove the cookie from the table you accurately, immediately reinforce him

139

Step 3:

beginning of the next trial. The intervalbetween trialsmay be anywherefrom 3 to 5 seconds, long enough to make the beginningof eachtrial discrete and definite,that is, the trial should have a clear onset, so as to catch the child's attention. If the child failsto respond correctlyfor five consecutive hials when you use the whole word as a prompt, you may suspendwork with that object, and begin training a different object with a labelthat the child can imitate. Fading the prompt After the child has correctly labeled the object for five trials with a full prompt (the entire word), you shouldbeginto /ode or reducethe prompt Graduallyreduce the amount of the word that is used to prompt the responseand the loudnesswith which the prompt is spoken. For instance,"Cookie" might first be faded to "co" at full volume, then to "k" at intermediatevolume, and finally to a whispered"k". The child should respondcorrectly with the full word "cookie" at a given level of prompting a few times before the prompt is further reduced. When the child has responded correctly at least five times to a minimal prompt, the prompt shouldbe eliminated. At thispoint, the cue for the child to respondis the appearanceof the object on the table in front of him. Control over his saying "Cookie" has been shiftedfrom your saying"Cookie" to the sightof the cookie on the table. The training procedure is completed when the child correctly labels the object to criterion without prompting.

Almost always, if you now were to place ony object in front of him, the child will say, "Cookie." It is not until he has a second label that he beginsto learn that different objectshave different labels.

tABEt SECOND
for that the secondobjectchosen The secondlabelis taughtin the sameway asthe first. Remember of the in form and functionfrom the first,and, in addition,the labels bainingshouldbe quitedifferent "Ball" be the second. may was first label, "Cookie" the two objects shouldbe maximallydifferent.If Teachhim to labelthe secondobjectto criterion,the sameway as you taughtthe firstlabel.

NANDOM ROTATION

Step 1: After the child has conectly labeledthe second word to criterion, the first label is again presented by itself. If the child does not label the object conectly for five tials, prompt the response.The first prompt should be the weakestone used in haining the word, for instance, a whispered "k" sound for cookie. If this prompt fails to elicit a correct response,a shonger prompt should be hied on the next hial. Continue to increasethe shength of the prompt on tials untilthe prompt is strongenough to produce a conect response.After a corsucceeding rect responsehas been elicited, the prompt is then graduallyfaded in the same way as in the initial fading. Trials are presenteduntil the child responds correctly, with no prompt, for five

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consecutive trials. The second object is then reinhoduced. Trialsare presented(followingthe procedure in Step 1, above) until the child responds conectly with no prompt for five consecutivetrials. Steps 1 and 2 arerepeated until little or no prompting is needed the first time that an objectis presented.
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Step 4: The two objects are next presented in randomrotation.Slightpromptingmay be necessary on the firstfew hials.(lf slight prompting is insufficient to elicitcorrect responding, returnto Steps1-3.) Trainingwith randomrotationshouldcontinueuntil the child responds to criterion. Oncethechildhasbegun to labelor nameobjects, andcanidentify several objects whenasked to do so,you havemadea goodbeginning on language, Muchof the hardworkis donebecause many of the laterprograms areelaborations on thetwo wejustdiscussed. Thereismuchwork ahead. butit will not be astrickyas building verbal imitation and teaching the firstmeaningful words.

IABEIING OTHER OBIECTS

The procedurefor teachingother words is the sameas that usedto teachthe firsttwo words. After the child learnseach new label, you should mix presentations of the new word with presentations of labels learnedearlieruntil the child responds to criterion.Remember to chooseobjects that have alreadybeen used in receptivelabeltraining and whose labelsthe child can imitate.

GENERATIZATION TNAINING
Begingeneralization trainingafterthe child haslearnedsixexpressive labels. The procedurefor general. izingexpressive labelsis the same as that described in the sectionon receptiveobjectlabeling.Remember that this step is crucialin the child'slanguagedevelopmentbecause he must learn "concepts,"no1 just labelsof singleobjectsand he must learnto use language all day, every day, not only in structured therapysessions.

"WHAT IS IT7' TEACHING

After the child has mastered perhapsa half dozenlabels, you shouldbeginaskingthe question,"What is it?" when presenting the objectto be labeled. This question is not askedin the preliminarystages of training, sinceit may block a good response to the prompt, and conceivably alsoblockthe child'sattention to the hainingstimulus.In the earlystages of haining,if possible, you shouldsay only the prompt word. In general, the less you say at first, the better. If the child echoesthe question insteadof labelingthe object or echoesthe questionjust before givingthe label, see the later sectionon procedures to controlecholalia(Chapter23).

"WHAT DO YOU WANTT' TEACHING

After the child has learnedto respondcorrectlyto "What is it?", trainingcan begin on, "What do you want?"Placeone objecton the table.The objectmust be one that the child would like to have (a favorile food or toy) and that he can labelexpressively. When the child visuallyfixateson the objects,you ask. "What do you want?" If the child fails to respond, then you should prompt the response(e.g.. say" "What do you want? (pause)"Cookie"l. The prompt is then faded. In the beginningof this haining, Xrori ExpressiveObiective Lcngucge

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mayfindit helpfultoaskthe question, "Whatdo you want"at low decibel leveland quickly,whilesaying the prompt, "Cookie," loudly and clearly.Later, raisethe decibellevelof the question and fade the prompt.Whenthe childhasmastered you shouldbeginto placetwo or more thisphase of theprogram, itemsthat the child would like to haveon the tablebeforeasking the child "What do you want?"The childisthengiventhe objectthat he labels. Thus,in thisphase of theprocedure, the childlearns thathe mustnamethe item that he wants.Oncethe childcananswer the question correctly, he shouldbe requiredto askfor (bylabeling) any desired item or action(suchasfood, toys, hugs,"open door" to get out, "up" to get pickedup, "down" to get off the chair)beforehe receives it. Additionalobjects areinboduced for labeling tn the samemanneras wassuggested for other (suchas the receptive discriminations labels).

Intormodlstr

Lcngucgc

CHAPTER
RECEPTIVE ACTION TABELING

2T

Once your child haslearnedto identifyand name ob_ jects,you can beginto teach him how to identifyand name behaviors or actions. That is, after he has learnedto point to and name objectssuch as milk, cookie, huck, and doll, he can learn to do the same with words that describeactions,such as standing, jumping, and laughing. sitting, The programfor teachingyour childto perform actionsin responseto your inshuctionsis similar to the procedurefor teachinghim to follow verbalin_ structions(outlinedin Chapter 10). We describe the trainingprogram again here, with the intent of elaboratingon some of the more complex behavlors.

"WAf,K TO TPERSOIY I OBTECN''

Thistaskteaches thechildto walkto another person in theroom (ifoneispresent) or to walkto an object in theroom (e.9.,a table). Step 1: You and your childshouldbe seated approximat elyfivesteps from the personor object to be (for example, approached the child'sfather).Present the instruction "Walk to daddy"to the child.If the childresponds to criterion, go on to the second behavior. If the childresponds inconectlyfor five trials,go on to Step2. Step 2: The prompt Thisand similar behaviors aremosteasily taughtby having thechildimitate you. Thus,aftersaying, "Walkto daddy,"you shouldsay,"Do this,"thenstandup, turn in the direction of the personto be approached, and walkto thatperson.If the childfailsto imitate you for five hials,usephysical promptsto getthe childto do what you haverequested. For example,you can prompt the child to standby placingyour handson his upperarmsand pullinghim up. You can then turn him in the appropriate directionwith your handsin the sameposition on hisupperarms.Finallg, prompt can him to walkto the specified prsorl Vou or objectby takinghim by the hand,or by pushinghim from behindif necessary. WhndE l{3

child reachesthe person or the object, he should be rewarded immediately with food and praise. Step 3: Fadingthe prompt Graduallyand systematically fade or reduce any physicalprompts you may be using. Begin by pushing the child more and more lightly and for fewer stepsto get him to walk. Next, touch his arms more and more lightly to get him to stand and turn in the appropriate direction until you need not touch him at all. While you fade or reduce the physical prompts, continue to perform the action yourself. Thus, when the physicalprompts are completelyfaded, the child should be imitatingyou. Now you must fade your modeling(demonstration)of the behavior so that the child can perform the behavior on his own in responseto your instructions.As with most of the other training procedureswe have described,you fade the prompts startingat the end of the behavioralsequence,that is, startingwith the laststep in the sequence.In this case,that step is walking with the child to the appropriateperson or object. Thus, you should graduallywalk a shorterand shorterdistance with the child until he is walking the entire distancealone. It may be necessary to introduce and then fade (gradually eliminate)a push from behind to get the child going when you are no longer walkingwith him. Next, you should fade the prompt of turningin the desireddirectionby turning lessand less.Again, the useof a lightphysical prompt to turn the child when you are no longerturning with him may be used and then graduallyfaded. Finally, you should fade the prompt of standingwith the child by standing to lessand lessof your full heightand by returningto a sitting positiononce the child is standing. prompt if necessary Usea lightphysical to getthe child to standwhen you are no longerperformingthe action, and to keep him standingwhen you are returningto a sittingposition.Eventually the prompt may be so much faded that you only nod your head in the appropriatedirection.When the child can stand,turn, and walk to the appropriate person or object unassistedand without a model (someone to imitate) to criterion,begin teachingthe next receptiveverb label.

,JUMPTO (PENSON I OBIECTT'

The secondreceptiveverb label is taught in exactlythe same manner as the first was hained. If you are usingan obpct rather than a secondperson in the training procedure, be sure that you use the some obWhen the child haslearnedthe secondreceptivelabel(e.g.,jumping to iect in teachingboth behaviors. the person or o,blect on command) , go on to random rotation.

RANDOMNOTATION
Step l: Reinuoduce the first command ("Walk to Person/Objecf'). If the child does not respondcorrectly for five rials, prompt the response.Begin by using a weak prompt, for instance,walk one or two steps. If this prompt failsto elicit a conect response,hy a shonger prompt on the next fial. Continue to increasethe sbength of the prompt on succeedingtrials until the child responds correctly. After a conect responsehas been elicited, fade the prompt in the same way as in the initial faining- Continue to presenttrials untilthe child respondscorrectly,with no prompt, for five consecutivetrials. Intermedlcrte Lcngucge

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Present hials (folis now reinhoduced. Step 2: The secondcommand("Jump to Person/Object") prompt, with no for lowingthe procedure in Step1, above) correctly, untilthechildresponds five consecutive in your voiceis on the word "walk" and hials.Makesurethat the emphasis on "jump," to helpyour childdiscriminate. 1 and2 untilthechildmakes no morethanone enor thefirsttimeyougivethe Step 3: Repeat Steps instruction. on thefirst 4: The two instructions in rotation, Slightpromptingmaybe necessary arepresented Step returnto Steps1-3.) responding, correct few hials. (lf slightprompting doesnot produce to criterion, Rotation shouldcontinue untilthe childresponds

TATER BEHAVIONS
the actionisthesame in whichthe childperforms verblabels Theprocedure for teaching otherreceptive you shouldmix label, eachnewreceptive Afterthe childlearns asthatusedto teachthe firsttwo labels. to criuntilthechildresponds learned earlier presentations of labels of the new labelwithpresentations you may choose to teachin thismannerare: labels terion.Otherbeginning
run lie down crawl eat drink wavebye-bye throw (theball) roll (theball) kick (theball)

TRAINING GENERATIZATION
It is criticalthat your child use the labelshe learnsduring structuredtherapy in nonstructuredsituations. in he knows wheneverthe opportunityarises verblabels Give your child commandsusingthe receptive hand, by the him "Walk of leading to car" instead askyour child to For instance, your daily interactions. practicewill your Only through extensive "Wave friends. to bye-bye" "Open door" and to ask him and for him' your it doing child becomeproficientat using theselabels.Let him do it, rather than

PICTIIRE TNAINING of people in pictures.Pictures Next you may want to teachthe child to identifythe actionsor behaviors for people to perform difficult may be that actions they can illustrate tools because are usefulteaching duringtherapy (e.g., sleepingor riding a bicycle).This taskis taughtin exactlythe samemanneras that for objects.Initiallyeachpicture are substituted objectlabeling.However, pictures outlinedfor receptive should show one person engagingin a singleactivity,such as eatingor sleeping.Typical instructions used in this task would be "Touch eating" or "Point to sleeping'" When selectingpictures for labelingand discriminationtraining, be sure to selectpicturesthat clearlyillustratethe activity you want to teach the child to identify. You should selectactivitiesin which of haining, you or that he seesothersengagein frequently.Thus, in the early stages the child engages person a car would driving picture a of would probably not want to selecta picture of a person skiing; a be more appropriate. As with object selection,initiallytry to selectverb labelsthat sound maximally disReceptlve Action Lcbeling

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similar to assist the childin discriminating the commands andto aidin laterexpressive language training. Finally,in the earlystages of thistraining,try to present the various activities in pairsthat areeasily discriminated visually aswellas auditorily. Thus,walkingversus runningmay be a difficultdiscrtmination earlyin haining,as mightbe sitting versus eating(since eatingusually occurs whileseated). You should waituntilthechildcanidentify pictures these wellwhentheyarepresented in combination with otheractivities beforepresenting them together. Justkeepin mind, you want the child to respond conectlyas possible. oftenas You canhelpthisoccurby presenting easy tasks firstandgrodually increasing thelevel of difficulty for the child. If the child is doing poorly, it is probably you have proceeded because too rapidly for him. It is interesting to checkand seethe extentto which your child will be ableto identifytwo(asin pictures) dimensional representations of real-life three-dimensional behaviors. The question also arises asto whetherhe willbe ableto identify real-life three-dimensionalbehaviors, afterhavinglearned to identifythesebehaviors in pictures. With sometrainingbackand forth he shouldlearn. The listbelowcontains you may wantto teach: examples of actions
walking waving jumping cooklng eating sleeping driving sitting standing reading writing smiling frowning kissing brushingteeth combing hair swinging throwing

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CHAPTER
EXPRESSIVE ACTION IABELING

22

You may begin this program when your child has learnedto identifyeight to ten behaviors. Your child will now learn to say the name of a behaviorthat he hasjust performedor hasseenyou perform. He also will learn to name behaviorsillustated in pictures. The firstbehaviors you choosefor trainingshould be behaviors he hasalreadylearnedto labelreceptively, Continue to work on the precedingprogramswhile you work through this program. Essentiallyyou will teach your child to name actionsthat you or he perform. The procedure for teachingexpressiveactionlabelingis quite similar to teachingexpressive objectlabeling. Thereare only two main differences: 1) insteadof showingthe child an objectyou show him an action(whichyou or he performs),and 2) you ask him, "What am I doing?" insteadof, "What is it?"

FINST TABET
Step l: You and your child should sit facing each other. You stand up and simultaneously ask, "What am I doing?" If the child answers correctly,by saying"standing" to criterion,go on to the second label. If he answersincorrectly or fails to answer for five hials, go on to Step 2. The prompt. To prompt the correctresponse,stand up and say, "Standing." Do nof say, "What am I doing?" If the child imitates you accurately, immediatelyreinforcehim. Sit down and stand up again, making the stimulusdiscrete.If the child failsto respond correctlyfor five trialswhen you use the whole word as a prompt you may either teach the child to imitate the label"Standing" (asin Chapter 10) or suspendwork with this actionand begintrainingwith an action the name of which the child can imitate. Fodingthe prompt The prompt (presentation of the correctresponse,"Standing") should be faded or graduallyeliminated in the samemanneras in earlierprocedures. When the prompt hasbeen eliminated,the cue for your child to respondwillbe your performanceof the actlon (standing). t47

Step 2:

Step 3:

SECOND tABEt The second labelis trained in the sameway asthe first.Remember to choose an action thathasbeen mastered as a receptive verblabel,Waving the handis a goodbehavior to pick.

RANDOM NOTATION Present thefirstaction to the child.If the childnames it correctly, thenpresent the second action. If he namesthe actionincorrectly for five trials,go backand retrainthat label,beforepresenting the other action.Alternate the presentation of the two actions untilthe childis consistently makingno morethan one errorthe firsttimean actionis performed. At thispoint,you should beginrandomrotation of the two actions.

IABELINGOTHEN ACTIONS
The procedurefor haining other expressive verb labelsand discriminations is the sameas that outlined above.

TEACHING "WHAT AM I DOINGT' Afterthechildhasmastered youshould labels for threeor fouractions, begin "What asking thequestion am I doing?" whenperforming theaction to belabeled. If thechildechoes the question instead of labeling the action or alongwith the label,seeChapter 23 for stopping echolalia.

PICTUNETNAINING It is difficult actions, to performcertain suchasridinga bicycle duringa therapysession. For or sleeping, these you shouldusepictures actions, instead of livedemonstrations in the initialstages of taining. In all otherrespects, trainingis the sameas described above.Remember for training that to chooseactions havebeenmastered as receptive verblabels.

GENENAIIZATION TRAINING
Ceneralization of expressiveverb labelsshould be canied out in a variety of ways. First (and easiest for the child) personsother than the therapistshould perform actionsthat the child can name and ask the child, "What am I doing?" Later you should ask, "What is he (she)doing?" while pointingto a second prsonwho is performingan actionthat the child can label.In addition, you should have the child perform behaviors that he can name and then ask, "What are you doing?" Once the child has mastered thesevariations of the basictask, you should ask him to labelactionsthat he can name as they occurin hb everyday life and as they are seen in pictures. As noted before, in the early stagesof each phase of training, some prompting may be required. Eeneralization

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STOPPING ECHOLATIA AND PSYCHOTIC TALK

23

Many developmentally disabled children are mute (do not verbalize)when you start to work with them; that is, their languageor verbal output is nonexistent, or is reshicted to occasional vowels or consonants that appear in a random or meaningless fashion. Some childrenmay evidencea greatdeal of speech, even though the speechappears to have no immediate meaning or significance for social communication. A child's speech may be echolalicwhen he repeats,either partially or completely, sentences that he hearsother people say. The echolaliamay be immediate,as when he echoeswithin seconds what an aduftjust said, or delayedin the sensethat the child

echoes wordsor sentences that he heardthe preceding hour, or morning,or evenweeksago. Otherchildrenhaverelatively elaborate speech, which doesnot appearto be echolalic. In("word stead thespeech maybe unusualword combinations salads") thatdo not makeanysense, such as"parhidge hammockcakedown eyelash," or the speech maybe meaningful but it occurs out of context. An example of the latteris the caseof a childwho spends a greatdealof hisday describing elevators,clocks, or datesand calendars to anyonehe meets and independent happening of whatis actually at the time. Suchinappropriate statements havebeencalledpsychotic talk. Psychotic and echolalic talk directlyinterfere with the child'sabilityto generate appropriate Thisis seenveryclearly speech. whenyou hy to teacha childa simple question andin so doingblockhis opportunity to generate the rightresponse. Therewill be manyotherreasons why you will wantto help a childovercome echolalic or psychotic talk;for instance, the presence of suchspeech candelaycogniprocesses. tivedevelopment by interfering with learning Echolalic andpsychotic talk,andprocedures to them, are described overcome in more detailbelow.

ECHOTAI.IA
Echolalictalk is not restrictedto autisticchildren or to psychoticchildren, although it is often considered an indlcationof those conditions. Echolaliaoccursin normallanguagedevelopment; it peaksaround 30

149

months of age, then decreases.Echolalic speech can also be observed in children who have experienced recenthaumatic brain injury. The presenceof echolalicspeech in a child who is beginning therapy gives the child a better prognosis for learninglanguage than if he were mute. Eventhough the child may not know the meaning he is echoing,he knows how to talk. If the child didn't have echoof the words and word combinations lalic speech,then a great deal of time would have to be spent in teaching him to form sounds and words child is far ahead and word combinations. So, for no other reasonthan that time is saved,the echolalic of his mute peers. Children who are mute, but who later become good at speakingwith languagehaining, do so after they have passedthrough a stageof developing echolalicresponding. The previously mute children who do not enter an echolalicstagerarely become good at using language,at leastnot vocal language.Therefore, it is to the child's advantageto learn to echo, even if he doesn't do so before you begin working with him. The child clearly has to go beyond echolalic (or psychotic)talk in order to function more adequately on an interpersonallevel, to problem solve, and otherwiseto improve in his cognitivef unctioning. Why children echo is hard to say. It is unlikely that they echo becausethey are rewarded or reis probablynot operantbeinforcedfor doing so by people who listento them. In other words, echolalia but insteadit may be operant behaviorbased havior basedon sociallycontrolled extrinsicreinforcement, behavior. The child's reinforcement may consistof his on infrinsicreinforcement, like self-stimulatory matching what he hears himself say to what he has heard other people say. In other words, the reinNotice how closely forcer is to match, and in that sensethe child giveshimselfhis own reinforcement. people's fact, some children in speech; other nuances of track the some children and how beautifully perhaps also their teacher's' have severalvoices, imitating their mother's intonations,their father's,and Echolaliacan be viewed as storing or otherwisepreservingin the brain the auditory input from one's surSo, it to a visualafterimage. speechwould be analogous roundingenvironment.In that senseecholalic may be useful to retain certain aspectsof it, as an "internal" rehearsal.Proceduresfor helping the child below. move past overt echolalicrespondingare described

OVERCOMING ECHOTAI.IA that he does not understand.For example,if you say, An echolalic studentis likely to echo statements "Point to your head," and if the child knows how to follow that command, then he will not echo that command. On the other hand, if you were to say, "Point to your cranium," then it is likelythat the child would echo the statement and not follow the command. This means that you should observesome decreasein echolalic responding as the child acquires meaningful language. In any case, you may he willreecholaliaeven if the child is learninga great dealof languagebecause observeconsiderable main ignorant of correct answersto most questions. One procedure for stopping echolalicspeechto unfamiliar statements(commands,requests) has been provided by Schreibman and Can (1978). Echolalicchildren were taught to answer"l don't know," as a general nonecholalicresponseto questionsor statementsthey did not comprehend. The procedurecan be outlined as follows: Stcp l: Have the child sit in a chalr facing you, perhapsopposite you at a small table. As usual, have and visuallyattendingto you. Selectfour or five the child sit quietly, without self-stimulating, questionsto which the child does not know the answers:for example, "Why do birds sing?" "Where is London?" "How many brothers and sistersdo you have?" or "Why do sailboats
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move?" There are many similar"How," "\ivhy," ,,who," and ,,where,, type questions that you might find more appropriatefor your particularchild. You should also select quessome tions to which you know your child alreadyknows the answers,for example,"What's your name?" "How old are you?" "Who is that?" (whilepointingto his mother). Now presentthe firstquestion,for example,"Why do birdssing?",very quickly,and at a low decibel level (in a whisper).Then immediatelystatethe answer,"l don't know," very loudly. Try experimenting with the volume of your voice until the child echoesthe correctanswerand not the question. Reinforcehim heavilyfor a correctresponse. Step 2: In very gradualsteps,beginto raisethe decibellevel (loudness) of your questionwhile gradually loweringthe decibellevel of the answer.If the child beginsto echo the questionduring this process,give him a sharp "No" and backtrack a littleby decreasing the loudnessof the question., You do not want him to echo the question;in fact, you preventthis by rewarding him for being quiet, for withholdinghis response in the presenceof the question.This very promising technique of presentingthe cues for the wrong answer at a very low intensity teachesthe child to tolerateor not to respondto the presenceof the wrong cue. Step 3: Eventually,ask the question "Why do birds sing?" in a normal voice, and withhold the answer.The child has mastered the task when he withholdsecholaliaand givesthe correct answer,"l don't know," without prompt and to criterion. Step 4: Once you have hained the response"l don't know" to questionssuch as "Why do birds sing?", then introduce a question to which he already knows the answer, for example, "What's your name?" (The child sayshis name, and is reinforced.)If he failsto respond,or respondsincorrectly,prompt the correct answer, then reinforceto reestablish correct responding.The importanceof introducingquestions to which he alreadyknows the answer and intermixingthem with questions to which he does nof know the answeris to retainthe discrimination betweenwhat he knows and doesnot know. It should help him avoid learning to say "l don't know" to all questions. Step 5: Present another question, such as "Where is London?", and tain the correct response,"l don't know," to that question, continuing to intermix questionsto which he knows the answer. If you continue this procedure using questions that start with "how," "*hy," "when," and "where" intermixedwith questions to which the child does know the answer,you will find that after a while the child will spontaneously answer"l don't know" to a questionto which he does not know the answereven when you present this question for the first time (that is, without prior training). You may saynow that he knows what the "rule" is. In any case,throughthisprocedureyou can help a childterminate his echolalicresponding in a variety of situations

PSYCHOTIC TAI.K
In general, it is probably safe to assumethat psychotictalk is self-reinforcingand will not disappearor decreasemarkedly if you place it on extinction or use time-out. Many children will persistin expressing psychotic talk, even though they can also talk appropriately, apparently becausepsychotic talk s so reinforcingto them. There should be some replacementof psychotic speech by appropriate language" Echolalic cnd Psychotic Talk
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sinceappropriate language givesthe childaccess to manyof the self-stimulatory previously reinforcers available to him only throughpsychotic speech. Thatis, appropriate speech may cometo substitute for the (self-stimulatory) properties of psychotic speech. In mostinstances, however,psychotic speech will stayat a high level,and in thoseinstances we mustactively intervene to eliminate the psychotic talk.

OVERCOMING PSYCHOTIC TATK Thetreatment rationale behindprograms to stopinappropriate and psychotic talk isthatthepresence of great a dealof psychotic talk socially isolates a child. It makeshim standout like a sorethumbwith his friends atschool or in thecommunity. psychotic You wantto helphimsuppress talkjustasyouhelphim suppress other kindsof self-stimulatory behaviors. Startby givingthe childa sharp"No!" (or otherkind of disapproval) immediately afterhispsyproduction. chotic You may wantto say"No, no sillytalk," in an attempt to help him discriminate why (However, he isbeing admonished. thereisno guarantee thathe willmake thediscrimination.) Abetter way mightbeto teacha childto talk"silly" (thatis,psychotic) on cue.Teachhim to talk"silly"or to echo whenyou say"Talksillyand echo,"and reinforce psychotically him for talking or echoing at thattime. Thenswitch and say,"Don't talksillyand dont echo,"andreinforce him for withholding hisresponse at thattime.The mainjustification for goingthroughsucha procedure is to teachthe childto discrtminate between appropriate and inappropriate Althoughwe asadults speech. clearly know the discrimination, it is obvious persons that psychotic and retarded do not.

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Intermedlate Lcngucge

CHAPTER
SIGN TANGIIAGE Edwcrrd G Corr

24

A significanf number of developmentally disabled children show marked improvement in their receptive and expressive verbal ability when they are trained using the techniquesdescribedthroughout this manual. However, some children show bnly minimalgains.For them, sign language is a usefulalternativeto verbal language.In addition, there are children who acquire fairly good receptive verbal skillsbut whose expressive verbal behaviorremains so poorly articulatedthat no one can understand them. These children, too, can profit from being taughtto expressthemselves through signs. A word of caution is in order concerning who should notbe taughtsign language.Signingshould not be taughtto very young children(less than 4 yearsof age) whose languagesimply may be delayed or to childrenwho nuu" not yet receivedvery much verbaltraining' Try verbaltrainingfirst. signing should not be taught to echolalicchildrenor to childrenwho have otherwisegood verbalimitationskills. Thesegroups of childrencan profit most by being startedon a verbal languagetraining program such as that describedin earlier chapters.In short, parentsand teachersshould resistthe impulse to hy to teach sign tanguage just because it is new or becausethey feelthat a child is not learningverballanguagequickly "nougn.

ADVANTAGES OF USINGSIGNTANGUAGE
sionals believethat if an adult communicates with a child by pairingsignswith spokenwords, a method refened to as simultaneous communicaffon, the uppropriui" use of speechwill be facilitated,or hig-

There areseveral reasons whysigning isconsidered usefulfor nonverbal children. First, professome

Preparationof this chapterwas aided by U.S.P.H.S. BiomedicalResearch ^ Support Grant 5 S07 Rp07067-11 at Stony Brook' Thanks are dueto my students,especiallyEileenKologinsky, Paul Dores, Margie pelcovits, Cathy pridal, Sheila Parris., and Jody Binkoff, for their help in developing the haining prJcedures and to Dr. Maiin Hamburg, ExecutiveDirecror. Suffolk Child Development Center, for his geneious support.

153

gered. This expectationis quite conhoversial.While some nonverbalchildren do begin to talk fottowing simultaneous communication,a greatmany othersdo not. What is clear,however.is that mostnonverbal children can learn at leastsome signsand thereforeshow improved communication with adults.Second, it has been known for some time that althoughmany developmentally disabledchildrenhave a great deal of difficulty understandingspoken words, they appear somewhat better at comprehending gestures,Perhapsthis is basedon the greatereasewith which many developmentallydisabledchildren discriminatevisual, as compared to auditory, stimuli. Perhapsvisual stimuli are inherently easierto discriminate, or many disabledchildren attend better to visual stimuli rather than auditory stimuli. Since sign languageis primarily a visual (gestural) system,it offersthe promise of facilitatinglanguageacquisition. A third consideration is that a teacheror parentcan easilymold (i.e., manuallyprompt) the child's hands into the appropriate sign configuration. This advantageis particularlybeneficialduring the difficult periodof initialsignacquisition when much promptingis necessary. Fourth, for many signs,thereis a concreterelationshipbetween the sign and its referent.For example, the sign for banana consistsof "peeling" the extended index finger of one hand with the fingers of the other hand. The iconic or pictorial quality of many signs is likely an additional teaching advantage. Some illushative signs are presentedin Figure24-1. Fifth, and finally,a child who hasacquiredsignlanguage potentially can be mainsheamedinto a classroom andlor community for the deaf, therebyproviding additionalopportunities for academic,vocational,and socialdevelopmenr.

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Intermedlcrte Lcnguage

WHERE TO STANT Before beginning any signhainingactivities, the adultshouldensure thatthe childhasthe basic learning readiness skills described in earlier chapters, especially thosein Unit II. That is, the childshouldhave been taught to attend to an adulton command andto sitstillin a chair for 10 minutes or moreata time.It is importantthat self-stimulatory behaviorbe suppressed. Not only does self-stimulation act to block learning, but it may alsomakeit verydifficult for an adultto discriminate the child's signs. A childwho is flicking hisfingers intermittently whilesigning is less likelyto be understood by adultswho mustgrapple with the taskof "weedingout" the self-stimulatory behaviors from the signs.A child shouldhavealso shownsomeprogress in nonverbal imitation(Chapter 71.lI a child is good at imitating nonverbal (motor) movements, an adultcan usethisskillasan aid for teaching new signs. However, evenhere, prompting somemanual initially may berequired in orderto refine the signs so thattheymoreclosely resemble the specific signs beingtaught. The nextstepis to acquire a signlanguage dictionary. particuWe havefoundtwo dictionaries larlyuseful. TalkWithMe,6y Jeanne (1975), Huffman andcolleagues explains theorigins of each sign, providing thereby a usefulmnemonic for the adultwho mustmaster thisnew language in a shortperiod of time.For example, the signfor an orange consists of making a squeezing motionwiththehandpositionednearthe mouth.Anotherdesirable feature of thisdictionary is thatthe signs arecombined into groups,e.g., clothing,bodyparts,and colors.The Signed convenient EnglishDictionary Preschool for (1975) andElementary Leuels by Hany Bornstein andcolleagues lists in alphabetical allthesigns order, thereby allowing for rapidretrieval of information. In addition, thereis a clear and detailed explanation of how to formeachsign.Thisfeature is oftenpoorlysetout in otherdictionaries. Bothdictionaries are written for elementary levelsigning and aretherefore for usewith developmentally appropriate disabled children. A briefdescription of wherethe reader cango for additional information is on signtraining givenin the reference list at the end of this Unit. Finally, theadultmustdecide to useeither signing alone or simultaneous communication, that is,signs accompanied by spoken words.We havefoundthatthe best isto teach wayto decide thechild firstusingthe simultaneous communication method.If, aftera periodof 6 to 8 weeks, the childappears (i.e.,showsinconsistent confused responding at all), we havereverted to signing or failsto respond alone.Apparently, whenthey somechildren areunable wordsand signs to attend to boththe spoken arepresented simultaneously. willshowincreased rates whenthe adult Oftensuchchildren of learning program component is dropsthe speech of communication. Forsimplicity, training our signlanguage described asif we wereusing communicasigning alone, In practice, if we wereemploying simultaneous tion,the only change we would makewouldbe to speak it. eachword as we signed

CURRICUTUMFOR TEACHING SIGN TANGUAGE Therearemanysimilarities between teaching a childto speak and teaching a childto sign.Morespecificafly, the procedures necessary for teachingreceptive sign languageare almostidenticalto those described in this book for teaching earlier receptive verballanguage. Instead of the adultvocalizing the labelfor theobject shewants thechildto touch,he or shesigns thelabel. So,to avoidrepetition, we limit our discussion to the problems of expressive signlanguage. By trainingnonverbal children to produce signs,one givesthesechildrena directand effective meansfor communicating with others.
Sign Longucge

r55

Labelins objectsis the first skiuto b" ,uushl**:H'?iil"r:ls" to begin by hyins to teach the chitd the labelsfor clothes or parts of the body sincethese labelswill have minimal significancefor the child. Instead, we begin by selectinga number of foods that we know the child likes. In addition, the first few signs chosen for training should be visually and motorically distinct from one another. The signs for apple and orange are simllar to one another, but the signsfor apple and milk are not. Therefore, one may best begin by haining the latter two signs. During trainingsessions, the child and the adult should sit facingone another as in the early phasesof other programs. A trial should start only when the child is sitting quietly and attendingto the adult. Inattentiveness and self-stimulatorybehaviors must be suppressed.The training itself is carried out in three steps.Considerthe procedurefor teachingthe label for apple: In Step 1, the adult holds up the apple in front of the child'seyes. Sincethe child will not respond at thispoint, a prompt is given. That is, the adult liftsthe child'shand and molds it into the correct sign configuration. The correctprompted response is followedby socialreinforcement(e,g., the adult (e.9.,a pieceof the apple). signsGOOD), and primaryreinforcement In Step 2, the adult repeatsStep 1, exceptthat the prompt is graduallyfaded out until the child can makethe signunaided.By the end of Step 2, the adult merelyhasto hold up the appleand the child may sign correctly.Run this first sign to criterion. Once the sign for apple is acquired, consider training the sign for milk. This sign consistsof slowly closingthe outstretchedfive fingersto form a fist while moving the hand in a downward motion, a pictorialrepresentationof milking a cow. In Step 1, the adult would prompt the sign by lifting the child's hand from the lap, spreading the fingers,and then placinghis or her hand behind the child'shand so as to squeeze it into a fist while forcingthe hand downward. In Step 2, the adult would fade the prompt, firstby squeezing and pushingdown the child'shand with lessand lessforce, and then by reducinghelp with spreadingthe fingers, and finally by eliminatingthe aid provided in raisingthe hand from the lap. If the child signsincorrectly after all the prompts have faded, the adult should vigorously shake his or her head "No" and sign NO. The trial would be repeated,reinstating prompts if necessary. Of course,on these prompted hials, the child would not receive any food reinforcers, although social reinforcers would still be given. Run the secondsign (milk) to criterion. Once the child has masteredtwo signs,place thesesignsin random rotation and run to criterion. Now practiceteachinga third sign, and then intermix the third sign with the other two signsto facilitate the discrimination betweenthe three signs. After a child has learned five or six (sign) labelsusing the above procedures, the adult can beginsigningWHAT? before showing the child the object.It is bestto keep the signedquestionsimple at first (like WHAT?) and not to inhoduce extra signs,such as WHAT IS THIS? or WHAT AM I SHOWING YOU?, at the startof trainingsincethe child is likelyto becomeconfusedwhen there are too many signsbecause he may not know to which stimulusto attend. When beginning this kind of expressivelabel training, approximations to a given sign can be accepted.That is, it is senseless to spend weeksshaping apertect exemplarof a given sign. The idea is to begin by teaching the child the general concept that "different things have different names (signs)." Once the child has masteredthis concept, then one can sharpenthe topography of the varioussigns. There is a parallel here with spoken language. When an infant labels a cookie "oo-ee", we do not dfirruscthe vocalizationas inadequate. lnstead, we reinforce the attempt and only later do we ty to ri!il.pn the topography,

HT

Intermediate

Lcngucge

Another point worth noting is that after a child has learned five or six signs and therefore understandsthe task, new signscan be taught primarily through (nonverbal) imitation.That is, in step 1' the adult would model the conect labelforan oblect (i.e., give an imitativeprompt rather than a manual prompt) and reinforcethe child for imitating correctly.Then, over many trialsin Step 2, the adult would graduallyfade out the imitativeprompt. At first, the child'simitationsof a sign will be very poor and some manual prompting will be necessary. However, aftera dozenorso signshave been acquired' many childrenbecome quite adept at learningthrough imitationand thereforerequire only a minimallevel of manual prompting. If a child is at firstirot capableof nonverbalimitation,then this skill could be taught concunently with signingby using the proceduresdescribed in this book. Eventually, the newly acquiredimitativeskill should be integrated with the sign training procedure. ' The data on one child, Darrick,are representative of the resultswe have obtainedusingthe abovetechniques'Darrick'slearningrate is not dramatically differentfrom many childrenlearningexpressive labelsby verbalizing them. Danick was 10 y"ars old and had been institutionalized for b years. His vocalbehaviorwas limitedto infrequentand meaningless soundsand he showeda varietyof autistic behaviors includingself-stimulatory hand movements,socialwithdrawal,and lack of toy play. He was functioningin the profoundly retardedrange.over a 3-yearperiod he had made no progress in his use of vocal language' Danick required over 7000 hials in 1 week to learn his first three expressivelabels (cookie,milk, and candy)' In conhast,he acquired histwelfthsign (ball)in only 1g trials.It is important to note that not everychild requires so many trialsto learnthe firstfew discriminations. Individualdifferencesaside' however, we have obtained one finding consistently, namely that all children show a "learningset'" That is' they require fewer and fewer hials to masternew discriminations as more and more discriminations are taught. Thus, adultsshould not give up signtrainingefforts progress if is difficult at first' Even the slow child will eventuallyshow a ,upid in.r"use in the rate of learning. Spontcrneity A child may know the sign for an object,for example,a lookie, and yet neverusethat signspontaneously in order to requesta cookie. The problem seemsto be one of.narrowsfimu/us control.That is, the signwillbe made only when an adult holds up a cookiein front of the child and asks,,,WHAT DO yOU WANT?" The purposeof this sectionis to discuss some techniques for broadeningthe stimulus control of signlanguage so that the mere presence of an adult will be sufficient conditionfor a child to spontaneouslyinitiaterequests. Problemsin spontaneity will arisein any program, and the suggestions presented here can be exhapolatedto vocal languageas well. We begin training for spontaneity by selectinga strong reinforcer. The child's favorite food could be used' In this case a crackeris used. The adult approaches the child and givesan imitative prompt (i'e', the adult signsCRACKER). When the child imitatesthe adult'ssign, the child receives a piece of the cracker. Over tials, the adult gradually fades out the prompt and u.roits for the child to initiate the sign before deliveringthe reinforcer. At this point, it may be necessary for the adult to .,look expectantly" at the child before the child will make the sign but after a while even this prompt can be faded out' At the end of thisstage,the child will spontaneously initiatea requestfor crackerwheneverthe adult appears. We continuetrainingby recycling the aboveprocedurewith a varietyof other food signs.Later still, we compile a list of favoritetoys and activities and add them to the spontaneityhaining as well. We would like the child to sign in a varietyof contextsand not merely in one trainingroom. Therefore,once the child hasbeentaughtto signspontaneously for threeitems,hainingis caniedout in
Sign Langucge

157

(e.g.,classroom, a variety playground, of different situations kitchen, and bedroom) and in the presenceof a numberof different adults in addition adultteacher. Following the to the original suchtraining, childwill exhibita varietyof spontaneous signs to manydifferent adultsin many different In situations. short,childinitiated signingwill be under broadstimulus conhol. apThe finalstage of hainingconsists of makingthe child'sspontaneous signing contextually propriate. spontaIn thebeginning stages above,we wouldreinforce the child's of thehainingdescribed given neoussigninginespective for a context.We did this in orderto of whetherit was appropriate is established, shengthen spontaneity. However,oncethe behavior we beginto refineit further.Thus,if the childis in bedreadyto go to sleep,we do not wanthim to signCRACKER,PLEASEevenif we initiallyreinforce for KISS him for doingso in thiscontext.Instead, we wouldchoose to reinforce a request in a or HUG. The bestwayto ensure appropriate isto observe whatreinforcers areavailable spontaneity givencontext, promptthe appropriate we wouldimitatively for Havingmadethisdetermination, signs fadetheprompts. Now, whenthechildmakes inapthese reinforcers andthengradually a contextually propriate sign,he appropriate sign, he is simplyignored.Of course,when he makesa contextually for recelves reinforcer requested. Soon the child'sspontaneous signswill be qppropriate the specific eachglvencontext. high we foundthat aftera whilea childwoulddisplay Whenwe carried training, out the above adults in to manydifferent In addition,the childwouldsignappropriately ratesof spontaneous signing. wasquitenaturalin character. Thus,a childwho manydifferent Interestingly, the spontaneity settings. for wasgetting wouldinevitably beginsigning hadbeensigning for potatochips(andpresumably thirsty) signwasnot interested fluids. A childwho hadeaten a lot and,therefore, in food anymorewouldstart showed ing for various toys and activities. An importantside effect of thistrainingwasthat as children behaviors. higherand higherlevels of spontaneous signing, theygaveup muchof theirself-stimulatory can be obare acquired, behaviors, as appropriate behaviors Such a shiftawayfrom self-stimulatory Perhaps when we teachchildrenthat they can have an effecton servedin most teaching situations. less imporbecome self-stimulatory behaviors adultsandcangetthingsthat areof valueto themselves, tant waysof gainingsatisfaction and are therefore decreased. Descrlptlvc Sentences are presented in more detailin Chapter28, but Programs for teachingearly phrases and sentences for children who signis inhoduced at thispoint. sentence shucture the and to makerequests, Oncea child hasbeentaughtto usesignlanguage to labelobjects particularly usefulsenOne next stepis to teachthe child to combinesigns to form simplesentences. ustencetypeto teachinvolves ongoingevents description. The goalis for the childto learnto describe pour glass the child, ing simple an adultmight a of milk and ask verb-noun For example, combinations. for WHAT AM I DOING?The childwouldthen signPOUR(lNG) atthisstage MILK. (lt is not necessary "ing" the child to signthe endingon the verb; the goal is simplyto teachverb and signcombination for conversashlls.)By teaching thebasis whatwe arein factdoingis broadening descriptive sentences, tionalcommunication the childand the adult. between Whenwe beginto teachdescription, we find thatthe child hasa stong set(dueto priortainrrgl to labeleverything a tableand ask asa noun. For example, the adultmightmovea toy truckacross d'lechildWHAT AM I DOING? TRUCKonly;thatis,the child The childwilllikely respond by signing iua not yet learned to attendalsoto the behavior on the truck.To overor actionwhichwasperformed cornethlsdeficit,we would initiatethe followingtrainingprogram. t-5
Intermediqte Lcngucge

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In Step1, theadultteaches thechildto attend to andlabelbehaviors. Forexample, in orderto teachthe verbPOINTTO, the adultbegins by makingan exaggerated motionthat involves movingthe extended indexfingerin a largearcwhichculminates in touching thesurface of a table.No object ispresent on the table,however'The purposeof this stepis to draw the child'sattention to the behavior involvedin pointing.The absence of all objects prevents the childfrom beingdishacted from the adult,s pointingactivity. When the adult completes the pointingmotion,the child is askedWHAT AM I DOING?", and isthenprompted to makethesignfor POINTTO, andfinally,he isreinforced for doing so. Overhials,the promptis fadedand eventually the childmakes the POINTTO signwhenever the adultperforms the exaggerated pointing motions. Next,a second verb(e.g.,"pickup") is introduced using the sameprocedures justdescribed. Thestandard randomrotation procedure is employed; that is,tials involving thepreviously mastered verbareintermixed withhialsinvolving thenewverbuntilthe childhasacquired a discrimination between thetwo verbs. Finally, a thirdverb(e,g.,"hold")istaught in thesame manner asthe othertwo verbs. At the end of Step1, thechildwill correctly signpOINTTO, PICKUP, and HOLD in response to the adult's making exaggerated motions representing these three verbs. Oncea childhaslearned to attend to andlabel threedifferent actions on the partof theadult, Step2 is initiated. In this step,objects arereintroduced and the child is requiredto describe what the adultisdoingusing a simple verb-noun sentence. Forexample, theadultmightpointto a toytruckon a tableand askthe childWHAT AM I DOING? Typically, at thisstage, the childwill signonly the verb (i.e'' POINTTO) and omit the noun (i.e.,TRUCK).Therefore, the adultmustpromptthe nounsign immediately afterthechildmakes thesignfor theverb.Overtrials, the adultfadesout the prompt.Next, a second verb-noun cornbination istaught(e.g. procedure. , PICKUPTRUCK)viathestimulus rotation Following this,the third verb-noun (e.g.,HOLD TRUCK)is taughtas above. combination Oncethe childhasmastered the threedifferent sentences, the exaggerated motionfor eachverbisfadedout. For example, consider the actionrepresenting pointto truck.The adultwill havebeendemonstrating this actionby movinghis index fingerin a largearc prior to bringing the fingerinto positiona few inches above thehuck' Duringthefadingsequence, the adultwouldbeginto decrease thesize of thearcuntilit gradually approximated "point a normal to" gesture, A similarprocedurewould be caniedout with respect to the PICK UP and HOLD verbs.At the end of Step2, the child would be signing POINTTO TRUCK,PICKUP TRUCK,and HOLD TRUCKin response to the corresponding adultactions. In Step3, newnounsaretaught in conjunction withtheabove threeverbs. At thisstage, exaggerated movements areno longerused.The adultsimply (e.g.,the demonstrates a new combination adultmightpoint to a spoonon the table)and repeats the procedures described above.Oncethe three newverb-noun combinations havebeenacquired, trials based on theold andnewnounsareintermixed (e.9.,PICKUP SPOON,POINTTO TRUCK,and HOLD SPOON) untilthechildhasmastered allthe combinations. Step3 is recycled with a numberof new nounsusing justdescribed. the sameprocedures In the end, the childwill be ableto usea two-wordsentence to describe the threeactions thatthe adult performswith respectto a varietyof objects. Finally, in Step4, newverbs(e.g.,throw,run, andjump) areintroduced for appropriate objects. Generally, atthispoint,theadultneeds onlyto useexaggerated movements for a small number of tials and to promptthe signscorresponding to the verb-noun combination few only a times.Afterthis relatively period,the exaggerated brieftraining movements and the promptsfor the signs canbe faded out and the procedures of Step3 canbe followed. At the end of Step4, the childwill know how to describe a greatnumberof events involving manydifferent nounsand verbs.
Sign Lcnguoge

When we have used the above procedures,we found that during Step 3, the child became that had neuerbeen taughtto him. For example,afterhaining ableto signnew verb-nouncombinations only five or six nouns (e.g., truck, spoon, shoe,pencil,and towel) with the initialthreeverbs,we found that we could presenta new situation(e.g., PICK UP BOAT, POINT TO BOAT, and HOLD BOAT) and the child would correctlysignthe new verb-nouncombinationeven though we had never hained that particularcombination. This skill is referredto as generatiuesigning;that is, the child generatesor This skillis new situations. from signshe alreadyknows in order to describe creates new combinations beciuse it is highly desirable young and normal children verbal language of in the commonly seen combination of words. Apparently,the chilmeansthat a child doesnot have to be taughteverypossible know in order to meet new commualready what they dren themselves becomecapableof rearranging childrenbodeswell disabled The factthat thisskillcan be taughtto developmentally nicationchallenges. growth. for their continued language Abstrqct Sign Lcnguqge Verbs and nouns are concretepartsof language.Although they are usefulto know, a child must learn among definerelationships Abshactions forms as well in order to functionadaptively. abshact language pronouns, and time conceptsas wellas a host of people, objects, and eventsand includeprepositions, "no", and "same" and "different."Theserelationother conceptssuch as color, size,shape,"yes" and re, beforea child can be saidto have mastered shipsare sharedby many differentobjects,and therefo "abshact" what allthe objectshave in common. Thus, or discriminate he must be ableto suchconcepts, The child must cars,leaves,and many other objects. "brown" can be characteristic of wood, chocolate, a wide varietyof of of one specificobjectbut rather a characteristic learn that brown is not a characteristic represent suchas height,weight,and volume. Concepts differingin many dimensions objects otherwise disabledchildren. in teachinglanguageto developmentally challenges one of the greatest Programs for teaching abstractrelationships,using signs, are quite similar to programs dethey will not be preTherefore, scribed in the next unit (UnitVI) for teachingadvancedverballanguage. in signfor a particularvocalization the appropriate sentedin detailhere. The readercan easilysubstitute abstract childrenwho have to use signscan be taught complex the programsthat follow. Incidentally, just as vocal childrencan. relationships,

CONCTUSION to teachsign languageskills.Clearly,many areas designed We have revieweda number of procedures ,,vere or advanced not discussed, For example,we did not talk about buildingmore complex sentences to teach we begun preliminary have way, recall. In a or conversation, storytelling nor did we discuss adin Unit VI for teaching described rhesemore sophisticated skillsas well. It is likelythat the techniques we have In any event, prove skills. r,ancedverbalskillswill also usefulfor teachingadvancedsigning nor,"' made significant inroads in teachingnonverbalchildrento communicate.

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Intermediqte Lcngucge

REFERENCES

Bornstein, H., Hamilton,L. B., Saulnier, K. L., & Roy, H. L. (Eds.).The signedEng/ish dictionary lor preschool and elementary leuels. Washington, RECOMMENDEDNEf,DINGS D.C,: GallaudetCollegepress, 1975. (Available from GallaudetCollegeBookstore,Gallaudet Col_ Bonvillian, J. D., & Nelson, K. E. Signlanguage aclege,Washington, D.C. 20OO2.l quisitionin a mute autisticboy, Journat i1 Speecn C1T, E. G., Binkoff,J. A., Kologinsky, E., & Eddy, and HearingDisorders, 1976, 41, ggg_g47 ^ . M. Acquisition of signlanguage by uutirti. children. Can, E, G^. Teaching autistic children to usesignlan_ L Expressive labeling. Journalot' AppliedBehouior guage: Someresearch issues. Journal of Autismand Anolysis, L978, 11, 489-501. Deuelopmental g, giS_gSg. Disorders, lg7g, Huffman,J., Hoffman,8., Gransee, D., Fox, A., Creedon, M. P. (Ed.). Appropriate behauior throuqh James,J., & Schmitz,J. (Eds.). Talk with me. communication. Chicago: Michael Reese Medill Northridge, Calif.:JoyceMotionpictureCo.,l97S. Center, Dysfunctioning Child Centerpublication, from Joyce Motion picture Co., Ig702 {Available 1975. Bryant St., P.O. Box 45g, Northridge,Catif. Fulwiler, R. L., &Fouts,R. S. Acquisitionof Amertcan e7324.) Sign Language by a noncommunicating autistic Lovaas,O. l. The outistic child: Languagedeuelop_ child. Journal of Autism and Childhood Schtzomentthroughbehauior modilicationNewyork: Irv_ phrenia, 7976,6, 43-51. ingtonPublishers, 1977. Longhurst,T. M. (Ed.). Funcilonallanguage interSchreibman, L., & Carr,E. G. Elimination of echolalic uention: Readings (Vols. I & II). Newyorl: tutSS tnresponding to questions throughthe training of genformationCorp., 1974.

erafized.verbal response. Journal ol AppliedBehau. ior Analysis, 1978, 11, 452_469.

Sigu Longrucgt

l6l

UNIT

VI
ADVANCED LANGUAGE

Programsfor introducing the child to more difficult language are described in this Unit. The child is taught not only to label discreteand simple events (suchas the objects that he seesaround him), but he language, can alsobe taught more complicated such as that used in describingthe athibutesor properties the relaof objects(size, color, and form), describing (using prepositionshipsbetween objectsand events the pertions such as in, beside,under), identifying sons to which objects and behaviors belong (using pronouns such as your, my, his, or hers) possessive , as well as many other concepts,includingtime. As you begin to teachthe child how words are combined into simple phrases or sentencesto enable him to describe more completely something happening to express around him (teachhim to say not only "Mommy," but "Nice Mommy") and to use sentences ("1want his wants some milk."). When a child understandsthe concept of time, it will be easierfor him to learn to wait for something without becoming too upset. As the child learnsto more accuratelydescribehis experiences,you will acquirea more thorough understanding of what he is all about, and willthen be in a betterposition to help him. some programs Languageis a very complicatedbehavior to teach, and this Unit only suggests that can help your child get going. Should your child have some talent for learning speech, then you may want to familiarizeyourself with more elaboratelanguage programs. Chapter 25 gives programs for teaching the concepts of color, form, and sizebecausethese are relativelyeasierto teach than prepositionalconcepts(under, inside, in front), which are introduced in Chapter 26. Pronouns (you, I, her) are inhoduced in Chapter 27 , followed by programsfor teaching the child to understand temporal conceptssuch as first and last in Chapter 28. A pro$am for teaching the child the appropriate use of yes and no can be found in Chapter 29. Unit VI concludeswith Chapter 30, which presentsprograms for teaching appropriate use of sentences-the beginningsof grammar.

SIZE, COLOR, AND SHAPE

CHAPTER

25

The programsfor teaching size,color, and shape are illustrativeof the approach for teaching many concepts of advanced language. The procedure for teaching each of these abstractconceptsis similar to that described earlierfor teachingsimplelabels.The following inshuctionsserveas examplesof how this proceduremay be adaptedfor the teachingof many kinds of simple abstractions.

TEACHING SIZE
Receptive Trclning you labels, As in teaching for your child to understand. The programfor teachingsizemay be the easiest generally You should speech. it is easierthan expressive should begin with receptivespeechbecause placeon the tablein front of the child two objects that differonly in size,and nof on any otherdimension (suchas shape,or color). For example,placeone very large (10 inchesor more in diameter) ballon the table,and next to it placea rathersmallball (I or 2 inchesin diameter)of the samematerialand the same color. You then presentthe command for size,that is, askthe child to point to (or give you) a particular size.You may say"Give me big," or just "Big," which meansthe child hasto give you the bigball. In any case,the word "big" should be the dominant cue, beingpronouncedvery loudly and clearly.Sincethe that is, you should child most likelydoes not know what to do, you shouldprompt the correctresponse, toward the correctobject. point to the big ball, or otherwiseguide the child'smanual response You may find it necessary to presentsome "ready signal"(suchas, "Look here") whilegesturthe command. Some chilbeforepresenting in the of objects, direction the stimulus ing toward the table fixateon the objectwithout sucha readysignal;others,however, dren willlearnto attendto and visually do not look at the objectsthey are askedto identify,and obviouslyneed to visuallyattend.In any case, the command. In this way, your comyou shouldwait for a child to look at the objects beforepresenting to the object. On the other hand, attending for visually mand may serveas the child's reinforcement behaviorin which he hasjust been engagyour child could associate this reinforcerwith the undesirable ing, For example, let's say the child is inattentive,or he is throwing a tantrum, and you wait until he 165

becomes attentive and looks at the objects on the tablebeforeyou say "Point to big." Your verbal possibly instructions, servingas a reinforcer for the child, could strengthen or the child'sinattention tantrums. Onceyou haveprompted the correct response, thenfadethe promptas you havedonein programs. presenting other Continue the command, andremember to change the positions of theobjectson thetablerandomlyso that sometimes the largeballison the child'sleft,sometimes on hisright. you may introduce Once the child has responded to criterion, the secondsizeconceptby saying "Small,"or "Give me small."Again,you shouldprompt,if necessary, and fadethe promptuntilthe childresponds to criterion withoutprompting. Now reintroduce the firstcommand,"Give me big." When the child makesthree or four correctresponses in a row, switchto the secondcommand, "Small,"or "Give me small."Again,promptif necessary and then fade the prompt until the child responds Now intermix to criterion. the two commands using randomrotation asyou havedonein all the discrimination trainingprograms discussed in this book. Oncethe childcan reliably identifya largeballversus a smallball, you can teachhim to discorif he responds criminate between the sizes of otherobjects. Thechildhaslearned the concept of size (apairthathe has rectlyon thefirsthial, withoutanyprompting, whenyou present a newpair of objects not beentrained on). and othersare slower.If your childhas sizeveryeasily, Somechildrenlearnto discriminate (l andreintromadeno progress on thistaskafter1 weekof training or 2 hoursper day)thenput it aside If the in the meantime. someotherconcepts ducethetaska monthor two later.You maytry teaching size you may alsowantto go backand pretrain him on the matching to havedifficulty, childcontinues place table in the two on to match sizes, objects program, In the child in 9, teaching Chapter explained on the table.The one of the two objects front of the child and give him a third object,which matches ("Putit whereit table place it matches on the with the object in his hand to the object is asked child then just,"Matchup").ln thiswaythe childmaylearnto matchsize, and in so doinghe mayhave goes,"or discriminate. as a and to to cue learned to attend size Expressive Trcining object thatis, you labelthe understanding of size, the childa receptive So far you havebeenteaching the (like Now, you maywantto teach to yourlabel. "Big")andteach appropriately thechildto respond (This "Big" in the appropriate circumstance. childto usethe correctlabelhimself , so that he verbalizes labels of simple asthe expressive is taughtin the samefashion training in the expressive useof concepts point to one objects in Chapter20.) Placetwo ballson the tablein front of the child, then ask him to (Forthe (e.g.,"Big").Then,oncethe childhashishandon the appropriate ask"Whichsize?" object, that in orderto avoidany interference andjustpause, the question firstfewhialsyou maysimply delete is then prompted,the prompt is faded,new response The desired may be caused by the question.) stimuli areadded,and so on. labeling when expressive prompting the conectresponse You can helpthe childby indirectty you "Point particular said, size, a him to identify Thatis, whenyou firstasked follows labeling. receptive in your contained "Big," wasactually his answer, ro big," and when you then askedhim, "What size?" your the command words,skip repeating that he is not merely eariier command.Later,to makecertain "Which size?" ask him, and then prompt big object, touch the him to to big"); instead {*Point afteryour childhas labels useof size on the expressive training You may wantto beginspeech at rnretered Or, you may wantto go on to firstteachotherabshactions the receptive useof sizelabels. good one for choosing reason Thereis no abstractions. drc re,ceptive level,waitingto teachexpressive your child. for works best that approach You the over the other. should choose ryroah
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TEACHING COTON
The programfor teachingcolorsoutlinesa way to teachrecognitionof colorsand to labelthem appropriately'As in teachingsizeand other more concrete labels, receptive speechhaining is generally useful as a pretraining for expressive speech'You shouldteachcolor conceptsthe same way you taughtsize. That is' place on the table in front of the child two objects(blocks,plasticchips, or the like) that differ only in color and nof in any other dimension.The child is to identifya particulaicolor when you givethe command for that color, such as "Red" or "Give me red." He has to give you the red objectwhen two objectsof differentcolor are placed on the table in front of him. you should prompt and fade these prompts' then presentthe colorsin random rotation,the sameway you did when teaching size.The expressive useof color labels is taughtin the samefashionasthe expressive useof sizelabels. Rememberto generalize the use of color labelsby using differentobjects. (See the sectionon generalization training at the end of this chapter.)

TEACHING SHAPE
The program for teachingshape is carriedout in the same way as teaching sizeorcolor. Merelyselect two objects that are alike in all dimensions exceptshape,and placethem on a tablein front of the child. You may want to selecta circleand a triangle.Prompt, fade, and rotate as you did in other programs. Rememberto teach generalization, such that when the child has learned to tell a plasticcirclefrom a plastictriangle,you then presenthim with forms made of differentmaterials and in different colorsand sizes'For example, presenthim with a pair of objects,both rather large and made from yellow cardboard paper' if the first objectshe encountered weresmall and made lrom white plastic. We usuallyteach shapeafter color, but there is no good (data-based) reasonwhy we do so. Childrendiffer quite a bit in the easewith which they learn different kinds of concepts,so it is bestto be somewhatflexibleand to try to figureout the particular haining sequence that bestsuitsyour particular child' Usually,you can do that by keepinga program in operation for a certaintime (abouta week or so)' If the child makesno progress, you shouldbe willingto setasidethat particular programfor a while, and then come back to it at a laterperiod. For all you know, your child may be color-blind(thereis no easyway to diagnose this with disabled children),and it would be a pity to staywith thisone concept,exposingyour child to lots of frustrations, when there are so many other conceptsleft to teach. Once the child has learnedtwo or three abshactions, then the haining program can become quite interesting and very complex. The good part of a complexprogramis that the child is asked pay to attentionto increasingly fine detailsin his surroundings. For example,you may place a btue squa're, a red circle,and a yellow hiangle in front of the child. Then tell the chitd "Hand me the blue square,,, or "Hand me the red circle." Using even more complex instructions, ask the child to discriminate the dimensionsas in the requestto "Hand me the srna!! blue square." However, asthe program becomesincreasingly complexfor the child, it does not necessarily becomethat much more difficultto teach (thank heaven).

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GENERATIZATION TRAINING
As in allthe other programs,the child'strainingshouldbe taken outsidethe teachingsituation in order to hain and test for generalization.The color of a person'seyes, hair, or clothing, and pieces of furniture
Size, Color, cnd Shcrpe l6'7

maybeused; theshapes of tables, containers, andtoysmayalso beincluded. Once mastered, color and formdiscriminations areoftenquite useful in facilitating newlearning. Forexample, onewillfindmany programmed learning materials forteaching reading in which color isinitially used to helpthechild form thecorrect discrlminations between words. Keep ln mindthatyoushoutd teach thechitdin hiseveryday sunoundlngr in anattempt to expand hisunderstandlng of these concepts, onceyouhave helped htm learn them ln a conholled halning envlronment. Theonlyreason thatyoustart witha conholled tratntng environment isthatit iseasier to teach a child in a slmplified situation thanit isto teach himoutInthereJ world,where thereis so muchgoingon. Learnlng to labelobJects in the contolledteachlng environment tsof ltttleimportance unless thechildcanlearn to usethese labels appropriately in hieditly actlvities,

Ildvancrd'Lcrnguag.

CHAPTER
PREPOSITIONS

26

The purpose of the program for prepositions is to teach the child to label spatial relationshipsbetween objects, such as under, above,and inside.Later, you will attempt to teach the child about his own position in space,such as on the bed, and insidethe house. The programfor prepositions is an exampleof a program that alwaysbeginswith receptivespeechtrainino.

NECEPTIVE TNAINING You and your child are seated at a table on top of which is a smallcontainer,such as a cup, and a smallobject,such as a penny. You inshuctthe child to p l a c e t h e o b j e c t i n t h e c o n t a i n e r b y s a y i n g " P u t p e n n y i n c u p , " o r b y s i m p l y s"a y. in ln " lg fnecessary,the correctresponse is prompted by takingthe child'shand, placingthe penny in it, and helpinghim put the penny in the cup. Reinforcethe child and fade the prompt in the usualmannerby graduallydiminishing your participation in the child'sresponse.(The choiceof a penny may not be ideal for some children who have a problem with fine finger dexteritybecauseit is so difficuttto pick up. Pick an easierobjectfor the child to handle; you do not want to dishactthe child.) When the child is respondingto criterionwith "in," then beginto train a secondpreposition; we usuallychoose"under." You could have chosen"beside,"or some other preposition, that sounds and looks maximally different from "in." In teachingthe secondprepositionthe same object (the penny) may be utilized;however, adiflerentcontainer (e.g.,a smallbox) can be used.You can say,"Put penny under box," or simply, "L)nder." The responseis prompted and the prompt is faded. When the child has mastered"under," "in" is reinhoduced and the first responseis retrained, and then "under" is retrained and so on untilthe child is making no more than one error each time you switchthe trainingstimuli. During the entirehaining programthus far, one containerhas been usedfor "in" and another for "under." In all probability,the child is now learningthat when one containeris present,he is supposedto place an object under it, and when anothercontaineris present,he is to place an objectin it. That is, the child is probably not learning much about prepositions. The two different containersare

r69

employedto facilitate the child'sdiscriminations; they serveas a prompt. Preposition trainingis difficult; that is our reasonfor usingsuch prompts. Some childrenmay be ableto catch on usingthe samecontainers;othersmay need differentkinds of prompts.Keep in mind that it is a difficultconceptto learn, and that you need to be able to improvise. To keep the child from relying on such prompts, and to bring him under the control of the prepositions you verbalize; you must teachthe child to make both responses usingonly one container (e.g', to put the penny "under" or "in" the cup). This procedureconsists of two steps. Stepl:.Youfirstplacebothcontainersonthetableatthesametime,tellthechild"in,"and,ifnecessary,prompt the child to placethe penny in the cup. When the child reaches criterionon this response,you introducethe command "under," and if necessary, prompt the child to place the penny under the cup. When the child reachescriterionon this response,"in" is again introducedand retrained.Then retrain"under" until the child consistently makes no more than one error with each change in command. Then, randomly rotate the commands as before. Step 2: Removeone of the containers so that the child will make both responses usingthe somecontainer.You may want to fade the other containerfartherand fartheraway from the child, so that it will be easierfor him to use the same containerfor both "in" and "under." When the child can respondcorrectly to "in" and "under" usingthe samecontainer,and with rotated trials, generalization training may be institutedusing new containers.New prepositions and prepositional phrases, such as "beside,""on top of," "behind,"and "in front of," may be taughtusing the sameprocedures, omittingany stepsthat seemunnecessary for your particularchild. Thus, for one child it may be necessary to hain a new preposition in isolation, then alternate hainingthe new preposition and a previouslymastered preposition,and finallypresenting the new prepositionin random rotation with previously mastered ones. For anotherchild, it may be sufficient to simplybring in new prepositionswithout concernfor first trainingthem in isolation.

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EXPNESSIVE TNAINING
When the child has masteredfive or six prepositions at the receptivelevel,you may begin expressive speechtraining.The procedureis exactlythe same as that for receptivespeechexcept that now you place the ob.lect in or under the containerand then ask the child "Where is it?" The desiredresponse, "ln" (or "ln the cup") or "(Jnder" (or "Under the box") is prompted, and the prepositions e.9., are taughtin the samemannerthat expressive labels were hained, Note that a receptive trial may serveas a prompt if lt is followed by an expressive one. For example, if you say "Put in cup" (and the child respondsconectly), and if you then ask "Where is it?", your instructioncontainsthe prompt for the child'sanswer ("1n").This may or may not be helpfulfor your child.

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GENERATIZATION TRAINING
As with the other programsdescribed in this manual, once the child has completedthe initialtaining phase of the program, generalization baining is canied out in the child's everydaylife. Your goal now is

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;ilH:IJ;::'il:?1ff^"1,T:n'o'in

to teach thechildabouthisown position in.space andthespatialrelationships between majoreveryday objects' for example, hiding"behind" the dresser, ,itti;t'i;;;e,,the.closet, putting the books,,on of'the bed' and placing top hisslippers "under"thebed.i;;l;" chird the correct r"rponr" to the most the

home and/orschoolso as torater raciritate the day-to-day

once the child can cany out the mostcommondemands involving prepositional ships'you may begingeneralization relationtraining on expressive speech. For example, you may firstinshuct the childto sit on a chair,and then l'whut present the question are you doing?,, The prompted childis then to reply"l am sitting on the.huir." You mayaskthechird ,,sit ,,on to on the bed,,or to stand the chair"' andthenpromptthe child's correct verbalization you of these behaviors. alsomayaskabout otherobjects ',where or persons ("whereis the baby?" is the mirk?,,). we must repeat again generalization thatthe phaseis the most importantpart of the programfor teaching your prepositions. mustusethe prepositions child that he learnsregularly and in a-variety of situations for them to becomea functional part of his vocabulary. our e*perience hasbeenthat the childrenao noitransfer learning everyday to life unless they are taughtto do so.

Preposltions Ifl

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CHAPTER
PRONOUNS

27

The goalof the program for pronouns is to teach a child to understand language that dealswith personal relations.It attemptsto teach the child the beginning meaningof termssuch as "yours" and "mine," what a person means when he talks about "1" versus "you," and what is meant by "we" and "us" as compared to "they" and "them." One could speculate on how importantit is for the child to learn suchtermsfor example,how important it is for him to learn "1," in order to achieve a sense of identity-but such speculations are beyond the scopeof this book. Let's just agreethat it is of some value for the child to learn pronouns. The program introducespronoun taining, givingthe adult and the child a "feeling" for how such a trainingprogram is constructed.

NECEPTIVE SPEECH TNAINING FON "YOUN" AND "MY" Trainingin the receptive use of the genitivecaseof pronouns,suchas"my," "your," "his," or "hers," re(such as clothing, and jewelry) and body quires that a large number of common personal possessions (nose, parts eye, ear, and arm) be used as basicstimuli. The child should already know how to label thesepossessions and body parts. That is, haining for words like "your" and "my" implies that the child now will learn to conectly identify the personol referent of your statement,i.e., the child must discriminate not only an object (a nose or an eye) but the pronoun related to that object ("your nose," "my eye"). Step 1: Step 2: Step 3: Begin with the instruction"Point to your nose" (or some similar body part), or you may simply state"Your nose." At the same time that you give this instuction, you should prompt the conect responseby moving the child's hand to the child's nose and having him touch his nose. Training is continued until the child responds to criterion with no prompts.

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you then introduce a second instruction,"Point to my nose," Once this behavior is established just behavior to criterion.When the child has mastered"My nose," then "My nose," and train the or beginrandom rotationwith thesetwo commands,as you have done in all previousbaining. The child has masteredthis discriminationwhen he can respond conectly to criterion with these two commands randomly intermixed. then the trainingis broadenedto introduceother body Once this initiallearningis established, parts.The discrimination for eachnew body part (e.g.,"my ear" versus"your ear") shouldbe mastered first, then the newly masteredinstructionsare intermixed with those already trained. A seriesof trialsat this stagein the training might go as follows: "Point to my nose," "Point to your ear," "Point to your thisphaseof pronouns when, on the firsttrial, he can nose," "Point to my ear." The child has mastered or body part that was not used in an early training. For examcorrectlypoint to a particular possession hainedto do ple, he can correctlypoint to his head or to your head even though he was not specifically so earlier. Pronouns are difficult to learn and some children experiencemajor difficulty in training at this level.One way to easethe difficultyis to pretrainusingthe child'sname and your name. If that needsto and ask the child to "Point to (child'sname) nose," and "Point to be done, change your instructions you can then use this command as a prompt is established, Mommy's nose." Once this discrimination fadingthe latter.For the pronouns"your" and "mine" on the proper names,gradually and superimpose quite loud and pronoun "your" your "Point the nose," making to Billy's you to ask the child example; ("Billy") inso that it becomes of the child'sname pronounced,and then graduallyfading the loudness pretraining, using ("your") kind This of pronoun same remains. with the audibleand only the command proper names, could be used for many kinds of pronouns. you mighttry exOnce the receptiveuse of pronounssuchas "your" and "my" is established, pressivespeechtraining for thesesame pronouns. This is a very difficult discriminationto learn because the child has to learn to reversepronouns. Such pronoun reversalis complicated.For example,supposethat the child had just beentaught"Point lo your nose," and his correctresponse wasto point to his wasto point to own nose.Then you taughtthe child "Point to my nose" and the child'scorrectresponse your nose. In expressiue training, when'you say "Point to your nose" the child must now point to his "My nose" (eventhough the label "my" was previouslytaught in relanose, and he must verbalize own Try to makethe situabe mastered. tionshipto your nose, and not his). However, pronoun reversalcan tion (the cues or stimuli) very succinct,help the child identify the referent of the question. For example, if you askthe child, "Point to my nose," you should askhim to do this while he holds his hand on your nose. As an additionalcue, ask "Whose nose?"The movement and the position of the child'shand helpsprovide action cues for him. You may want to teach personalpronouns using a large number of ordinary, common activitiesthat a child can already label. Start this kind of training by askingthe child to perform some activity, such aswaving his arm. The child is then prompted to say, "I am waving." At this stageyou may alsoask of "you" in that questionmay temporarily the question,"What areyou doing," althoughthe presence confusethe child. In either casethe prompts are faded as we have done in other programs. You may then go on to some other activity(suchas standing,pointing,jumping, smiling,or laughing)for use in taining of the pronoun "1." correctly"/ Once this phase of the haining is accomplished,that is, the child can now verbalize am standing,""f am pointing," and so on, you may engagein some behaviorand ask the child "What arn I doing?" It may be helpful during theseearly stages if you point clearlyto the child when you askthe question, "What areyou doing?" and point clearly to yourselfwhen you ask, "What am I doing?" It is

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AdvcrncedLtrngucge

probably easier for the childto comeup with a conectpronounto a visualcue (pointing) compared to pronounto your question findlngthecorrect withoutothercues. The visualpointing promptcanthenbe gradually faded.In subsequent trainingit is possible to usepictures pronounssuchas"he" for teaching and "she." If the chlldhassomedifficulty withpronouns suchas"l" and "you," you maybegtn thiskindof pronountralningusingproper names, so that the child willbe initially taughtto conectlylabel"Billy is wavlng."Usethe proper noun as a prompt to be fadedand superimposed by the pronoun "1." The pronounhainingdescribed in thischapter canserveasan example of pronounhainlngin general. Pronoun training istedious work and clearly emphasizes the needfor a largegroupof people to work withthe chlld.Thislmplles thatpeoplewithoutformalspeech fratning can,in fact,helpthe child's language development. No doubtsuchis the case, and no doubtlt is critical for the child'slanguage development people that a largenumberof do, in fact,work with hlm.

Pronounr

m*

CHAPTER
TIME CONCEPTS

28

The goal of this program is to teach your child to understandsimple time concepts, such as "first" and "last," and "soon" and "later." You may begin the teaching of time concepts by teaching "last." As usual,beginthis kind of trainingunder controlledcircumstances. This means that you and your child sit facingeach other, a smalltablebetweenyou, with a set of distinct and relatively discriminable objects placedin a row on the table.

TRAININGFOR"LAST'
We suggest that the training begin with "last" as a temporal and spatialcue becausethis concept is most recentln the child'smind. You shouldplacetwo objects that the child can now label(suchas a key and a ball) on the table in front of him about 1 foot apart. It is advisablein this program, like all the others, to selectobjectsthat look somewhat different. You then tell the child to touch the two objectsin a certain order. For example, you may ask the child to "Touch key first" (or simply, "Key first"), prompt the response, reinforce,and then askthe child to "Touch balllos!,"and againprompt and reinforce. On any one tialthe order in which the objectsare touched and their position on the table may both be changed. Ask the question, "What came last?' Once the child has masteredthis discrimination, inhoduce a new pair of objects (such as a penny and a glass)and repeat the training on this new pair of objects.As in other programs, the learning is consideredcomplete when the child can correctly verbalizetheconcept "last" on the first hial on a pair of objectshe has not encountered before. It may be helpfulin this training to have the child verbalize your command. That is, when you tellthe child to touch one object "first," and some other object"last," you should encouragethe child to repeat theseinstructions.For example, in the trialsgiven above you say "Key first," have the child give the correctresponse, ond have him repeat"Key first."The samething happenswith the command"Ball "Which last"; when you ask did you touch last?" the child has available (stored) the correct respons ("Ball last").

v7

You may alsoconsider workingwith morethantwo objects at a time. If you work with sets of fiveobjects, asking the childto touchanytwo of those,you may avoidthe child's response becoming associated with a particular object,ratherthan the temporalorder in which an objectwastouched.

TRAINING FON "FINST In hainingfor "first,"the samesetsof objects areused,the instructions areidenticalto thosefor training "last,"but the question, the concept "What camelast?"isreplaced "What camefirst?" by the question, The child is promptedand trainedas before. Oncehe hasperformed to criterion on the concept "first,"thenthetwo labels, "first"and"last" are randomlyrotatedas in all previous haining.

GENENAI.IZATION TBAINING
Many opportunities are availableto generalizethe use of time concepts to everyday life. As always, gradually move away from the original taining situation,and begin to include more generalbehaviors, such as touching head first, touching table last, then standingup first, and turning around last. Slowly, baining can be generalizedto more elaboratesequencesof activitiesthat the child must perform (e.g., "Hang up your coatbefore you go outside," "Firsf eat your vegetables").You may move from teaching the child to interactwith simple objectsto having the child explicitlyengagein a set of behaviorsthat can be sequenced, suchas standingup, closing the door, and then sittingdown. In any case,the generalization of theseconceptsto everyday life will benefit the child, and all significantlanguagetraining should take place in his everyday environment.

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CHAPTER
YES/NO TRAINING

29

Let us mention one more haining program involvlng a different kind of inshuction, one that is perhapsnot all that difficuh to learn. This concerns teaching the child to appropriatelyuse the terms Yes and No. This is a very usefulpart of language, but developmentally disabled childrenmay have problemswith such language and may need explicit instructions. yeslNo training can be divided into two procedures,training for personalfeelingsand training for factuatmatters. Generally we begin with personal feelings because they seem easierto teach.

YES/NOTRAIMNGFORPENSONAL FEETINGS
Selecttwo behaviors, one that your child definitely prefers and one that he definitely does not prefer. For example,you may ask a questionsuch as, "Do you want candy?",.as contrasted to the question, "Do you want a spanking?" Ask one of these questions,and then prompt the correct response.For example,ask "Do you want some candy?", while holding apiece of candy clearlyin front of the child; then prompt the child to verbalize "Yes" beforeyou actually givethe child the candy. You then say,"Do you want some candy?" (pause)"Yes." The prompt ("Yes") is then graduallyfaded, and you end up with a situation in which the child is verbalizing"Yes" to your question, "Do you want some candy?" Once this is established you then raise your arm and ask the child the question, "Do you want a spanking?" and prompt the answer "No." In gradual stepsthis prompt is faded. The critical haining comes when these two questions are intermixed using random rotation. It is probably wise for you to let the child experiencethe consequencesof his using the terms yes and no correctly,as well as the consequences following an incorrectusage.That is, if the child says, "Yes," when you ask, "Do you want a spanking?" then the child should probablybe given a swat (just enough for him to f.eela little uncomfortable).You can help the child formulate the conect answerby grosslyexaggerating your gestureswhen you ask "Do you want a spanking?"That is, raiseyour arm so it 179 '
j

hold the candyclearlyin the child'sline of is clearto the childwhat may be in storefor him, Similarly, when you ask,"Do you wantcandy?" vision your arm as comof your raising to the uisuolcues responding Initially,the child is probably thechildto cuesmustthenbefaded, overfiials,leaving uisual paredto holdingforth somecandy.These withoutshowing "Do you wantcandy?" only. Foiexample,you endup asking, to the question respond that candyis available' YES/NO TBAINING FON FACTUAT IIATTENS suchas Startwith somesimplesituation, to factualmatters. you may wantto teachYes/Noin relation for "ls thisa book?";then promptandfadethe prompts holdinga book in front of the childand asking, and "Yes." Then hold up a phone,or someotherobject,and ask"ls thisa book?" response, the correct for an ,'No chapters . Referto earlier the two stimuliin randomrotation ." Thenpresent promptandf ade be also earlier,should haining, described Generalization outline of random rotation presentation. undertaken.

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CHAPTER
TEACHING PHRASES AND SENTENCES

30

As the child beginsto learn the meaning of complicated words, such as the concepts underlyingpro_ nounsand time, you will increasingly feelthe need to teach the child how to use these newly acquired words in a correctform. That is, after he has learned the conceptof color, you may want your child to use his color terms when he expresses himself,as in the caseof "the red truck." The child has to learn to put togetherwords in the right order so that they mike sentences.

Some people feel that the abilityto express and formulate sentences is an innate capacity,and or that some part of the brain is damaged and thereforeit is difficu-lt or impossible for your childto speakin sentences' others saythatthe.chilJmay haveprobtems talking in sentences because he hassomebraindamage' Even the exierts don't agreeon th" causes. Therefore, it is probably bestif you yourselftake chargeof the situation and see what you can teach your child. Actually' teachingthe child to speakin sentences is not all that difficult.It is quite possible for you to teachyour child grammar, or what otherscallsyntax.As with all other kinds of learning, it is best to breakthe behaviordown into smallersections, then teachthosesmallersections one at a time. one of the smallest word combinations is a noun with a modifier,denotinga quality or athibuteof that noun For example'an objectsuch as a huck hassome attribute, suchas a size,color, or form. In other words. you want to teach your child to describe objectsin more detailso he ends up saying not just ..Truc&."cookie"' and "Mommy," but that he describes them in more detail,suchas ,iReit rck,,' ,.Brg * coo*cn" and "Nice Mommy'" Later in the program he may describe theseobjectsin even more detail.ac rn ttm caseof "My big red huck," or ,,Hisnice Norwegian teacher.,, start the training by choosing a set of objectsyour child can rabel,such as a rruch. r csn&nr," n cup of coffee, a big ball, a little ball, and a squareblock. Have theseobjectsdiffer on spcific a** sothatthetruckisred,thecookieisbrown,andthe coffeewarm.lf yourchildcannou,rlahdr,*ufrp,hr name of theseobjectsbut also their athibutes (such as their color, size, or shape). dren ymnpmr*nsil*

ta'v disabred chirdren do nottark insentences, .:iH:"[:i,:i:,]"f;1:i;.tilff,ffiiil.i:::i"i,,ff1. nate ability'

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indicating (e.g.,a truck)andasking someobject "Whatisthis?" himthequestion, If he answers "Truck," thenyouconect him andprompthimto say,"Redhuck,"As in alltheotherhaining you have taught so far, repeat "What is it?" and proceed the question, to fadeyour prompt ("Red")so that he eventualty endsup saying, "Red tuck" to your question "Whatis it?" Repeat thistrainingwith a largesetof objects, say 10 to 20, and you will quicklyobserve that onedayyou will hold up an object, suchasa green turtle,or a bluebutterfly, piece or a square of cheese, and your child will usethe correct combination of the adjective and the noun withoutyour having hainedhim on thisparticular phrase. That is, he will say,for the firsttime in hislife, "Greenturtle," "Square cheese," andso on. Whenthechildcanconstruct a phrase, asin combining an adjective witha noun,he is, in fact,beginning grammar. to understand In a similarway you can teacha childto combine nounsand verbs.Consider the phrase,"l want-." Therearea lot of things yourchildwants, juice,cup, out, car,or music. suchascookie, Whenhe wasfirsttaughtto usethese wordscorrectly, he wasmerely required to state the label of theobjector action juice,thenall he had to saywas"Juice."Now you maywantto he wanted. If he wanted change the rulesand askfor a littlemore;askhim for a complete sentence, suchas"l wantjuice."If this is doneconsistently, ("1 across a largerangeof wants want-") then at somepoint he will be confronted witha behavior or object thathe desires, andwillthenbeable to state, without having been specifically hained,the correctcombination of wordsto express a want.For example,aflerhe haslearned 10 or 20 "l want-" phrases, thensomeday,facedwith a biteof icecream(which he canlabel), whenhe isasked "Whatdo you want?" he maysay,"l wanticecream," eventhoughhe hasnever been trained to express thisparticular request. Again,he is movingcloser to understanding the correct useof language. It may be necessary to usethe backward procedurein teaching chaining phrases and sentences. You starttrainingthe behaviorclosest to the reinforcer, for example,the lastword ln the sentence.If you aretraining him to express the sentence, "l wantcookie,"then you wouldstartwith the word"cookie."Thenyou movebackward to the next-to-last word, "want." In thefinalstepof theteachyou wouldaddthefirstwordin thesentence, ingsequence "l wantcookie." Thesentence isa "chain" of words.You teachthesewordsseparately to the childandthenteachthe childto chain(combine) these wordsinto a sentence by workingbackward. It is true in teaching phrases and sentences, asin all otherkindsof language learntng, thatthe mostmeaningful partof the learning occurs in day-to-day living,and takesptaceseveral hoursa day. It isveryunlikely that your childwill everlearnto speak grammatically conectlyif allthe learntng he experiences placein one hour a weekwith hisspeech takes therapist. The followingdialogue illustrates how you canteachyour childto expandhis useof grammar at any timeduringthe day (Lovaas, L971,p. Teacher: "What do you want?" Billy: "Egg," T: "No, what do you want?""l . . . " Billy: (no response) T: "l. ." Billy: "l want. . . " (T's"1"cuesBilly's"l want"on the basis of priortrainlng) T: "Egg." (pause) "O.K., What do you want?" Billy: "l wantegg."

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Billy) "Good!" (feeds "What do you want?" Billy: "Egg." T: "No, what do Youwant?""l. . . " Billy: "l want egg." BillY) T: "Good boY!" (feeds (shows Billy bacon) "What is this?" Billy: "Bacon." T: "Good, what do Youwant?" Btlly: (no resPonse) T: "l.,." Billy: "l wantbacon." T: "Good!What do Youwant?" Billy: "l wantbacon." again) T: "Good!" (feeds "What is this?" (showsmilk) Billy:"Milk." T: "Good!""1. . ' " Billy: "l want milk." T: You want what?" Billy: "l want egg." T: "O.K." (feeds) Billy: "l want egg." T: "Good!" (feeds)

Tocchtng Phrcrcs cnd Sentences

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M. Acquisition by autistic children. of signlanguage I. Expressive labeling. Journalol Applied Behaulor Lovaas, O. L The oufistic child: Longuoge deuelopAnolysis, 1978, 77, 489-501. mentthrough behauior modit'ication New York: IrvlnteruenLonghurst, T. M. (Ed.). Functlonal language (Vols.I & U). New York: MSSInforington Publishers, 1971. tton: Readings mationCorp., 1974. deuelopLovaas,O.l. The outistic child:Language BECOMMENDEDREADINGS mentthroughbehouiormodtftcationNew York: Irv1977. ingtonPublishers, children to usesignlan- Schreibman, Carr,E. G. Teaching autistic of echolalic L., & Can, E. G. Elimination guage: issues. ond Journolof Autism Someresearch responding to questions through the taining of a 1979, 9, 345-359. Disorders, generalized Deu elopmental verbal response.Journal ol Applied E., & Eddy, J, A., Kologinsky, Carr,E. G., Binkoff, Anolysis, L978, 77, 453-463. Behovior

REFERENCES

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UNIT

Vil
EXPANDING YOUR CHILD'SWORTD

contains IJnitVll is the last unit in the book' and it you time programs'By this some very interesting lessons' have wo*ed through some very tedious your reward;it is fun and Unit Vll canbe considered to teachat this level. in The Unit starts out with programs your child in Chapter31 on how to bettermanage such as storesand restaurants' communitysettings, rathergenteaching Thisis followedby four chapters 32 Chapter importantbehaviors' eralbut extremely and express dealswith teachingthe child to better to itself feelings'Chapter33 addresses understand waysto expandandusehis i"totng thechilddevelop others the childto learnby observing Chapte'3+leaches imagining' and pretending in as liie, fantasy whichhe situations, teaching from relyingon shictone-on-one learn.Thisshouldhelphim moveaway instruction' group relyon (observational) u".uur" teachers mostpublicschoolsettings will not receivein theauthoru'" p'"'"nt"d in Chapter35 because behavior spontaneous on increasing programs Various who is a student created in thistook haveprobably earlie, inlhe or.n,u.r presented procedures itative too depende#:;:::#;tj::rrams that he instruction your childfor the classroom for preparins a more on how to construct teachers chapter 37 givessugglstilnsto classroom in schoor, will receive teaching in problems someof the morecommon Finallychapter3g slu"mmarizes classroom. behaviorar developmentallydisabledchildren;unu*n"ssoftheseproblemsisessentialforoptimalteaching'

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MANAGING THECHILD INCOMMUNITY SETTINGS

31

cometo uswith talesof horrorabouta recent Parents or a neighbor's a restaurant, trip to a supermarket, in rehospect, amusing home. Althoughsometimes down a store knocked has which a child in incidents to tanhum,or hasthrownfoodin hasbegun display, to a andembarrassing disturbing arevery a restaurant such as runninginto the parent.Other incidents, may lostat the beach, in frontof a caror getting street a case, of thechild.In any the safety evenjeopardize child who is too unruly imprisonshimselfand his or family. You are unlikelyto returnto a restaurant someotherpublicplaceif all eyesweregluedon you threwfood, pulled and your childas he screamed,

the tableclothoff the table, and knocked the disheson the floor the last time you were there' Similarly, you becomereluctantto invite other people to your house if you remain fearfulthat your child might dismasturbationin front of your guests rupt a dinner party. Even mild misbehaviors,such as his incessant during dinner, are likely to seriously inhibit your party mood. You and your child end up being prisoners,so to speak; his misbehavioris your jailer. But it doesn't have to be that way at all. Instead, your child coutd actuallybecome a most athactiveand charmingperson in any crowd. This chaptersuggestssome simpletechniquesfor making exposureto the community safeand enjoyablefor both parent and child.

PREPANATONYTRAINING The majorpartof a isto preventitsoccurrence. thatthe bestwayto handlea problem Mostpeopleagree comto a particular childis eveninboduced dbeforethe hainingshouldbe complete community child's whilein in thatsetting and how to behave abouta setting A childshouldlearnsomething munitysetting. learn to expect not of his homeor school.He should the morefamiliarand contolled circumstances On evenfrightening' and perhaps that is at oncenew, shange, new waysof copingin an environment
t87

the other hand, good preparatory haining will ensurethat the child, with your help, need only hansfer behaviorto new conditions. alreadywell-established Visiting A Store Preparatorytraining may be best illustratedby using a concreteexample of an intended trip to the store. Begin by practicing"store" in the house. Create a little grocerystore at home by placing some cans,jars, and boxeson a shelf, as in a grocerystoredisplay,and get a shoppingcart. Have someoneplay the part of the storekeeperwho operatesa toy cash register.Have some money ready to pay for the food. Startstep,simplyteachyour childto help you push the cartin a shaightline, and to go and ing with the easiest stop on your command. Prompt, reward, and punish as in other programs.(Usecerealas a rewardfor good behavior,and whackson the rear for bad behavior.)Have the child stop the cart while you put in the items,and laterhave him put the itemsin the cart as you ask him. Always proceedin gradualsteps. the money; laterteachyour child For example,at the check-outcounterfirstyou shouldgivethe cashier to do it. You will be greatly expandinghis receptivevocabularyin this haining: "Stop," "Put in the greenbeans,""We need some cat food," "Give the money to the man." At the sametime you willbe him conhol: "No, don't run, walk," "Hands down, no stimming,""Take my hand." You want teaching to be reasonablycertain that your child does not drop or throw grocery items, does not screamwhen you go to the store. pushingthe cart, or misbehavein other waysbet'ore In planningthe first visitto a community setting,designthe trip to be short and simpleand to where focus upon the child. Do not take him on a long shoppingtrip to a large,bustlingsupermarket A small, counter. at checkout a long line the you in may be caught there are many people and where localgrocery storewhere you might shop for 15 minutesor so would be a much betterchoice.You want as possible,in casethingsgo wrong, or if you have to admonish him for actingup. as few witnesses which can make a visitnot the child'sactiveparticipation, The firsttripsshould alsoemphasize parent's The role shouldbe one only an enjoyableoccasionbut alsoa meaningfullearningexperience. in this new environmentthe skillslearnedat of promptingand helpingthe child to employ successfully home and of praisingthe child lavishlyfor attemptingto do things properly and for acting appropriately. If the child is busy acting appropriately, the chancesof misbehavioroccurring are greatly reduced and trip are greatlyenhanced. subsequent the chancesof a successful this is not the While the training and planning might sound formidableand time-consuming, pretraining at probably the to accomplish suffice case.One or 2 hours over three or four eveningswill home, The child should be graduatingfrom short visitsto small storesto longer visitsin largerstoresover for every second day. a 1-weekperiod, with store visitsscheduled Vtsiting A Beetctutqnt If your child to restaurants. What hasbeen said about managingthe child in storesis equallyapplicable and make home, good at manners table teaching start has problemsmanaginghimselfin restaurants, For example,one of experiences. for a while to giveyour childthe necessary home look like a restaurant when the food is down sits home everyone for childrento learnis to wait. At the mostdifficultbehaviors one sitsdown, waits, orders,waitssome served,and almost immediatelystartseating.In restaurants longer periods. more, and then beginsto eat. So, startteachingsittingand waiting,for increasingly When you do decide to go out to eat, go to a fast-foodrestaurantfirst, and graduallyexpand to more elaborate If your child actsup very badly, you may want to warn him sternlyand establishments. gve him a pinch on the bottom under the table.If that does not work, you may want to leavethe table

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Expcnding Your Child's World

with him and give him a strongerreprimandoutside.When he hasstoppedmisbehaving, and you and he have both regainedyour composure,then go back insidethe restaurantand return to vour meal.

PNOBIEMS IN NEW SETTINGS Therearesome problems unusual thatmayoccurwhenthechildistakenoutof thehouse andplaced in different settings. Oftenthe childfails to generalize or transfer whathe haslearned at hometo the new situation. He maybe obedient and respond conectly to inshuctions, suchas"Cometo me" and',Hold my hand,"at home,butthiscontrol maycompletely vanish in a store or a restaurant. Thisseems particularly hue of theolderchildren. In suchinstances thechildprobably thinks thathe will not be punished for misbehaving in public; thatis,he hastheadult"overthebarrel" soto speak, andhe thinks he canget awaywith murder. We recommend thatyou takea littlebit of "home"intothe outside world,andthat little thingfromhomemaybethe paddle. If he hasbeenhit on the behind a couple of times at homefor misbehaving, thenall he hasto seeis the paddlein Mom'spursewhiletheyare in the market.
Running A*cry Sometimes thereis a lot of excitement and distraction in a storethat may interfere with the child retaining good manners. Particularly,if he is some distance(like 20 feetor more) away from you in a store, or at the beachor in the park, he may not come when you say, "Come here," if he has been taught to respond to that command while being only 5 feet away from you at home. The child may even try to "leave" you by running away upon hearingthe "Come to me" command. There are severalways of remedyingthisproblem.For example,startteaching"distance responding"at home, so that the child is taught to respondto you, even though he is far away. Another method is to have a second adult (a cohort or a collaborator) presentin the beginning,to "bait" or "test" the child on purpose,while you are in contactand are callingthe shots,For example,let the child wander away, then when the distance is 20 feet or more, call him to come back; if he does not come immediately,your "collaborator"quickly emerges from an inconspicuous positionnearthe child and administers (a the appropriate consequence stern "Go" or a slap on the bottom) belore the child has an opportunity to experiencethe rewards he getsfrom ignoringyou or from running away. A child may sometimesrun when excited, or will try to play a game of "chase" with you. Under theseconditionsyou must use consistent and total discipline. As the child beginsto run away, you should sharplysay "No!" and then walk slowly toward the child, even if he continuesrunning. Under most circumstances running toward a child will only make him more excited and hence run faster.Upon reachingthe child, you should firmly state"No! Don't run away!" Repeatedincidentsof running away should be consequated with physicaldiscipline or a time-outcondition in additionto verbal chastisement. There shouldbe no leewayallowedin cases of runningaway once the first"No!" has beenexclaimed.It is simplytoo dangerous for developmentally disabled childrento iun away, sincethey could be hurt (for example,most of them do not understand the dangers involvedin haffic). The "No!" is your signalto the child that he has done somethingwrong, and will be at leastverballydisciplined. The statement "No!" helpsto bridgethe gap in time betweenthis initial exclamationand whateverfollows (further physicaldiscipline, verbaldiscipline, time-out). A patternthat often emergesis the child'stendencyto stop suddenly upon hearing "No!" and then to hastilyreturn to you with the expectationof forthcoming praise.While the child'sapproachis desirable in this context,praisinghim at this point will only encourMcncging ihe Child in Community Sertings 189

agefuturerepetitions of the entirerunningaway-coming backpattern.On the other hand, following throughwith discipline at thispoint will helpto discourage patternfrom forming.After sucha game-like disciplining your child,you canthenimmediately say,"Hold my hand"or "Stayby me" in orderto providea positive learning experience, thatis,an occasion leading proxto praise or rewardfor appropriate imity behavior.

FNUSTRANON TOTERANCE One very usefulprogramthat we sometimes teachexplicitlyis fushotlon tolerance. Most readers can probably construct point. (e.g., one at this Present a frushating situation food on a plateto a hungry child), then reinforcethe chlld heavilyfor a short (S-second) delay beforehe startseating.Prompt "holdingback"behavior ("Handsquiet,""Look at me")or by askif necessary by givinghim inshuctions ("What kind of food are we eating?"). ing him questions Then gradually increase the delayto I or 2 (Note minutes beforehe is allowed to eat. how you couldusethiskind of programto teachhim to better copewith all kindsof frusbations. For example, if your childcan'thandlecritlclsm, startwlth a mildcritlgradually cism,then increase it to moreand moreserious criticisms, allthe time reinforcing the childfor "keeping hls cool.") you already Unless havegoodconholoveryourchildat home (or in somesimilarly limitedsituation),it isjustwishful thinkingto believe thatthechildwill actappropriately in larger,morestimulaflng environments. The childhasto firstbetaughtto actappropriately at home;then he canbeinboduced to the community.

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Expcnding Your Child's World

CHAPTER
TEACHING ABOUTFEETINGS

32

Teachingabout feelingshas, of course, been part of our teachingmethod from the very beginning of the first program. The child has Iearned about feelings during interactionswhere emotions were expressed or withheld. For example, when the child received rewards,he probablyexperienced happiness and ex_ pressedthis feelingin his interactions. As the child's environmentexpands,he is ableto acquiremore and more rewarding properties; his feelingsof happiness or unhappinessincreasinglycome under environ-

mental conhol.Likewise, the more the child's environmentexpands, the more there is to lose, and therefore thereexistmore opportunities to feel and express feelings suchassadness and grief.We haverepeatedly observed the gradual emergence of genuineandelaborate humanfeelings in children(such asautistic or schizophrenic children) who weresupposedly incapable of expressing suchfeelings. Quitepossibly, the environment did not initially possess reinforcing properties for the autistic or schizophrenic child,h"n." the corresponding lackof appropriateaffect'when the childlearned whichbehaviors woutdelicitrewardor punishment from hisenvironment' he no doubt experienced a feelingof reliefor happiness at beingableto controla potentially threatening situation. In otherwords,asthechildacquired rewarding and aversive qualities fromtheenvironment,he experienced more natural,humanfeelings. one of the most gratiiying experiences in workingas a teacher with developmentally retarded children is to seeand discover thesenewlyfound feelings in the childrenand to help them copebetter. Therearecertain aspects in the child's emotionallife, however, that will not develop constructivelyunless the childis taughtaboutfeelings moredirectly. Thisis particularly the casewith somechildrenwho do not know how to identify and describe feelinis.We conshucted programs thatwouldhelp children talk aboutthe feelings in themselves and in others.Althougha child may feelvery happyand perhaps grateful, he may not know how to naturally or spontaneously express thosefeelings. Therefore,from the veryfirstday we seeachild,allthroughtheprograms, we teachhim to express affections in an appropriate manner.Similarly, children haveto betaughtappropriate waysto assert themselves. some children who aretoo assertive and endanger the welfaleot oit ei childrenhaveto betaughtmore
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waysof asserting appropriate themselves. Other childrenwho are too passive and quiet haveto be great dealof unusualfears, sometimes moreassertive. Finally, somechildren showa taught to become a programfor helpingthem overcome fears. refenedto as "irrational fears,"so we developed

IDENTIFNNGFEETINGS
You may find that using this progtam to teach the child to discriminateand labelfeelingsof happiness, sadness,anger, and fear adequately covers the main emotions. It is important during this program to make certain that the child enters into the interaction with the attending adult as actively as possibleto his own feelingsand the causesbehind them. allow him to describe as happy or scared.You Begin the program by teachingthe child to labelfacialexpressions should have two adults presentto help teach the program. Have one adult tickle or feed the second You then ask the child, "How does he (she) adult who would then smile and give signsof happiness. leel?"Prompt the child to respond with "Happy:" or "He (she)is happy." Once the child can respond appropriately to the questionwithout prompting, then a secondemotion, scared,is introduced.Now, the firstadult will behaveas if he or she is going to hit the secondadult, who cowersand showssignsof the beingscared.As before,you askthe question,"How does he (she)feel?"and prompt and reinforce child to answerappropriately,"He (she)is scared."Noticethat there are severalcues in this situation is the contextof the feeling,suchasthe that prompt or otherwisesignalthe feelingstate.Most noticeable to strikethe secondadult. Gradually,thesecuesshould be faded so that the child firstadult threatening can answerappropriatelyby merely looking at the second adult'sface. In other words, the child will stateby attending to the facialcues only. have learnedto read the cuesof the emotional One useful way of expandingthe above program would be to graduallyreplacethe second you adult with picturesof people who look scared,or happy. As in all other programs,the more pictures they are, the more effective have and the more diversified the program will be. Another usefulexpansionof this programis to teachthe child to matchfacialexpressions with their conespondingemotions.For example,once the child has learnedto conectly labelvariousfacial expresslons, suchas smiling,the child could then be taughtto matchthe facialexpression with the emotion it expresses. In this way, the child will be ableto describe a pictureof a happy personas, "He is smiling and he is happy." After the child has learnedto labelfeelings, it is appropriate to beginteachingthe childto make program statementsabout the causes of feelings. The on labeling facial expressions,with its heavy emphasison contextualcues, would provide ideal teachingmaterial.After the child seesthe second adult beingfed and learnsto respond, "He (she)is happy," the child can be taught to respondto the question,"Why is he (she)happy?" In this instance, the appropriateresponsewould be, "Becausehe (she)is being fed." Similarly,the child could be taught to identifybeing hit as a causeof fear. In general, the more explicit the context of these various feelings,the easier it will be for the child to discriminate among them. Going backto the originalsituationin which the child observed one punishment)would be afraidwhile the adult hittingthe other, the person who is gettinghit (receiving personwho doesthe hitting {administering punishment) would have a facialexpression showinganger. While the child previouslyhad learnedto labelthe feelings of the recipientas "afraid," the child would now be askedto describe the feelingsof the adult who is doing the hitting (and who looks angry). Another important program is one that teachesthe child how to apply these emotion labelsto programsfor the himself.The child will learn to make happy and sad faces.In devisingmore elaborate 192 Expcnding Your Child's World

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identification of the child'sown feelings,it may be wiseto closelyparallelthe programswe already described for teaching the child to labelemotions in others.For example,the firstprogramcould be modified sothatthechildistheone who istickled or fed.Whenthechildhadbeenmadeto lookhappy, he wouldthenbe asked,"How do you feel?" Oncethe childcanreliably discriminate between two feelings (suchas happyor afraid),he can be taughtto describe the causes of his feelings. A thirdemotion, suchasanger, canbeintroduced whenthechildcanadequately discriminate between two feelings, suchashappiness and fear.You mightfind it easier to beginthe programby having the childdiscriminate between happiness and anger, rather than happiness and fear,because it is easier to visually display anger thanfear.Thethirdemotion, whether anger or fear,wouldbeplaced into the training routineusingrandomrotation,suchaswasdonein the trainingof receptive and expressive labels for objectsand/or behaviors in Unit V. The feelingof sadness usuallyoccursin the contextof somesort of loss,so the personwho teaches sadness should create a situation wheresomeone loses something. An example wouldbe a situationwhere one adulttakes a toy awayfrom a second adult,and thesecond adultmimics sadness by makingcryingnoises and pretending to wipe the tearsfrom his face.The child is then askedto label these feelings, is prompted("He is feeling sad"),and is reinforced as before. Notethatthiskind of hainingeventually problematic becomes because the cuesof the more complexfeeling states are very subtle and difficult to discriminate, suchasthe distinction between sadness and guilt.Furthermore, the cuesthat distinguish manyemotional states are sometimes internal. Nevertheless, goodprogress canbe madeon identifying the basic emotions of anger, fear,happiness, and sadness.

TEACHING AFFECTTON
The extent to which a child's feelingsare a product of his heredity or are derived from his environment (arelearned)is a matter of debate. It is our experiencein working with many children that, exceptfor the most elementary and rudimentaryexpression of emotion, suchas anger,feelingshave to be taught; at the least,their expressions have to be shaped by the people who care for the child. Feelingssuch as affection,appropriate assertion, and showingkindness,concern,and consideration for othersall haveto be shapedin carefulsteps.Otherwise,the child would not express any of theseemotions,to the detriment of himselfand of those around him. From the very beginningof the program,perhapsfrom Day 1, we haveplaceda greatemphasison the children's beingaffectionate and kind to the adultswho carefor them. Being kind meansmany things; to many it means to expressaffection, such as by kissingand hugging, which are easy to learn. Begin by prompting (manuallyguiding) and reinforcingthe child for touching his cheek to yours, as you instructhim by saying,"Hug me." Then graduallyfade the prompt while you provide reinforcementfor more and more elaborateand longer hugs, such as those lastingfor 5 or 10 seconds, with his arms around your neck. In our program, particularly through the first several months or year, hardly 5 minutes go by in a teaching situation without the child being expected to show affection to the adults who deal with him directly, and he is prompted and requestedto do so if the behavior does not appear spontaneously. In general,our philosophyis that in theseprograms,where the adult givesso much of himselfor herselfto the child, the adult deservesaffection,and the child is expectedto offer affectionto show his gratitude. Children who are nice had to be taught to be nice, to a certain extent. Tecching About Feelings l*t

ASSERTION TRTIMNG
Assertingoneselfappropriately is a very complex skill that requires, in most instances,a lot of training, persons.We have found developmentally personsto be markedlylackingin even for average disabled appropriate assertionskills. One of the first behaviors we teach in this regard is taught in a teacherstudent relationshipwhere the teacher will purposefully place the child in an uncomfortablesituation and will prompt the child to say, "Stop it," "No, thank you," or some other appropriateresponse. We usually begin such training by having the teacher mess up the student'shair or engagein somefrightening behavior,suchasshakingthe child or liftingthe child high in the air. Once the child has learned to terminate these kinds of interactionswith the appropriate assertiveresponse,the adult progresses toward more subtle stimuli, such as taking favorite toys away from the child or removing food from his plate. Later, the adult may feed the child food he really doesn't like, tighten his beh too tight, put his hand in cold water, or perform some other action. We have been astoundedat the extentto which a developmentallyretardedperson will seemto accept,or fail to rejecl,stimulussituationsthat are very aversive from the adult'spoint of view. For example,we have to him, or at leastthat seemaversive seen childreneat food that has been much too hot for them, almost scaldingtheir mouths. We have of the water has changedto what most would conseenchildrenin the shower when the temperature cold or hot, and they did not object.And we have seenchildrennot ableto refuse sider uncomfortably food , who would simplyeat everything that the adult had giventhem, no matterhow full or stuffedthey became.Similarly,we have many stories of childrenwho have broken an arm or a leg or who have experiencedtoothachesor high feverswithout being able to communicatetheir stateof discomfort.Needin simplesituations their feelings lessto say, you would probablybeginteaching suchchildrento express first, in which the adult knows (and can vary) their feelingstates. Some of our children needed a lot of attentionwhen they were placed among peersin an and would totally dominate the group and everydayenvironmentbecausethey were too aggressive depriveother childrenof valued items,such astoys and food. In such a situation,we trainedappropriate assertive behavior (like askingfor favors)in a one-to-onesituationwith the teacher,and then put behaviorand to prompt appropriate adultsinto the child'severydayenvironmentto stop the aggressive assertive behaviorwhen necessary. Most developmentally retarded individuals have a general impoverishment of affectiveexpression of almostany kind. They appearvery stoicand bland. A greatdeal of promptingand displayof and importantsupappropriate affect,through playing and generally"horsingaround," is a necessary (the plementto any teachingprogram. Per[aps the ideal ratio of work to play teachingof intellectual functioning would be a ratio of fiveto one. That is, f.orevery5 minutesthat the to emotionalexpression) expresskills,he would be taught 1 minute of affective child is taughtintellectual, social,and self-help sions.The 1 minute of teachingaffectcould well be used as a reward that would be contingentupon 5 minutesof intellectual and socialwork. Note againthat a lot of the proper expressionof atfecthas to be creativelyprompted, as in the A great deal of concern and use of nonverbalimitation with mirrors to teach various facialexpressions. care should be placed on helping the child to discriminatethe appropriate stimulus or environmental conditionsfor expressing the various feelings,For example, giving a hug and a kissshould occur with a smiling face, and statementsof assertionshould occur with a stern or seriousface. We have constructeda number of other assertionor "conviction" programs. One program is called the "AlternativesProgram," in which the child is taught to respond conectly to choiceslike, "Do

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Expcnding Your Chtld's World

choices, suchas,"Do you want you wanta tickleor a slap?" facedwith moredifficult and then gradually to work or play outside?" may helpthe For example, someprograms You may haveto teachyour childconuicfions. proceed as follows: The may and discriminate misinformation. haining theiranswers defend children "Thisis a cup." Step 1: Havethe childlabelan object: is labeled tellthechild,"No, it isa book."Helpthechildby making correctly, Step 2: Afterthe object it but you called a cookie conectly, he labeled aspossible. Forexample, asabsurd thechoice a horse. label. the correct by restating Step 3: Now teachthe childto defendhis answer "convictions" is onethatteaches of thechild's thatmayfacilitate the development A program to the "Playing in others.(Thiscouldbe an addition incorrect behavior him to labeland consequate to is instructed adult attending words, one program in Chapter 33.) In other that is outlined Teacher" and the (such behaviors) in self-stimulatory asengaging giveincorrect or to actinappropriately answers approfor acting to reward others is taught as he andadmonish suchbehaviors, to correct childistaught priately. feelings. you mayneedto buildappropriate of the programs areonly examples Again,these yourownprograms to "fillout" allthe beable to construct saidby nowthatyou should hasbeen Enough behaviors. necessary

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OVERCOMING FEANS Some developmentallydisabledpersons show inational fears. We have two criteria for inferring that a (suchas daily),and the fear consistently for months and is expressed fear is inational:1) the fearpersists and 2) the fear is unreato the learedobject(s); does not seemto diminishdespiterepeatedexposures fear, we mean that the fear intersonablegiventhe child'sage or level of functioning.By unreasonable fear is a fear of the noisegenerated fereswith the child'slevelof functioning.An exampleof an irrational the child wheneverhe is over months or yearsand totally absorbs which persists by vacuum cleaners, anywhere near a vacuum cleaner. Other fears include fear of dogs, open doors, heights,bubbles, balloons. and cracks. The presenceof irrationalfearsis used by some people to diagnosechildhood psychosis.Irrational fears are not present in all psychotic and retarded children, but interestingly, fears will often will emerge in a child who is getting better with heatment. Thus, the child who improves substantially quesis an open develop a largerange of fears.Why thesefearsexistor come about as a child improves tion; it might be becausethe child becomesmore aware of his environment. It is important to note that a or who in generalseemsquite anxious,does much better in the kind of child who has irrationalfears, programwe have developed.Some childrenare quitevoid of any anxiety,and their prognoses teaching motiupp"uri"r, favorable.The presenceof fear in the child provides him with an additional source of "get a vation. To some extent teachingcan become a way of hetpingthe child to cope with his fear, or to can that and manage to learn can handle on it," It is important to distinguishbetweenfearsthat the child be used therapeutically,and fears that directly interferewith the child's learning. There are two programs in helping a child overcome fears: modeling and "working through'" Tecching About Feelings 195

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Modeling kognom In the modeling program (Bandura, 7967), the teacherfirst makescertainthat the student'sfearsare not reinforced (they are not operant, such that the child useshis fear to obtain a desiredresult). For example, it is entirely possiblethat a person may use his fearsto escapeor avoid certain demands or unpleasantsituations,thereby learningto becqmefearful. It is alsopossiblefor a child to learn to becomefearful in order to get lots of attention from adults, who hy to comfort him whenever he is fearful. The extent to which such fear is "real" (fear generatedby painful situations)or shaped as operant behavior is hard to say (watch a good actor acting a frightening scene and by to tell the difference). Once it has been determined that rewards, such as escapeor attention, have been removed and that the fear is not decreasing,the adult may want to model appropriate behavior in relation to the feared object or event, and perhaps verbally describethe situation as not fearful. For example, if the child is afraid of dogs, the adult would model approach behavior toward the dog, including petting the dog, while reassuring the child, "See, I'm pettingthe dog. Gee, that wasn'thard." Of course,the child's approach behavior to the feared object should be immediately rewarded. It is surprising, in view of all the modeling and gradual exposure to the feared objects,that most of the children with whom we worked stillremained very fearful. That is, we were unableto desensitizethem and almost invariably we had to force them into contact with the feared object. "Worling Through" kogrcm This program resembles a "flooding" program used in treatingadult fears. When the fearspersisted after a modelingprogram, the child was placedinto the fearfulsituation and kept there until he gavesignsof extinguishing his fear. This lastedanywherefrom 5 minutesto severalhours. At any one session, no more than one-halfhour went by without takinga breakof 5 to 10 minutes,and then the child wasreintroducedto the fearfulsituation."Flooding" the child in this way with the fearfulobject, that is, ensuring prolonged exposures to the feared object, ensured extinction of the fear. The procedure has been markedly effective.For example, the child may be very afraid of going into the swimming pool, or even afraid of going into water in the tub or shower. He screamsand fights whenever he is near water. In that situation,we eventuallymay end up placinghim in a tub, or in the swimmingpool, for anywherefrom 15 to 30 minutes, despite the fact that he screamsand kicks. We may take a short break after 15 to 30 minutes,and then place him back in the pool againfor anotherexposure,so that during one afternoon he may be in the pool for 3 hours, and out of the pool, for 10- to 2O-minutebreaks,for a total of 30 minutes. Most of the child's fearsof water should be extinguishedwithin a half-day sessionlike that, and it is probably safe to say that if the fear persistsdespitetwo or three sessionsof 3- to 4-hour durations, then the techniquedoes not work. Also, it is importantto note that if the child givessignsof diminishing fearafterthe firstday, then the sessions must be continuedthe secondday. Do not allow too much time to elapsebetweentrials. Other fearsare extinguished in similarways. For example,if the child is afraidof heightsyou would purposelyput him on top of chairsand tables30 to 40 times an afternoon,or carry him piggybackwith you, so as to help him extinguish the fear. If he's afraid of vacuum cleaners, then purposely run vacuumcleaners around him severalhours a day for howevermany daysare necessary to help him overcomethat fear. We have observeda very interestingetfect,counterphobio, in children who have successfully lost (thatis, mastered) their fears.Essentially the childrenwho previouslywere afraidof an object,once thek fears reach manageablelevels with regard to that object, become quite attachedto and obsessed u'ith the previouslyfeared objeit. For example, the child who was afraid of heightsnew insists on jumpt$ Expcnding Your Child's World

ing off of chairs and tables, and the childwho wasafraidof the waternow insists on spending all hisfree timein thq pool.

Teoching About Feelings

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CHAPTER
PRETENDING AND IMAGINING

33

The programsin this chapter teach the child how to pretend and to imagine-how to use his fantasy. Essentially, these programs involve teaching the child to constructin his imagination a reality that may not be there, and to act as if that reality is present, which it is not. Such behavior is consideredto be the most advanced attribute of language. For developmentally retarded children to be able to learn such behavior would seem particularly encouragingsince many theoreticianshave written on the "inabillty" of developmentallyretarded persons to abandon what many consider their basic concrete attitude and engage in more abstractand creative behavior. As

are quiteableto retardation childrenwith developmental you will seewhenyou teachtheseprograms, thiskind of enjoying with somehelpon your part,and willshowsigns and to fantasize, tearnto pretend person. of activityas much as any average amount requirea considerable programs and imagining on pretending these since Obviously, abstract proficient his use of in afterthe child hasbecome it is bestto starttheseprograms of language, aroundhim, and afterhe has and behaviors events afterhe can easilyidentifyand describe language, play pretending and imaginative programs on ln otherwords,the someconversationalskills. developed of nonverbal the basics children.The childshouldhavemastered for higher-functioning arebestsuited (Unit V). language imitation,as well as intermediate for the teacher's to serveasguidance offeredin thisbook are intendedlargely The programs in not presented progtams are that of a number programs. Thus,we use constuctionof morecomplete you whatwill happenin the future: the childistaughtto predict Program" detailhere.In the "Predicting or "What are you goingto do glass, will happen?" what "lf suchas, I drop this askthe child questions statements with the childcompleting starts afterlunch?"Anotherprogram,the "Tell a StoryProgram," by saying' "story" you the start picture. example, For to a already begunby the teacherin reference acdrop suchpromptswhile movingon to more elaborate Gradually "This boy is wearinga -." cues("Who aretheyand whataretheydoing?").Finally,you may reduceyour countswith decreasing 199

partin thestory to thefollowing request, "Tellme a story about thepicture," andyourchildtakes it from there.

BASICPNETENDING
In this program the child will be performing an action in relation to some object that is not present, or pretendingto be an individual or organismthat he is not. Begin the program by teachingthe child to engagein some behavior that he finds entertaining, but without using the "props" that are necessaryin reality to complete the act. For example, face the child and say to him, "Do this, pretend you are drinkingjuice." In most of these'timagined,' ,,fantaor sized" behaviorsit is critical that the child has some prior gratifying experience"in reality," and that he hasalreadydescribed the behaviors'linreality"beforeyou startthem "in fantasy."Modelthe actionfor the child, holding the (imaginary) cup in your hand, smackingyour lips, and making slurpingnoises, while "drinking" the imaginaryjuice. Prompt the child to imitateyou if he doesn'tdo so spontaneously and provideall the necessary contextual cues,suchassaying"ah" and "um" to communicate your pleasure with the exquisite juice you are drinking. In other words, "ham it up" and prompt the child when necessary to do likewise. Over several trials,fade out the modelingprompt, so that by the end of a sertes of hials you can simply ask the child to perform the action ("pretendyou're drinkingjuice") and then reinforcehim heavilyfor actingappropriately. Your joy over his creativeand imaginative effortsshould be a part of the reinforcement he receives. The other part of hisreinforcement shouldbe that which is inhinsicto the behavior.That is, by choosinga behaviorthat he likes,suchas drinkingjuice, the actingout of the behavioris very likelyto elicitthe kindsof positivefeelings in him that are rewarding,hencemaintainingthe imaginativebehavior. Once this firstbehaviorhas been acquired,you will want to inboduce anotherpretendacflon, and mix it in with the first action (randomlyrotate)in order to help him form a discrimination. Choose actionsof pretendingthat he enjoysand that are associated with somediscriminable and clearlyidentifiable behavior.For example, if drinkingjuice is the first behavior,then "eating a cookie" might be the next behaviorthat he pretends,followedby "kissing baby," "going to sleep, " or "driving a car." For each of thesebehaviors the teacherhasto becomequite creative in order to bringin all the nuances of the act. For example,driving a car would entail more than just holding the hands on the steeringwheel. It involvesshiftinggears,soundinglike an engine,and moving to the left and to the right as the car negotiatesdifferentturns. For childrenwho like to ride in cars,imaginingbeing in a car should becomevery pleasing.If your child does not like riding in a car, pick some other behavior. Basicpretending also includesteachingyour child to pretend to be somethingwhich he is not, for example, a dog, a cat, or a bird, Hearing the expression, "Let's pretend we arebirds," and then watchingan adult and a child running around the room with arms flapping is quite a sightto behold. Many actionsof dogs can be imitated: they bark, they scratchtheir headsfor fleas,they eat out of a dish on the floor. Pretendingmakesteachingfun. Some children become extremely gratified by learning to use their imagination. One slight problem which then may occur is that some children become so involved in their fantasy that it takeson inappropriate or psychotic proportions. For example, once the child is taught to pretend to be a dog, somechildrenmay becomeso involvedin playingthe part that they would ratherbe a dog than a human being. They spend the entire day barking, eating off disheson the floor, and even smellingthe legs of adults or hee trunks. Adults have to provide the child with feedbackwhen he becomestoo involved in

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"That's play Thatis,he isjustplainly told,in harsh terms if necessary, enough dog,let's somebehavior. else." something

PNETENDING ADVANCED
pretendac"simple" pretending, that is, once he can act out severalsimple After the child has mastered suchas of actions, tionswith littleor no prompt from the adult,then he is readyto learnlargersequences takinga bath, "Gettingreadyfor bed." This sequence of pretendactions may includegettingundressed, You should his eyes,and sleeping. brushinghisteeth,climbinginto bed, puttinghead on pillow, closing "Pretend prompt necessary you getting which will be ready for and the child, are bed," statethe action, his Also askthe child to labelthe behaviorthat he "performs,"so that he may describe in the beginning. "l "l Prompt these my him to express my closing eyes." clothesoff," or am actions,such as am taking Theseprompts should be as "light" as possible. verbaldescriptions of "gettingready for bed" activities. of behaviorsshould be Once the child has masteredany one sequence,other sequences the trained,such a$ "cooking breakfast,"and "gettingready for school." Again, selectthose behaviors child finds most reinforcingin everydaylife. In order to build your child'simagination, the child must learnto labelmoreand more of his behaviors in everydaylife. For example,if the child goesto a store,or to the beach,or to someplacehe enjoys,have him label his behaviors(that is, give a verbaldescription of each act) as he goes through occurin the real world willbe easier asthey actually that havebeen labeledor described them. Behaviors retardedchilToo many developmentally at a laterstage. for the child to rememberand to use in fastasy the beverbalize or pleasurable do not conceptualize activity,but, sincethey dren will engagein some gratification in for subsequent havior at the time, they are lessable to draw upon theseexperiences fantasy. in the child's"real" The programsin basicand advancedpretendingare tied to experiences "eating that are closely behaviors are all breakfast" life. "Going shopping," "playing in the park," and a littleand to introducenew material to stretchthesebehaviors tied to the child'sdaily life. It is possible For example,playing that doesnot shictlycorrespondto what the child may alreadyhave experienced. that the child has neverseenor had contactwith, "mama bear" and "baby bear" are certainlybehaviors of that we preferto start more difficultto build or shapeup. Because and they would be proportionately in everydaylife. Pretendingthat involveseventsthat that the child encounters with pretendbehaviors peer play becomeimportant for facilitating in imaginationshould nevertheless are totallyconstructed babybear),or play with many toys, such (one peer becomingmama bearwhile the other peer becomes "baby who is fed and bathed by "Mama." doll" "mama is doll," another as dolls, where one doll is

PIAY'INGTEACHEN
"PlayingTeacher"is a program that many childrenfind uery rewarding.This program is lesscomplicatedthan the otherprogramsand can be startedquiteearlyin the child'straining.The teachertakesthe to teach role of the child and prompts the child to take the role of the teacher.The program is designed the child an explicitform of control over his environment.He becomesboss,so to speak. with a secondadult, who standsbehind the to startthis kind of interaction It might be easiest For child and promptsthe child to give the teacherorders.Fade this secondadult as soon as possible.
Pretending cnd Imcgining

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example, the childis prompted to say,"Standup," "Sit down," "Clapyour hands,"and so on going into increasingly complexcommands wherethe teacher immediately performsthe actions. Laterthe childis promptedto rewardthe teacher for complying("Goodstanding," givingthe teacher food and kisses) the teacher in a sternvoice("No,payattention!") , or to admonish if the teacher doesnotcomply. "PlayingTeacher"in this way is probably a very importantpart of a child'splay and should facilitate socialization. We frequently observe a greatdealof joy in the child as he takescommand. We alsoseea substantial improvement in theclarity and volumeof hisdiction."Playing Teacher" mayserve asa goodprocedure for helpingchildren who typically areinaudible and poor enunciators to enunciate clearly and loudly. Whena childhasbeenon the receiving programsuchaswe haveoutlined, sideof a teaching all effortshouldbe madeto helpthe child"takecommand"of the situation assoonaspossible. The importantmessage in all teaching, whetherone is workingwith developmentally retarded or normalchildren,is thatthe childhasto submithimself to somecontrolat one timein orderto become a freeperson at a latertime.The program"Playing Teacher" is one smallstepin that direction.

Expcrndlng Your Chtld'g World

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ii

CHAPTER
OBSERVATIONAT TEARNING

34

The child learns much by merely observingand then doing what other children do or what adults do with other children. Perhapsquite suddenly and without a great deal of practice,the child may show that he has learned through the mere observationof the behaviors of others. He does not have to be explicitly shaped through successiveapproximations. This is called learning by observation, or observational learning. Sometimes observational learning goes hand in hand with the kind of shapingthat we have already describedin this manual. For example, the child will be prompted to act in a certain way by observing someone else behave, but since the behavior may at first be imperfect, the behavior gradually will be shaped to criterion. It can be argued that observationallearning is criticalfora child'snormal development, that learningthrough directshaping is not enough. This becomesparticularlytrue when the student startsto interact with his peers. Most of what a child learnsfrom peers will be learned through observation,and that learning is criticalfor his full development. In any case,it would be extemely helpfulfor a child to learn behaviorsby merely observing those behaviors in others. The importance of learning by imitation is a good illustration. The child watchesthe behavior of somebody else and then hies the behavior on his own. When a child cannot learn by this kind of observation (and most developmentallyretarded children seem unable to do so) perhaps he could be taught to do so. This is exactlywhat we attempted to do when we set up programs for teachingverbal and nonverbal imitation in the earliersectionsof this book. This chapter expandson these programs, largely by teaching the child to become more observantof what is happening in his environment. Note that some of the programs in this chapter (such as "What's Missing?") may be started relativelyearly, for example, after the child has completed Unit V. As we presenttheseprograms, keep in mind that you have to work out the detailson your own. The order in which these programs are presented does not have to be the order in which you teach them. Observationallearning is vastly more

203

complex than what we have outlined here, but the intent of the chapter is to provide a beginning in teaching the child to learn by observatton.You have to conshuct more elaborate programs on your own. The variationsthat may be inhoduced on theseprograms underscorethe need to be aware of the child's level of functioning, and to be aware of possiblemistakesin one's teaching. It is easyto see how one could be teachingbehaviorsthat lead nowhere.

THE "WHATS MISSING?' GAIUE aroundhim. to the thingshe sees of thisprogramis to helpthe childpay more attention The purpose from eachother at a table. Startin the usuatposition,with you and the child sittingacross andask or a watch) on thetable(likea setof keys,or an ashtray, one commonobject Step 1: Place by now.) "Whatis this?"(Thechildmustknow theselabels the childto labelit by saying, (e.g., "watch,"),tell the child, it and he haslabeled Step 2: After you havepointedto the object for him or coverhiseyes independently), you shouldpractice "Coveryour eyes"(aresponse with a object with your hand. As soonas his eyesare shut,removethe object,or coverthe napkin.Then tell him, "Open your eyes,"or removeyour handfrom his eyesand let him look. If he and askyour child"What'smissing?" Step 3: Pointto the tablewherethe objectwaslastvisible parts the of him by showing answer you may wantto promptthe correct inconectly, answers you are hiding. object oneat a time objects, thetaskwith one object(thewatch),try different Step 4: Oncehe hasmastered go on to Step5. (e.g.,keys,glasses, Whenhe responds to criterion, or candy). (e.g., Point to each obkeys and a watch). the table butdistinct objects on two common Step 5: Place (e.9.,"Keys"), jectandaskthe child"Whatisthis?" thenpoint conectly If thechildresponds "What label.The conect reinforcing the child's and again ask, is this?," to the secondobject is removed.If the childhasprobchildis then askednot to look whileone of the two objects
lems here, Just cover the object with the napkin, without actually removing it. He is then asked, "What's missing?"With two objectspresent,the child is forced, or enabledto learn the concept, "What's missing?"sincehe has to rememberwhat was there before but is not there now. In gradual steps, make the task more difficult by adding more objects (some children will be able to detect what is missingfrom as many as eight or more objectson the table), increasingthe amount of time the child looks away, and skipping the labeling of the object (say "Look at these," while moving your finger slowly behind the objects, facilitatingthe child'sscanning). Generalizethis program to the everyday environment by removing dishes or eating utensils from the table, by removing familiar piecesof furniture from his room, by removing your shoes,or by taking a picture off the wall. At the risk of being redundant, let us reiteratethat it is crucial to teach the child to generalizethese tasksto his everyday environrnent. It is of no particular benefit to the child to leam to detect objectson a table if he remains oblivlousto the rest of his environment. You merely start sre rairung on the table to help the child leam to look and identify changes around him,

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Expcrndlng Your Chlld'r World

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THE "WHAT IS IT7' GAME Unlike the "What's Missing?"game, the "What Is It?" game requires a fairly sophisticateduse of language. Essentially, the child is given a verbal descriptionof an object or a behavior and is required to identify the conesponding object or behavior in his environment. This game is usually played as part of preschoolpreparationtraining with severaladults (playingthe part of children) sittingin a group with the child, but it could be taughtin a one-to-onesituation as well. In a group situation(theadultsare seated in a circleso everyonecan be seen),each person holds up an object(suchas a yellow cup, a blue cup, a blackbook, a blackcomb, a white shoe, or a squareblock).The teacherthen asksa question,such as "What do you drink from?", and the child is prompted to answerand is reinforcedas before.A target response may be the child pointing to the objectand correctlyverbalizing, graduallyare The questions made more difficult,suchas, "What is yellow and you drink from it?" or, "What'sbig and white and goes on someone'sfoot?" At some point, different persons in the group "take turns" answering different questions.The answersshould become prompts for the child when he cannot respond correctly. Remember,the puriose of the program is to teachthe child to learn by observingand listening. In the caseof identifying behaviors,the membersof the group may demonstratesome action, or the adult may want to use pictures.A beginningstepmay be for the child to identifywho is smiling when one of the personsin the group is smiling(e.g., the child responds "Laurie is" when asked,"Who question "Who is smiling?"). A more complex would be is smilingand hasa yellow sweater?" This helps the child listento the questionand scanhis environmentfor the appropriate to say, succues.Needless cessful answers to a task like that forces(or enables) the child to "turn outward." or to becomeawareof his surroundings.

THE "I DO/I AM" GAME The "l Do" game is very similarto the "What is it?" game. The purposeof "l Do,/l Am" is to teachthe child to learn by listeningand looking at people around him and by comparing himselfwith others. Anange a group of people in a circleand then beginwith a questionlike, "Who hasthe yellow cup?" The personwho has the yellow cup would be requiredto say, "l do." The child is then given the to the question.Laler, the cuesthat object (e.g., the yellow cup) and is prompted to respondcorrectly "Who is wearing jeans?" or "Who is more such as, for responding may be subtle, are required correct wearinga yellow sweater?"Later, the teachermay ask quite difficult questions,such as, "Who is smiling and has blonde hair?" or "Who has brown eyes and white shoes." An interestingvariation of this game, which makesit more certainthat the child is in fact learnThe child shouldthen be taughtto say, "No, you are ing the rule, is to have an adult answerincorrectly. not," and to conect the adult. It is the child's ability to discriminateat that level that allows you to infer that he has acquiredthe task. An interestingvariation of the "l Doll Am" game involvesthe introduction of competition. For example,the teachermay ask, "Who wantsice cream?"and then reinforcewhoeversays,"l do," with a spoonful of ice cream. Once this behavior is establishedand the child is answering appropriately, change the question to, "Who wants a spanking?" Needlessto say, correct responding to these questhat the child listencarefullyratherthan learningto say, "l do," to whateveris asked. tions necessitates
Observctioncl Lecrning

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THE "IISTEINNG AND FINDING" GAME The "Listening and Finding"gameis verysimilar to the games we havealready described and involves only a slightvariation, underscoring the factthatdevelopmentally persons disabled needexplicit teaching. In thisparticular gamea groupof peopleis not essential. It may be playedby havingJust a teacher and a childpresent, but sinceit is a typicalpreschool game,it is probably wiseto includeotherpeople, especially children, in a group-like formatat laterpoints.Essentially, the teacher describes a picture that only shecan see,and, oncethis pictureis described, then that particular plcture,alongwith another picture,is placedin front of the child.The chtldis then required similar to identify(pointto) the picture the teacher has described. In other words,the child is askedto identifya picturebasedon someone else's description of it. For example, the teacher may hold the pictureof a boy eating icecreamand describe thispicture quitesimplyin the beginning: "The boy is eating icecream."The teacher thenshuffles thatpicture with anotherone, places the two pictures faceup in front of the child, and tellsthe child "Potntto the conectpicture."To makeit easy,perhaps the firsttimeone picturewouldshowa boy eating icecream whilethe other picturewould be blank.Whenscenes cometo be includedin the second picture,they mightbe clearlydifferent from the firstone. Gradually, the description is increased in complexity, with a corresponding complexity in the choices between the pictures. For example,it is entirely possible that the teachereventually present a vi:rylengthy description of the picturein whichthe key element, suchasa boy ridinga bicycle, is a relativelysmallpart of the story.Then, the childis presented with two quitesimilarpictures, for example, one picture may includea boy ridinga bicycle whilethe otherpictur e merely showsa blcycle aspartof a scene. Again,notethat you wantto movefrom the simple to the complex,and to makeit simple in the beginning so that the child getsa chanceto exhibitthe correctbehavior.

"STORY TIMH' "StoryTime" is particularly usefulfor students who are aboutto enrollin preschool, or in classrooms wherestudents haveto listen to the inshuctions of theteacher andthenrespond appropriately. Thegoal of sucha programcenters on increasing the child'sknowledge of the world and thereby helping him to be more usefuland entertaining with his socialgroup. It is perhaps bestto "play school"in this programby havingthe childsit on the rug, like childrendo in school,eitheraloneor with otherpersons, and listento the teacher offer"story Time."You may want to proceedas follows: Step 1: A very simpleand easybook is selected. One adultserves as teacher and readsone or two sentences from the book. The secondadult is then askeda simplequestion basedon the material readand provides a simple answer. Thisadultisthenreinforced. The materialis then rereadand the child is askedthe somequestion. This is to facilitate the child'shstening to other members group get prompts of the and to from them when necessary. For example, the teacher mayread,"The dog doesnot say,'cluckcluck,'the dog says'bow-wow.' " The teacher then asksan attending adult"What doesthe dog say?"This adult then answers "The dog says'bow-wow.'" The teacherthen reinforces the adult for "good listening." At that point the teacher "The facesthe child and asks dog doesn'tsay,
Expcndlng Your Chlld'r tVorld

Step 2:

'cluck cluck,'the dog says'bow-wow.'Whatdoesthe dog say?"If the child now saysthe right answer,he is reinforced;if not, he may be prompted. His prompt may be given by repeating the question to the first adult. The child may now be askedthe question directlyby the teacherwithout the teacherfirst asking the attending adult. If the child fails to answer the question or answersincorrectly, the materialmay be reread and the teacher may ask the first adult for the conect answer. What the program attemptsto do, in part, is to help direct the child's attention to other membersin the group as providing information about correct responding in addition to helping him attend to what the teacheris reading.

In subsequent steps,the level of difficulty is increasedby the teacherreading longer sentences to the character's knowledge,feelings, and includingreferences and so forth. Note the importanceof readingmaterialthat directlyrelates to the child'sown experiences, that is, materialthatis meaningfulto the child. If you can't find such a book (many books for children are written at an unbelievablydifficult level and from the framework of an adult), you obviously can make up your own story. Make certain that it fits the child's experience,dealing with activitiesthat he clearly understandsand can conceptualize. As trainingprogresses, the materialbecomesmore demandingand the child may now expect to listen to a story, for example, for 3 to 5 minutes, before questionsare asked about that story. The for theirfeelings, and what they were thinking,Note also storycould dealwith people'sfeelings, reasons that "Story Time" provides an opportunity for the child himself or other children to present their own the early steps,make learning materialto the story. In other words, as soon as the child has mastered more demanding,and more interesting.

THE"GETTINGINFORMATION" GAIT{E
"Story Time," the child is taughtto seekinformationby In a programvery similarto, and complimenting addressingattending persons. Step 1: Step 2: Step 3: Step 4: Step 5: Startby askingthe child questionsthat he knows the answerto, such as "What's your name?" or "Where do you live?" Then presenta questionhe doesnot know how to answer,suchas, "How old is he? (pointing to a particular adult)" or "What are you going to have for dinner?" Prompt your child to ask someone else in the room, who then gives the child the correct answer. Also, you may Repeatyour questionto the child and prompt the correctanswerif necessary. occasionallyask him questionsfrom Step 1 at this point. RepeatSteps 1-4 with new questiorisuntilthe child learnsto ask attendingadultsfor answers to questionshe cannot answer.

An important extension of this kind of program is to have personsin the child's environment make certainstatements(initiallyoffering simple facts,later more subtledescriptions)and then ask your child to tell you about what was said. Repeat, prompt, and fade the prompt as before in order to get this kind of behaviorunder appropriatecontrol. It is a criticalskillfor your child to learn if he is going to benefit from group instruction in school or from most other situationsin life. Observqtlonal Lecrnlng

wl

CHAPTER
BUILDING SPONTANEITY VERSUS CONTROLLING BEHAVIOR

35

who become familiar with the kind of Mony teochers behavioralteachingswe have discussedthroughout this book wonder about the extent to which children taught by these procedureslack spontaneity.They any authoritarian may have a valid concernbecause and controlling atmosphere such as the one we employ may well curb spontaneity.This chapter presents definitions of spontaneity, and describesways behavior' and building spontaneous of encouraging Spontaneous behavior is behavior that is not explicitlytaught, but is in a sense"free" and unpredictable.This definition of spontaneousbehavior as discussedin Chapter 13' relatesto generalization spontaneousbehavior can be viewed as behaviorthat occurred in new situaIn stimulus generalization, can be viewed with teaching.Responsegeneralization tions, that is, in situationsnot explicitlyassociated not exbehaviorchangerefersto behaviors of new and novelbehavior.Generalized as the appearance plicitly taught.

BEHANON SPONTANEOUS FOSTENING

The following set of procedures has been designedto foster spontaneousbehavior' generalization 1. As many personsshould work with the child as possible.This will facilitatestimulus situations Auoid so that the child will behave spontaneously in the presence of new persons. between where the child has only one teacherbecausethis will probablyteach him to discriminate in the "teachers" persons,and cut down on spontaneousbehavior. Be sureto include children as and remain teginning; otherwisethe child may learn to discriminatebetween adults and children passivewith the latter' in the car, on 2. Teach your child in as many physicallocationsas possible:in school, at home, with his new skills(language, walks, in the park, in stores.You want as many situationsassociated play, social interactions) as possible. Auoid teaching programs where the child is taught in a limited environment, like sitting in a chair in a particular room in a particular school.

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3 . As early as possible, change to natural, everyday rewards and use as many different kinds of

4.

5.

6.

rewardsas you can, including rewardsthat are availableeverywherein people, in his own behavior, and so on. Auoid teaching programsthat rely on a limited set of powerful rewards, like foods or candy. In such programs the child will learn to behave appropriately when he is hungry and food is present; otherwise he will not. You may have to use such artificialrewards as food in the beginning, but only to initiate certain basic behaviors. Associateyourselfwith the delivery of powerful reinforcers,like giving or removing food and aversives,or providing the child with new opportunitiesto play. That way you will acquireincreasingly complex rewarding value for your child, and so will other aspects of his behaviorand environment in general' When that occurs, you will have to do lessexplicitshaping and teaching. He will begin to shape himself (that is, spontaneouslychange) in order to enjoy those new rewards. As much as possible,reinforce appropriate behaviorsthat occur withoutthe adult prompting or otherwise asking for it. In particular, be sure to fade out adult assistance, in the form of prompts and inshuctions,as soon as possible,and reward behaviorsthat occur in the absenceof adult conhol. The larger a child's behavioralrepertoire,the more spontaneoushe will seem. Clearly,a child who has only mastered one verbal responsewould not manifesta great deal of spontaneousverbal behavior when compared to a child who has a more extensive verbal repertoire. In other words, keep on teaching new behaviors to expand the child's repertoire, This will facilitate responsegeneralization.

7 . Teach as many "pivotal" responsesas possible.That is, strengthenbehaviorsthat allow the child
access to a large range of powerful reinforcers.Make his language/u ncilonal,teach him practical skills.For example, teach him to ask for favors, like food and play, rather than just teachinghim to labelbody parts. Teach him to go to the toilet, to dresshimself, and to eat appropriately,insteadof just tracing linesor coloring insidea boundary, In the same manner, teach new behaviors that substitutefor already established,lessadaptive behaviors.For example, teach appropriateplay and art to replace more elementaryforms of the same, such as lesselaborate,more stereotypedmotor self-stimulation. Suppressthe primitive forms of self-stimulation and hope for a behaviorsubstitution of more appropriate behaviors. 8 . Try to suppressthe stereotyped,repetitiveself-stimulatory behaviors,sincetheseapparentlyblock the developmentof new, more adaptivebehaviorsand reduce the child'sresponsiveness to his exhinsicenvironment. 9 . Avoid prolonged use of aversives(generalized fear and anxiety) becauseaversives suppress spontaneousbehaviorssuch as vocal languageand play. Points 8 and 9 above may seem contradictoryin that aversivesmay have to be used to suppressself-stimulatorybehavior. Even so, once self-stimulatory behaviors are suppressed and replacedwith more appropriate behaviors,aversives should be withdrawn to allow spontaneous behaviors to appear. I U , Create situationsthroughout the day in which you and your child can act as "free" as possible. Create situationsin which he is physicallyvery active in play, or he is rewarded for being active. Gradually inhoduce these situationsover the first year of teaching as he learnsto discriminate behveensituations in which he can play and thosein which he hasto work. In general,asthe child is acquiringthe basicbehaviorsnecessary for more adequatefunctioning, the adult needsto back off a bit on teacherconhol so as to help the child assumemore independenceand freedom.

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CONTNOTTING BEHAVION When to conhol and when not to control is a basicand difficult questionfor both parentsand educators alike. There are two types of control, conhol that is used conshuctively and control that is used to enslave.Constructiveuse of control provides children with the basicbehavioralrepertoire necessary to (or be free. Anyone who has visited a state hospital stateschool) for the developmentallydisabledand emotionally disturbed has seen how behavioral impoverishment leads to enslavement. People are "stored" in those places becausethey do not have the behavioral skillsto make it on the outside. On the other hand, every dictator and oppressorhas enslavedhis people through the use of behavioralcontrolprocedures.The main stepsinvolvedin enslaving someone may read as follows: 1. Selecta setof powerful,but limited,reinforcers, suchasfood, guilt, and anxiety.Allow only one or a limitednumber of personsto manipulatethosereinforcers. Discourage the developmentof reinforcersthe individualhimselfcan manipulate,such as sx or personalcreativity. Build a limitedsetof behaviors are under the conhol of only, and makecertainthat thesebehaviors (buildnanow stimulusconhol). a limitedset of easilyidentifiedpersonsor situations Shengthenincompetence,as in rewardingdependentbehaviorand interpersonalfailures.

2. 3.

The list could be lenEhened, but this is probablysufficientto alert the reader to the dangersof uncontrol.Remember,althoughcontrolcanbe usedto freepersonsand to build sponcheckedbehavioral taneousbehavior,it can also be used to enslave. It conholin the beginning. From what we havesaid,one obviouslyneedsto exertconsiderable is the samewith normal children-adults exertconsiderable controloverthem in the earlyyears.That is, young childrendo not decide whether to go to school, whether to crossa streetin heavy traffic,or toward their siblings.Adults make those decisions.As the child becomes whether to be freely aggressive behaviorally more competent,adultsshould reducetheir control.When to stop harpingand pestering, for all are very difficult decisions and, for the child's sake, when to let him make his own decisions parent parents.For example,one of the most difficultdecisions their conhol facesis to easeup on any Eventuallychildrenhave to face reality even though they are certaintheir childrenwill make mistakes. on their own, and learn from the mistakesthey make. It is hard for parentsto face that, but it is betterto as an adult, make small mistakes as a child than big mistakes gradual process. is a We have learned to begin experimenting with lessened conhol Easing control some time after the child has masteredmost of the programsin this book. The child's behaviors the controla bit we lessen provide the guidance to us-if he continuesto learnand functionadequately, or beginssome stopslearning, becomesinattentivein class,startsto self-stimulate, more. If he regresses, it at a later date to lessen again in order the then we reinhoduce control, other inappropriatebehavior, when he can "handle" it.

INTRINSICALTY CREf,IT. SPONTANEITY: REINFORCENS CONTROTTED E!(TRINSICATTY VENSUS

Many puzzlingquestionsremain regarding spontaneousbehavior versus controlled behavior. At this time we do not know how to raisean individualto come under the influenceof personallycontrolled "creative" reinforcers (and, accordingly, to lessenthe control of social, exfrinsicallycontrolled reinBuildlng Spontcneity 2ll

forcers).If we argue that exposure to already existingsocial behaviorsis necessary(but not sufficient), we arenot providinga teacherof creativestudents with much help. How, then, can a behaviorist deal with creativespontaneity, behavior that conhibutesto the individual'sgrowth and our understandingof man? Let us try to conceptualizesuch creativity. Consider the behavior of creative artistswho clearly escapedfrom the control of their social environments.People like Van Gogh and Shavinskyare good examples.They createdart that was "ahead of the times"-future generationswere to appreciatetheir work more than the present. They may also have exercised a profound effecton culture,science,and politics.What shapedVan Gogh's paintings?He did not match his picturesto an "outside" reality, as paintershad done before him. There is no way that his behaviorcould have been shapedby the socialrewards(hispublic),which, of course, he didn't have in the firstplace. (ln other words,therewasnot a group of peoplearound Van Gogh who said, "Good painting, Vince.") In fact, Van Gogh and personslike him seemedquite independentof suchsocialcontrol. Most likely,then, Van Gogh shapedhimself . He must have experienced, at the very moment he had put down a particular shokeon the canvas, that the form and the color were"justright"; the color and the form he createdreinforcedhim. In theseinstances,one may talk of perceptualreint'orcers, which we inhoduced earlierin conjunction with sensoryreinforcers, We said earlierthat motching one person'sbehavioragainstsome other person'sbehaviormust have becomereinforcing, as in imitative(echolalic) speech.In the caseof Van Gogh, however, the matching did not occur againstsome external ref,erent, becausethat external referentwas not available.That is what makesVan Gogh's behaviorso particularly originaland ueatiue. Instead, Van Gogh must have matchedagainst some internal"template." In other words, the behavior of artistslike Van Gogh is probably determinedby internal, personallyconholled reinforcers.Such personallyconholled behaviorsare the essence of creativespontaneity. Much behavioralwriting has attributed all of man'sbehaviorto socialconhol. B. F. Skinner, who is the besfknown livingspokesman of modern behaviorism, doesnot extensively discuss suchpersonally controlled perceptual and conceptual reinforcers.Yet we might find it necessaryto postulate such reinforcers in order to accountfor truly creativeand autonomousbehavior. It would also be interestingto speculateon the emergence of creative behavior in developmentally disabled persons, and to speculateon the relationshipbetween creative and psychotic behavior.Note, for example, how creativepersonssuch as Van Gogh and Shavinskywere relatively fueeof social conhol. However, this relationshipmust await clarificationthrough future research.For our purposes here, let us describe a more mundane and concrete program to initiate spontaneous behaviorin developmentally disabledchildren.The program is known as "poster training."

A PROGNAM TO INITIATE SPONTANEOUSBEHAVION Poster trainingstarts with a setof ten posters, eachhavingone pictureof an objectthat the child has already beentaughtto label,suchas an apple,alree,a dog, or similar The childis simply objects. instructed, "Tell me aboutthe poster." He is immediately poster, shownthe and reinforced afterhe has madea correct response, The teacher thengoes poster, on to thesecond and so on untilthefirstsetof tenposters hasbeencompleted. He isthenshown a setof tennewposters, piceachhaving tu.ro familiar tures, suchasan appleand a dog.The childis reinforced afterconectly labeling He may bothobjects. needprompting on the firstfew posters, andthissetof posters may haveto berepeated he labels before both pictures on the posters withoutpromptswhen askedto "Tell me aboutthe poster."The teacher

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Expcnding Your Child's World

may want to help the child monitor his performanceby teaching him to first point to one of the objects, has anj then the other, in the poster,perhaps moving from left to right, as in reading. After the child he masteredposterswith two objects,he is shown ten posterswith three pictureseach, and so on until can tell about posterswith ten different objectson each poster' The child is probablylearningtwo things at this time. Firsthe is learningto give longer and longer descriptionsbefore he is reinforced, and his behavior is probably becoming less tied to explicit scanor searchhis environment for necesteacherconhol. Second, he may be learningto systematically the child sary cuesin order to come up with adequatebehavior,Both theseeventsserveto "separate" speech. the beginningof spontaneous from explicitteacherconhol and to facilitate picturesdeOnce the postersare mastered,move the child on to more ordinarybut complex scenes(dog, house, man, woman)' You may then go on to askthe child to label pictingheterogeneous "Tell me eventsaround him, such as objectshe seesin his house. For example,ask him to everyday You should what you seein this room," to which he may respond,"light, door, table,picture,floor." get longer and to in order and gtaduallywithhold the reward prompt his responsewhen necessary, more detailed descriPtions. may be for the child to "Tell me about yourself,"in which the teachermay Another exercise his head ("hair, eyes,ear") and moving down his body (to shoulders, startthe child off by describing with less repertoires arms, stomach).The goal in this haining is to anangefor largerand largerbehavior and the child are and lessadult guidance.Rememberthat in theseas in all other programsthe teacher learninga procedurethat works best when it is extendedto the child'severydayenvironment' These and similarproceduresmay well help the child to be more "free" and spontaneous' active,as in play the childto be more physically includingteaching There are many othersuchpractices, fade out the explicitand strictcontrol to gradually Remember and sports,and to becomemore assertive. that you neededto get learningstartedin the beginning' play and language' of spontaneous and fearto be inhibitors We havefound physicalaversives the basiclearningrequireThis impliesagainthat the teacherneedsto "back off" a bit on her control as ments have been met. behavior, and In summary, then, a number of differenteventshelp produce spontaneous the child becomesincreasingly many of theseinvolvethe adult becominglessconhollingof the child as of creativity.Other aspects competent. A happy, anxiety-freeenvironment seemsto facilitatethe child's of information on the subjectof spontaneityare lesswell understood. This is particularlytrue of our lack intrinsicbut sociallymeanhow to crealeateachingenvironment in which the child is helped to acquire ingful rewards, such as in creative art.

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PREPARING THECHITD FORSCHOOL

36

Just os a parent of a normalchild never relinquishes total responsibilityfor a child's education when he enterskindergartenor the first grade, neither would a parent of a developmentally disabled child' Active and close cotlaboration between parents and teachersof developmentallydisabledchildren is critical; without close collaboration, the child will suffer' The kind of programs that developmentallydelayed children are likely to encounter in school are often similarto the programs outlined in this book, such as programsfor teachingthe children abshactlanguage, teaching appropriate play with toys and peers, and and attending.Sincethe programs listening teaching

childrenlearn more disabled developmentally in schooland at home are quite similarand because on the child'seducacollaborate and teachers that parents it is necessary children, slowlythan average parents' (to someextent) become and teachers teachers, parents become In a sense, tionaiprogram.

OF A SCHOOT SETECTION in this outlined hisor herchildthe kind of programs in teaching Oncea parenthashad someexperience and to evaluate and shouldbe in a position skills book, the parentshouldhavegainedmanyteaching to sucha parentshouldbe in a position the kind of schoolthatis optimalfor the child.Similarly, select help should suggestions The following dehimental. that wouldbe particularly identifyschoolprograms child. disabled a schoolfor their developmentally parents select aspossithereareasmanynormalchildren where a classroom First,hy to enrollyour childin thanyourchild, moreadvanced someof whom areperhaps ble,or wherethereis a mixtureof children, whereyour childis amongequals,sincehe will not or schools otherslessso. Try to avoidclassrooms placedamongotherdischildren, disabled to model.Developmentally behaviors havemanysuperior behaviors and bizarre or modelthepeculiar tendto imitate withthe sameor worsestatus, abledchildren 215

d ffi

of theirpeers.A disabled child placedamong more normal childrenwillimprove simplybecause the opportunityto model more appropriatebehaviorsis more available. You need to find apeer group for your child where your child's existingintellectualand social behaviorswill match as closelyas possiblethe behaviorsof his peers. If the child is with a group of children of the samechronological age who are mentallyadvanced,then it is likelythat he will be isolated and excluded from his peersbecausehis behavioralskills are too immature. If he hasto go to classes with otherchildrenwho alsohave lotsof behaviorproblems,make surethat thoseclasses are at a minimum, and in schoolswith many normal children. Second,try to placeyour child in a class with normal childrenwho are functioningat a mental levelsimilarto your child's.For example,if your child hasa chronological age of 5, but in factfunctions mentallyat the 3-year-oldlevel, then he is betteroff with childrenwhose chronological age is younger than his. Younger normal childrendo not show much bizarre yet behavior, they are more likelyto play with your child, and therebymake more demandson him for appropriate interaction because their mental agesare about the same. Some parentsof developmentally disabledchildren may want to statethat the age of their child is anywherefrom 1 to 3 yearsyoungerthan it in factis. This is somewhatbelievable, sincedevelopmentallydisabledchildren often look younger than averagechildren of the same chronological age, and, of course,their mental development(suchas play and languageskills)is more appropriate to a younger child. For example, in some cases,a parent of a child who is 6-yearsold and who normally shouldbe enteringfirstgrade may assert that the child is 4 yearsof age and enrollthe child in preschool, allowingthe child to have an additional2 yearsof teachingbefore he entersfirst grade. Third, avoid bringing to the school'sattentionany mention of your child's diagnosis.For example, if your child has been diagnosedas autisticor brain damaged, the mere mention of such a diagnosis to schoolpersonneland neighborswill very likely resultin some very peculiarprogramming for your child by that school.It is sad but true that the diagnosis problemis very likely of a psychological to lead to a detrimentalenvironment for the personbeingdiagnosed.Most diagnoses causea peculiar "hands off" attitude on the part of most teach,ers, and the callingin of experts who are particularlyinept at adjusting your child to school. This does not mean that you lie or withhold information from the you considerthem naive or misinformed.Rather, do not providethem with schoolpersonnelbecause misleadinginformation, as you do when you label your child with a particular diagnosis(unlessthat diagnosis is well understood,suchas PKU or Down'ssyndrome).They will obviously seethat your child behaves differently from other children,which is allthey need to know. When you achievea mutually confidentrelationship with the schoolpersonnelyou may want to mention your child'sdiagnostic past. Remember that if you had visitedseveral your child probablyhas had more than one diagnostic centers, diagnosis. Tell the teacherthat, if she doesn'tknow already. Fourth, try to find a classroomthat has a structured curriculum. Developmentallydisabled childrenare unlikelyto benefitmuch from a situation in which the child prescribes hisown curriculum,or a systemthat is marked by a lot of finger painting and playing with clay. Such classrooms may at times be usefulfor normal children, but developmentallydisabledchildren are not able to use their free time as well as others;consequently they need a cleardefinitionof what is requiredof them. In this regard,it is safeto mention that you should be cautiousabout classrooms that have a very heavily one-sidedtheoreticalorientation,such as a heavy emphasison sensorimotor haining, musclepatterning,or psychodynamictheory. The reasonthat we can post this warningto you is that, as of this writing,there are no factsor data that show that children treated with programs such as sensorimotorhaining, muscle patterning,or psychodynamics do betterthan childrenwho did not receivesuch training.Alltoo often, one 216 Expcnding Your Chlldrs World

ifl
meetsparentswho have had children enrolled in such programsand, after much work and money, their (e.9., children are no better off than before they started.In general,consulteducatorsand psychologists at a local university)about programs for your child. Be prepared to make the final decision yourself. Fifth, evaluatethe teacher. Teachersare not all alike; some are better than others. Similarly, follow the philosophy of the schoolprincipal or whatever public relations the teachersdo not necessarily you seethe teacherwork with the childrenin person you first encounter.Therefore,it is essentialthat what her philosophyand teachingstyleare like. and come to know her and understand her classroom, Another very important, perhaps essential,criterion is that the teacherallows you to visit her classroom your child's experiencewith her. Our experiencehasbeen that teacherswho do not want to and discuss talk to the child's parents, or do not want the parentsto observethe classroom,are often incompetent. they are poorly trainedand simply do not know what to do (they Eitherthey are incompetentbecause are afraid to be observed), or they perceive themselvesas extremely knowledgeableto the point that outsideadviceand counselare not sought.Sincethereare no suchexpertsin the field of developmental at this time, you can safelyassumethat their contributionto your child will be limited. disabilities

BEHAVIOR FROMHOMETO SCHOOT TNANSFERNING

a nuisance from schoolis that they constitute The mostcommon reasonfor which childrenare dismissed other childrenat work, or hazardfor the teacherand for the other children.That is, a child who disrupts Surhave his dismissalrequested. toward other childrenand the teacher,is likelyto or who is aggressive is perhapsthe most easyone to correct.As a prisingas it may seem, this common reasonfor dismissal parent, you should,by now, have considerable in handlingthe child'stantrumsand disrupexperience the kind of control you have over the child's tive behavior.The main problem for you now is to transfer apthe child behaves that just because good behaviorat home to the teacherat school.Do not assume propriatelyaround you that he will behave in the same way around the teacher. In fact, it is bestto that he will "test" the teacherto seewhat he can get away with. Make surethat you assume beforehand help the teacheracquirethe conholthat you have over the child. Since childrendiffer markedlyin the they show, and differmarkedlyin the kind of waysthey respondto discipline, kind of problembehaviors you haveto help the teacherby tellingher and showingher (whenthe occasiondoes arise)how to handle your child. of treatKeep in mind that some teachershave learneda lot of techniquesand philosophies is acting child the that has learned for your child. For example,a teacher ment that may be detrimental he hasa deep senseof underlyinganxietyaboutthe teachingsituation,and to top it off, you out because have causedit, you have traumatizedyour child; or the teacherhas been told that your child is brain damaged, and that he has thesetanhums and angry outburstsbecausethe nature of his brain doesn'tlet is that the The end product of all that misinformation him do what he wantsto do and he is frustrated. In such cases,you will have to activelyinterveneon behalf of your child is left to act inappropriately. child so that the teacher does not make your child worse. Most teacherswill drop their misconceptions and follow your advice if it works. You may or may not find that this effort of working with your child's teacherpays off. When faced with the long and difficult task of reeducatingyour child's teacher about your child, it is possiblethat you would be better off hansfening your child to another classroom.This will differ acrossschool dishictsand acrossteachers,and there is no rule that one can reach at this point. Perhapsit is easierto advise a younger teacher than an older one, becausea younger teacher may be are people,too' more curiousand more flexible.It is importantto keep in mind, however,that teachers Prepcrringthe Child lor School

2t7

andthattheteacher isthe boss in the classroom. You haveto getyourpoint across pteasant, whilebeing playingto your teacher's shengths. It is difficultat times,but you shouldremember that, if thingsare handled welland the teacher is receptive and well-tained,he or shewillbecomeyour child'smostimportanthelper.In fact, your child won't makeit withouta good teacher. Parents can help the teacher to controla child'sdisruptive behaviors. You canalsohetpthe teacher with teaching. Teachers like children who learnin the classroom and showthe kindsof appropriatebehaviors that teachers hy to teach.Therefore, someweeks beforeyour childstarts school, visit the schooland find out what kindsof behaviors the teacher requires from the children.Makea listof thesebehaviors and teachthem separately to your childat homebelorehe goesto class. Someof the behaviors childrenshouldacquireare sittingon the rug and listening playingappropriatety to stories, with play equipment,participating in group activities like playingring-around-the-rosey, and singing songs like"TheWheels on theBusGo RoundandRound."A student who isideally prepared for school is a studentwho alreadyknowsmany of the tasks the teacher wantsto teach.Therefore, you should practice manyof these behaviors at hometo perfection andthenlaterhelptransfer these behaviors from your hometo the school. This"pretraining" canbe donein gradual steps. Playschoolwith the famityand adultvolunteersat home first.Later, hy to teachyour childin the presence of siblings or otherchildren from the neighborhood. Althoughyou initially teachthe childin a one-to-one gradually situation, increase the number of children aroundhim untilyou approximate thesize of thegrouphe isgoingto meetin school. Do not assume that,just because the childcan behave very well at home with you in a one-on-one teaching situation he willtransfer thisbehavior to theschoolor to a groupof otherchitdren. By building the rightsteps, you can be surethe childis generalizing hisbehavior.

PANENTAT SCHOOT It is essential in most successful placements of developmentally disabled childrenthat the parent(or someadultwho knowsthe childequallywell)be present in the classroom asan assistant teacher during theearlystages period.Theparent(orparentassistant) of the child's adjustment maygradually teave the groupandsitat somedistance fromthe childandthenslowly beginto fadeout of theclassroom for short intervals at a time. "Peekin" on the childto observe him whenhe doesnot expect you to bethere.If he misbehaves withoutyou there,consequate eflectively for his survival in that class. It is very likelythat your childwill "test"the teacher in your absence, if not before.For example, your childmay beginto whineor tantrum,if hisdemands arenot met. Or he may be"lazy"with his behivior and not behaveas clearlyor succinctly as he is able.Remember that you can minimize such problems present by being at firstand, with the teacher's approval,consequating thesebehaviors the way you did at home. It is reallybestif you discipline him and get him undercontrol,because most teachers feelreluctant to be asstrictasis necessary. Ask the teacher to placeyour childin thefrontrow wherehe or she can reachover and intervene the way that you do. Do not take generalization for granted. Makesureyou do not hidefrom the kind of problems that may occurbut arepresent during any important transition, suchas goingfrom hometo school. Throughoutyour contacts with the teacher, remember to heavilyreinforce the teacher with positives for any behavior that you consider helpful.Mostteachers are responsive to your approval. (Since theydon'tmakeasmuchmoneyastheircolleagues givethempresin psychology andpsychiahy

u8

Expcrndlng Your Chtld'r World

W ifr
,fi i
at thistime, for them at times.)If yourchildcan'tbe allthatniceto histeacher entsand do specialfavors makesurethat Youare'

TEACHENAT HOME shouldalsobe ableto visitthe childat theteacher to visittheschool, havethe opportunity Justasparents family,(themotherandfatherand othersiblings), isone who knowsthe child's home.Theidealteacher and who knowswhatthe situations in optimal of performing how the childis capable who knowsexactly actively by the teacher canonly be obtained thisinformation is. In manyinstances, optimalintervention for advice' with the parents consulting

WONKING TOGETHER the work peoplework with one child, so as to spread when several exists situation The idealteaching "staffing" should be held. Such around. Weekly or bi-weeklystaffconferences and responsibilities with the child.Makesurethat working actively the parent,and otheradults the teacher, shouldinclude so asto get workswith the childin front of the otherstaffmembers, eachmemberof the staffactually andthe helpfulforthe teacher on how theyaredoing,andto teachothers.It is alsoextremely feedback written brief parentboth to know what the child did in any one day. This canbe done by exchanging the child has made' or progress notesaboutproblems and parent teacher between that exists separation kind of healthy the that It is our experience childisabled for developmentally whenit exists is verycounterproductive of normalchildren in the case from other schools,and segregation childrenis different disabled dren. Schoolfor developmentally the kind of to say,achieving Needless only worksto the child'sdetriment. parentand teacher between possess both equaland whereboth are considered parlnts and teachers, e eflortbetween collaborativ a gteatdealof time, requires basis, from workingwith the childon a day-to-day information important in harwork together and teachers It is rareto seeparents on the part of bothparties. tact,and patience group' sucha harmonious to achieve mony,yet it is quitepossible

TEANMNG WITH SCHOOT FNIENDS A uerylargepart of his will comefrom histeacher. When a childgoesto school,part of whathe learns with by interacting willbe providedby trispeers.other childrenwill teachhim eitherdirectly learning with the teacher' by him asthey interact him orlndirectlyby beingobserved from playingwith otherchilsatisfaction receives childalready disabled If the developmentally the child willplay with othersand solvedbecause dren, then, to someextent,the problemis already and feel very isolated aresocially children disabled learnfrom them.However,many developmentally comthe enjoy and from playingwith peers'A childhasto learnto appreciate satisfaction no particular properties of other to this problemmay be in buildingup the reinforcing pany of friends.One solution children.
Prepcnlng the Child lor School
,i

219

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There are severalstrategies that you may useto help develop more adequ ate peerinteraction. Rememberthat it is best to start building social interactionsat home, either by working with the child's normal siblings or by helping children in the neighborhood to play conshuctively with your child. (Chapter 12, "Appropriate Play Skills" outlinesprogramsfor building peer play.) It will be easierto develop peer play at school if your child already possesses some basiclanguageskills,is ableto participate in cooperative play with adults, and is able to participatein social games with siblingsand peers, suchas running, climbing,and playingball.The childrenhe meetsin schoolwillbe much more responsive to him if he can participate in some of their games. There are three basicstrategies that can be used to increasesocialinteractionbetweena developmentallydisabledchild and his peer group: 1. Teocherreward strategy.The teacher (or some other adult presentat the school) directlyreinforces the children for interactingwith each other. Thus the child may be reinforced for talking to other children,for sittingnext to them, for playing with them, or helping them in some task. Peergroup reward strategy. The childrenthemselves will, as a group, be rewardedfor playingwith a particularchild, The teachermay inform the group that if the group plays with and helpsa particular child interact more, the group as a whole will gain some particular privilege or recognitionfor such work. Peer reward strategy.The teacherselects a particularchild who seemsvery capableand competent in interacting with othersand specifically asksthat child to model, prompt, and reinforce the developmentallydisabled child for interacting socially. In the beginning,it is bestif the peer is told exactly what to do, which means that he acts just like a teacher-therapist: he instructs,rewards, and prompts. This is to help develop some interaction,becausewithout such explibitinstruction,there may not be any interaction. In the processof becomingfamiliar with each other, the peer will probably become more flexible and inventive, without losing contact with the disabledchild. This strategy also has the advantagethat it requireslessof the adult's attention, and the end product resembles more closelya normal socialinteraction.

2.

3.

A DIFTENENT KIND OF SCHOOT

permaA classroom for many developmentally disabledchildren,at leastinitially,and in many cases nently, only bearsa slightresemblance to a classroomfor averagechildren. This becomesobviouswhen one considersthe ideal teacher-to-student ratio in such a specialclass.Ideally, this ratio should not exper one adult. In mostinstances, ceedtwo students a schoolis idealwhen initiallythereis one teacheror adult for every child. It is clear that the disabled child's school experienceshave to overlap with his everyday home activities. Developmentally disabledchildren are very slow learners and they simply don't learnenough in a 3- to 6-hour teaching environment,hencethe need to extendschooltoall hours pointless of the day. It is to teachskillsin school if the child does not transferand usethoseskillsat home, and vice versa. Many developmentally disabled children have problems in tansfer, so you have to make it happen. The hansfer will occur when part of school is at home, and part of home is at school. It is also true that the teaching curriculum for the developmentallydisabledchild should be different. For example, there seemsto be little sensein having a child learn to read or do arithmeticif he cannot dress himselfor behave in a store or havel on a bus. That is, the kind of academicbehavior we should expect of a normal first grade child probably has no real usefulness for many developmentallydisabledchildren. The teacher has to teach different skills. in most instances.

an

Expcrnding Yow Chlld'r World

IF HE FfitS Some children willsucceed in school, thatis,theywillbepromoted fromonegrade to another. Other children willstay somewhat at thesame levelof functioning years, for many neither advancing norr. gressing. Many children wlllnotbeable to adjust to a particular school, andneed to beptaced in classes or schools witha less demanding curriculum. Remember thatif yourchild"levels off,';or starts to sllp, andyouhave yourbest, done thensay to yourself thatsuch isllfeatthistime, and,to some extent, eolife wlllalways be.Excellence is relative. Thepointof thisbookis to helptheadults whocare for disabled children to workbetter with theirchildren, but,once a goodeffort ismade, to accept whatever limitations thechlldandthesituation have. Once theeffortis made, andthedemands imposed, pointonemustaccept at some thechild's achlsvement, even though lt islimited. Thistsa basic lesson of lifethat everyone hasto learn. Thedieabled chlldehares thatwithall of us.

Prcpcrlng thr Chtld lor School

221

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ffi 'ffir
fltl t: lil

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wl

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CHAPTER

37

scHooL
CrightonNewsom

home treatment modelthat is presented ticsof specialeducationby contrastingthem with featuresof the of behaviorallyessentialcharacteristics in previous chapters anj, subsequently,by discussingsome oriented specialeducation proglams'

for All Handicapped of the Education The possoge in achasresulted (PL 1975 94-1421in Act Children for services large fundededucational to publicly cess childrenwho disabled of developmentalty numbers Educational deniedtheseservices' were previously where point the to proliferated programs have the mostcommon now constitutes specialeducation disabled developmentally for form of "treatment" of the major Therefore,an understanding persons. is education of special and problems characteristics in' who and professionals bothfor parents essential, teacherswho work in for teract with schoolsand to someof the characteristhem. We draw attention

BETWEENHOME TNEATMENTAND CTASSNOOM EDUCf,TION DITTENENCES of in otherchapters model,described the hometreatment between Thereare a numberof differences for developmenwith programs modelfoundin mostschools education this book, and the classroom thosethatseemmostimand we discuss arcverybasic some of thesedifferences persons. tallydisabled manyof the procedures they go to the heartof the problemof usingin the classroom portant,because in clinicand homesettings' that haveprovensuccessful One-to'One Yersus Group Instructlon tradition,if not by definition'group instructionalsettings' are, by deeply-ingrained Schoolclassrooms of the hometeatment model,the classroom formatthat is the basis teaching of the one-to-one Instead is more' students'Evenif an assistant mustwork with a group of four to ten, and sometimes teacher instrucspread to is of groupinstruction the effect ratiosomewhat, the adult-student present to improve 229

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rion thinly and thus dilute its impact on the individual student. Although it is commonly felt that classroom instruction provides opportunities for socialization,it does not appear that the degreeof social to justifythe that actuallytakesplace simply as a functionof being in a group is sufficient development in develdo not "develop" or emergespontaneously dilution of teachingthat occurs.Socialbehaviors opmentallydisabledpersonssimply through exposureto other personsbeyond a very rudimentary Furinitiallyin one-to-oneand one-to-twosituations. level,if that. They must be taughtsystematically, require some languageand cooperativeplay skillsas prerequisites, thermore,most socialinteractions involvingno proceedsbestin one-to-oneand small-groupsituations in thesebehaviors and instruction more than three or four students. below. It are discussed Some ways of minimizingthe dilution of instructionin classrooms educais not inherentin the idea of classroom shouldbe noted that the "problem" of group instruction so obnot one and obvious from two factors,one but results disabled students, tion for developmentally vious. The obviousfactor is the economicsof educatinglargenumbersof people, which genefdllydicof the tatesa group instructionmodel at all levelsof education,whether or not it is in the bestinterests that the way to design populationbeing served.The second,lessobvious,factor is the presupposition for personsis to extendtraditionaleducation normal and more able for disabled educationalprograms sizeand simplifythe curriculum.An alternative the class downward, that is, to decrease specialstudents by educationplanners,would be to build upapproach,which seemsto have escapedconsideration sincethe early sixties.The idea its effectiveness ward from the one-to-one situationthat has established that gradually for multiple one-to-one instructionalactivities here would be to use classroomsas settings changed to group instruction as it became increasinglynecessaryto teach "regular" classroom behaviors. "Lovercge" versus "Totql Push' Curiculc ,,curriculum,' of in the home treatmentmodel is focusedin the sensethat during the initialstages The is time The majorityof behaviors. and the controlof maladaptive on language teatment it concentrates "human" behaviorthat provides"leverage" it is the quintessential spenton teachinglanguagebecause socialbehaviors,which help the of other kinds of behavior,especially the acquisition in that it facilitates and maladaptive hasbegunto show steadyprogress Once language personto avoid institutionalization. skills,academic are under control, behaviorsin other domainsare taught, includingself-care behaviors in a prescribe instruction schoolcurricula skills.In contrast,most play, and community-interaction skills, social, from the startin a "total push" approach.Language,academic, number of areassimultaneously in emphasis equal about receive behaviors and community-interaction motor, self-care, recreational, of development from the consideration This broad, total push approachresults termsof time allocation. At the present simultaneously. areas in multiple of acquiringbehaviors in the normalpersonasa process to the two data comparingthe outcomesof personstreatedaccording time, there are no experimental approaches,but it might be noted that the total push model runs the risk of failing to provide a sufficient amount of languagetraining to childrenwho are known to need a great deal of it to make progress' Strong versus Wecrk Punighers if behaviors can be usedto reducemaladaptive strongpunishers In the home heatmentmodel, relatively forthe parentsconsent,includingisolation,time-out, and slaps,Thesepunishersare eitherabsolutely as well as parental,consentin most schools'The classroom bidden or dependenton administrative, procedures' time-out and extinctionas behavior-reducing teachermay be limited to nonexclusionary in a matterof days or weeksin the home which are eliminated behaviors The resultis that maladaptive

221

Expcrnding Your Child's World

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Although it seemsparatreatmentmodel require months or yearsto be eliminatedin schoolsettings. who arc expecledto be ableto teach a variety of complex adaptivebedoxicalthat professionalteachers it must be noted that many have appropriately, procedures haviorsare deemedunableto use aversive and that schoolslive had no formal instructionin the use of aversivesin their specialeducation training doesmuch to preventthe useof under the glareof uninformedpublicopinion. This "fishbowl"existence Hopefully, it may provide impetusto the developmentof publicly known, ,upiaty eflectlveheatments, if lessintense,teatment techniques' acceptable, Behcrvior Anclysis versus Developmenicrl Theoreticql Orientctions is basedon a theoreticalframeThe home treatment upprou.h describedin other chaptersof this book in the earlierchapters'The procework known as "learningtheory," which was formally introduced the studentis are alsoknown as appliedbehauioronolysis.Essentially, dures which have been discussed through the directly which should be remediated seen as having certainbehavioraldeficitsand excesses The teacher is seen as a provision of teachingprocedures known to strengthenand weaken behavior' programsfor develop' ,,shaper" of behaviorand knowledge.On the other hand, many classroom direct derived from Piaget, Werner, and mentally disabled persons are based on developmental theories from maturationand the perresulting of behaviors Kephart. Such theoriesemphasizethe emergence is students disabled with the environment.The role of the teacherof developmentally son,sinteractions person the help to ,,stimulate" learningopportunities maturationindirectlyby providingappropriate to progress from one developmentallevel to the next' or presenttime, and few therapists Neither theoreticalapproach has all the answersat the borrow conceptsand techniques They generally rigidlyadhereto eitherapproachexclusively. teachers invent proceduresbasedon neither approachin rather freelyfrom both approaches,and sometimes beto recognizethe differences their attemptsto solve immediate practicalproblems. But it is important involves and each b"causeeach is invoked to justifytechniques approaches tween the two theoretical The behavioralapproach runs the risk of certainrisksthat can be assumedto affecta student'sprogress. age-appropriateskills as rapidly as failing to teach prerequisitebehaviors in its concern with teaching that this problem is picked up when possibte.In defenseoi the behavioral approach, it may be argued attemptsare then made to determinewhat additionalbe' lack of progress; the data show the student's approach involves a much more haviors need to be taught and to teach them. The developmental indirectly through procedures of often serious risk. In attempting to stimulate maturational changes time on prerequisitebehaviors (or "readidubiousscientificvdijity,it runs the risk of spendingso much nor do they emerge spontaneously'"Deness" skills)that age-appropriatebehaviorsare never taught, instruction, is the thing that developveloping,,,in the senseof acquiring new behaviorswithout direct "stimulated" or not. Further, the lack of socially mentally disabledstudentsare leastable to do, whether the developmentalposition does not inbecause significantprogressmay not be noticed and addressed decisionmaking' clude a stong emphasison data-based

CTASSNOOMS EFfECTIVEBEHAVIORAT CBEATING

of effort that goesinto creatinga classroom No one who is not a teachercan fully appreciatethe amount in developmentallydisabledpersons' Some that is eflecliveinproducing meaningful, positivechanges supervision, public relations, child rather formidable problems of teaching, organization,scheduling, skillfully if both stagnation and chaos are to be advocacy, and personal motivation must be handled School

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and rouble-shooting avoided. All of these tasks cannotbe addressed here,but somepossible solutions problems. considerations can be offeredfor a selection of commonlyencountered earlierin this Many of the features classroom have alreadybeenpresented of a behavioral book, and needonly be brieflyreviewed here: and conhollingstimuli.Such explicitness 1. Goalsare explicitlystatedin termsof overt behaviors allowsthe teacher or not. to betterknow whethershehasbeensuccessful usedas reinforcers. 2. Food, socialwants, and play are explicitly and carefully faded. 3. Promptsare usedextensively, progress hourly or daily, if need is objectiue and continuous, sometimes 4. Evaluation of student's requires. building suchas language and centered on educationaltasks, 5. Classroom time is highlystructured activities, etc. with minimaltime and self-care, spentin freeplay,artistic process. 6. Parents are at the centerof the educational of ineffor elimination for progress or lackthereof assumes responsibility 7 . The teacher , whichallows fectiveprocedures. presentation classroom certain of how one may optimize Let us now turn to a more detailed features.

INSTNUCTION IIruflMIZING INDIVIDUAI.

A number of steps can be taken to improve the amount of one-to-one instruction and to improve the optimizing the instrucproductivity of group instruction. These include the use of volunteer assistants, tionalconfiguration,shapinggroup instruction,and teachingindependentwork skills. Uslng Volunteerc instructionis to include volunteersin the classroom. way maximizing one-to-one of The most common Studentsand parents can be trained in a relativelybrief period of time to teach many of the tasksin a developmentallydisabledperson'scurriculum. Includingthose parentswho have the time to participate on a regular basishas the additional advantageof ensuringconsistencyof heatment acrossthe school and home environments.A nearby collegeor universityusuallyproves to be a very productive sourceof volunteers.Many psychology, education, and speech and hearing departmentsgrant course credit to undergraduatestudentswho do part-time work in the community. Graduate studentscan often be athacted by providing them with opportunitiesto satisfyinternshipor practicum requirementsand to conduct research.Other sourcesof volunteersinclude high schools(through "career exploration" courses), women's groups, and foster grandparent programs. on prob' In addition to exha setsof hands, volunteersbring enthusiasmand fresh perspectives lems. Only rarely, however, willthey bring relevantpast experience.It is therefore essentialthatprocedures for orienting, training, and supervisingvolunteersexist if they are to function effectivelyand not become a burden. Some very useful, practical guidelinesfor integrating volunteers into a classroom training and supervisionprocehave been presentedby Frederickset al. (1977l'. These authors discuss with level of teachingskill, and the schedulingof volunteers' dures, the matchingof level of responsibility time and assignments. Expanding Your Chlld's lfforld

Optimizing The Insiructioncl Conligr'uqiion to approximate in waysdesigned configuration the classroom existfor organizing possibilities Several trainingin one-to-one for conducting theseamountto procedures In essence, instruction. one-to-one with one teacher of eightstudents class a hypothetical let us assume purposes groups.For illustrative As thetop moder. ar termedthe rototion one way of workingwith the stuientscanbe and one assistant. Eachadult eachtakehalfthe students. andthe assistant theteacher 37-1shows, part (panelA)in Figure order'For examonetrialwitheachin a predetermined conducting to student fromstudent thenrotates a command'a promptif necessary' present may startwith the studenton1h" left and ple, the teacher stuTrial'to thesecond presents (Trial1). Thenthe teacher response for the child's and a consequence hisor then receives The firststudent 4 to the fourthstudent. dent,Trial3 to the third student,and rrial so and (Trial 6)' trial hisor her second receives student triar(Trial5), afterwhichthe second her second task' Each may havean individualized may allbe workingon the sametaskor each on. The students parallelwith in earli",in thisbook,but described sortof one-to-on"training the same isreceiving student interisthatthe intertrial training one-to-one from standard difference The only essential otherstudents. durhialswith otherstudents is conducting the teacher because model, roiational the in longer are vals trialswith a givenstudent' ing the p"riod between VariationsoftherotationalmodelareshowninPan e l s B a n d C o f F i students g u r e 3 Ton .l.InPane|8, otheradultworkswith the remaining the while taile a at students four with one adultworks two adults Panelc shows toileting)' (e'g'' Play'dressing' classroom the of area different a in skills apother acquired havingpreviously Thn otherstudents, students two with moder usingthe rotational "u.h.

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propriateplay skills,occupythemselves in a nearbyareawherethey can be looselysupervised. The two groupsof studentschange placesevery 20 or 30 minutes. Shcping Group Instruciion Chapters33 and 35 provide some usefuladviceon how students could be helpedto learnin group settings.Another approachto facilitate group inshuctionwasdevelopedby Koegeland Rincover(L974)in which studentsat about the same level of functioningwork on the sametask, respondingin unisonto the samecommand on each trial. The procedureinvolvesa largenumber of assistants in the firststage. The programis diagrammedin Figure37 -2 .ln the firststep,a one-to-oneconfiguration is used,with an assistant behind eachstudent,promptingand reinforcing correctresponses to the teacher's commands. Over sessions, the studentsare weanedfrom a fixed-ratio(FR)-1 scheduleof reinforcement to an FR-2 (i.e., schedule from reinforcement for everycorrectresponse to reinforcement for everysecondcorrect response) . After four studentsare respondingto criterion(90% of the responses or more are correct) withoutprompts,they are broughttogetherto form a group with a teacherand two assistants in Step 2. Sinceeachstudenthas learnedto respondtwicefor eachreinforcement, is ableto provide eachassistant prompts and rewardsfor two students.The studentsare againbrought to respond to criterionand the reinforcement scheduleis thinned to FR-4. In Step 3, the two groups of four are brought togetherto form a class of eight and, afterachieving the correctresponse criterion,are moved from an FR-4 sched(VR)-8 schedule,in which each student is rewarded for every eighth correct ule to a variable-ratio response on the average.In Step 4, the assistants are faded out of the classroom and the teacherprovides the reinforcers on a VR-8 schedule.Using this shapingprogram, Koegel and Rincover (1974) retardedautistic behave shown that even a severely studentcan learn new verbaland basicacademic haviorsin a group instructional format.
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Shcrping IndePendent Work their like thosejust described, throughprocedures skills havebeentaughtbasicclassroom After students apparent.A protaskswill becomeincreasingly on individualized need to be ableto work independently for disabledstudentsto work independentof direct supervision cedure for teachingdevelopmentally the (I977lr. conceptualized They by Rincoverand Koegel periodsup to 45 minuteshas been presented as one of chainingmore and more of the student's problem of teachingchildrento work independently like those shown in Figure 37-3, ,nrponrn, to a singleinstructionfrom the teacher.Using worksheets twelve squares each studentwas initiallyrewarded for completinga familiartracingtask in one of the to "Trace the lines."Next, the studentwasrequiredto completetwo of the squares afterbeinginshucted every studentreliablycompleted a reward, then three squares,and so on. Eventually, beforereceiving to "Trace the lines." Once theselong chainsof tracing to each instruction in response all twelvesquares

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responses hadbeendeveloped, the worksheets included tasks of gradually increasing levels of difficulty. One of the students wasableto progress programmed to commercial workbooks. The teacher wasable to movefrom student providing to student individualized helpwhilethe otherstudents workcontinued productively. ing This procedure for teaching independent work is not reshicted to paperand pencil tasks and couldeasily be extended to othertasks involving repetitive or sequential responding, suchas dressing and undressing, workshopskills,appropriate play, and workingwith teaching machines.

MANAGINGDISRUPTTVE BEHAVIONS
Notethateducation isbasically a process of building appropriate behaviors underthe conholof relevant stimuli.The behaviors to be learnedare oftenmore difficult person. than werealize to a handicapped (instructions, Also, the typicalclassroom quite is a situation is that rich in demands etc.) commands, compared to the student's homeor otherresidential environment. Adult demands failure and student's produce usually largeincreases in self-injurious, aggressive, and tanhum-like The classroom behaviors. maybethestudent's firstexperience in socialization, i.e., havingto behave according to adult's rulesinpreferences, steadof personal with all that socialization entails, including appropriate toileting, wearing clothes, delayed and absent rewards, sharing adultattention with others,and getting alongwith disruppeers. tiveandaggressive The "periodof adjustment" is likelyto beespecially if a difficult andprolonged parents student's areoverindulgent and haveallowed self-centered andimmature behaviors to continue too long. This bringsus to our next point, which is that student's reinforcement histories at home, in otherlivingenvironments, and in otherclassrooms willbe largelyunknownand mustbe guessed at as filtered This problem throughothers. means that the origins of the behaviors arelikelyto be impossible to discover, and, worse,currentpayoffs outside the classroom for problembehaviors may be verydifficultto identify and conhol.Finally,mostclassrooms arenot wellequipped for dealing with problem behaviors, evenwherethey are a dailyoccurrence. In the nameof "normalization," for mostclassrooms developmentally disabled students are modeledafterclassrooms for normalchildren. factors, it is Giventhe preceding whichtendto be operating in mostclassrooms, continuously hardlysurprising thatdisruptive behaviors occur.Someof these factors aresubject to totalor partialconunproductive, wishfulthinking that trol; someare not. An awareness of them shouldat leastminimize problembehaviors would disappear completely. Dlcrgnosing The Problem The diagnosis attempts to discover how the behavior is related to environmental of a problembehavior events thatprecede and follow it. Thinkof diagnosis asthe teacher's ABCs,whereA is the antecedent, B the behavior, did and C the consequence. It is generally to look firstat the antecedent events: useful justbefore anything happen the behavior that mighthavesetit off?Wasthe student hit, teased, or interrupted? Did an adultpresent loosea valuedobject? Did the a demandor a difficult task? Did the student student seea personwho was associated with reshictions for disruptive On or with rewards behavior? the consequence is: What happened rightafterthe behavior? Herethe aim is to disside,the question coverwhat rewarded for disruptive includethe the behavior.Someof the commonrewards behavior teacher's with attention in the form of redirecting the student afterhe hasbeendisruptive, or reasoning him, or reassuring from him, or givinghim mild punishment. reactions Sometimes the emotional for Rewards others,suchasanger,pain, or surprise, disruptive behavior. may be sufficient to maintain 230
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from aversive events,especially leads to escape behavior can alsooccurwhen the behavior disruptive work and adultdemands. should the scopeof the analysis causes, failsto turn up plausible investigation If the foregoing irritable or The childmaybe temporarily and moreremotefactors. less obvious to include be broadened injured, is ill or he because disruptive behavior setoff to stimuliwhichwould not ordinarily oversensitive of a new adult or a at home or on the bus beforeschool.The presence or hashad a bad experience they mightprovide possible reinforcement to testfor the groupof visitors may providea freshaudience in the dailyroutine,or disorganization, Theremay havebeena recentchange behaviors. for disruptive Tranbehavior. for appropriate reinforcement Theremaybe insufficient or highnoiselevels. crowding, the problems,eitherbecause (movingfrom one locationto another)may occasion sitionalactivities recent (e.g., The ride). bus an aversive of the natureof whatliesahead or because is distracted teacher may resultin the or punishment problem through extinction behavior one of elimination or reduction hasbeen behavior alternative if no appropriate behavior of another,equallyhoublesome appearance asa sideeffect. of behavior the variability commonlyincrease two procedures these because established in a difin that samebehavior may leadto an increase in one environment of a behavior The reduction of unknown Finally,thereis the possibility contrast. an effectknown as behauioral ferentenvironment, exwhose effects of the classroom outside for the behavior of reinforcement sources or uncontrollable problems, but of behavior causes thepossible do not exhaust Theseexamples tend into the classroom. that mightbe considered. the varietyof factors they shouldserveto indicate is of the behavior if eachoccurrence greatly facilitated problem is behavior of a The diagnosis over is done When this events. and consequent of antecedent alongwith a briefdescription recorded, that may becomeapparent events patterns causal of or classes First, accrue. days,two benefits several to which data against baseline Second,the recordwill constitute casualobservation. have escaped treatments. gaugethe effects of subsequent way occur.The mosteffective causalfactors aboutthe critical or disagreements Often,doubts under of one of thefactors status andtestthe causal is to applya littlescience suchproblems of resolving everykeeping while the factorfor 2 weeks is evident,eliminate baseline Oncea steady consideration. the behavbehavior, the of the causation in is critical If the factor it. thenreinstate thingelseunchanged, it is unless trial, duringthe Z-week trend, if not a largereduction, ior shouldshowat leasta decreasing thebeFurthermore, reinforcement. thin schedule of intermittent by an exceptionally beingmaintained behavior, in the If the datashowno change againwhen the factoris reinstated. havlorshouldincrease in Whatwe havejust described, the behavior. in causing probably not critical is the factorbeingstudied forms in various which design, experimental way, is known as a reuersal an admittedlyoversimplified readercan The interested problem behaviors. treat how to of much to our knowtedge hasconhibuted modification behavior procedures by consulting learnmore aboutits proper useand aboutadditional datacango a long point a littleobjective (7976J. is that The important and Barlow or Hersen textbooks, expert. is an whereeveryone in situations doubtsand disputes way towardresolving lmplementing Trectmentr are behaviors desirable and increasing behaviors undesirable procedures for reducing heatment Various educathe on books and textbooks in this book, aswell asin behaviormodification elsewhere discussed we will emfamiliarmaterial, restating of instead persons. Therefore, disabled tion of developmentally in class' important procedures thatseemespecially in the useof treatment phasize someconsiderations room settings. School ull

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funcfionql Anolysis A throughly-conducted diagnosis (a "functional analysis") generally suggeststhe correct treatment, unless the problem is unusuallycomplex. For example,if it seemsclearthat a child'stantrumsare positively reinforcedby the attention they receive,considerextinctionor time-out (withholding attentionfor tanhums)if it is practical and safeto use it (i.e., if the child'stanhumsare not so severeas to be harmful to himselfor others). If the tantrums allow the child to avoid unpleasanttasks,time-out would definitely be contraindicated.Time-out would only "help" the child avoid work and could therefore be expected to make the problem worse. "Pockage" Trcqtment Generally,a combination,or "package" of treatments will have to be implementedsimultaneously to gain conhol over the behavior.Only in relativelymild, uncomplicated caseswould the use of a single heatment procedure be effective. For example, in the caseof a student who throws tantrums to get out of work, one could provide extinctionfor the tanhums while simultaneously requiring (prompting)the studentto continueworking,thus makingthe tantrumsineffective in avoidingthe task.In most,if not all, casesinvolving an attempt to reduce behavior, the attempt will be much more likely to succeedand will succeedmore quickly if an alternative,appropriatebehavioris being strengthenedthrough positivereinforcement at the same time. It would also be wise to see if the student'stask could be made lessaversive by simplifying it and,/or presenting it in a "positive context" (Carr, Newsom & Binkoff, 7976) of increasedadult attentionor better tangiblereinforcers.But be carefulnot to let attemptsto simplify the task be the student's reward for havingthrown a tantrum. Simplifythe task atthe beginningof a session (or hial) not at'tera tanhum. Use of Time-ouf Time-out in its various forms (includingsittingin a corner or being ignored for a moment, as well as going to a designatedroom) is one of the more commonly used behavior-reductionproceduresin classrooms. While it can be effectivewith a wide range of positivelyreinforcedbehaviorsnote that it is contraindicatedin three circumstances: a) in the treatmentof behaviors that avoid or escapedemands (negatively reinforcedbehavior) for the reason mentioned above; b) in the treatment of most self-stimulatory behaviors, since the child generally controls the reinforcersfor these behaviors and is usually free to indulge in them while in time-out; and c) in classrooms where there is an inadequatelevel of positive reinforcement, sincetime-out has to be time-outof an environmentwhere positivereinforcement is frequently availableto be effective. (This, by the way, is why time-out often has no effectin custodial,barren institutional settings-time-out from nothing is nothing, i.e., simply movement from one neutral environmentto another.)If the teachernormallyprovidesmore criticisms and reprimandsthan praise, time-out would be expectedto increase whateverbehaviorit follows, sinceit would provide a way of escapingthe teacher'saversivebehaviors. Use of Physicol Punishmenf The use of physicalpunishment should be reservedfor only very severebehavior problemsthat threaten seriousharm to the child or to others, after other possible treatmentshave been eithertried and been found ineffectiveor consideredand rejectedbecause they work too slowly or are likely to be ineffective or resultin habituation. If it is decidedto use physicalpunishment,it should be used only with the precautionswe have mentionedin earlierchapters, that is with the parents'informed, writtenconsent,only by designated,experiencedstaff, only with adequate data-recordingprocedures which hack both the

232

Expcnding Your Child's lltlorld

W
program to teach competing,aponly if an intensive targetbehaviorand the punishmentapplications, psychologist expeof a behavioral propriatebehaviors is in place, and only under the directsupervision practical as well as the obvious reasons, procedure, important There are some the of riencedin the use such extremecautionin the use of physicalpunishment.First,the physical ethicalones,for exercising punishersthat teacherssometimesuse are often too mild or are applied too intermittentlyto effectmore stronglydisand professionals of behavior.Second,most administrators than a temporarysuppression able to underpersons, not be and may approve of the use of physicalpunishmentwith handicapped The teachermay loseher job, and the studenthis teacher.Thus, the cost necessity. standits occasional what has been of eliminatinga behavior may be too high. In this regard it is important to emphasize help the students disabled namely,that the parentsof developmentally advocatedin previouschapters, it would be bestas mattersnow standif the Perhaps behaviors. unmanageable teacherwith the student's That to help the teachermanagetheir childrenin class. parentswere expected(and taught if necessary) students.(ln and givethe teachermore manageable shoulddo the spanking(if necessary) is, the parents clinical defense of parentswho have failedto do so, one need only point to the many specialeducators, in procedures which over the lastseveraldecades who have prescribed psychologists, and psychiatrists and who madethe parentsfeelguilty aboutbeingfirmly behaviors, all likelihoodworsenedthe children's of their children'sinappropriateaggressions.) nonaccepting Duration of Trectment shouldbe conductedfor at procedure,'with the exceptionof strongphysicalpunishment, Any treatment are exemptedfrom this Strong physicalpunishers least2 weeksbeforeit is abandonedas ineffective. very rapidly, producing a noticeguidelinebecause when they are effective,they are usually eflective should Other treatments within five to ten applications. ableimprovementwithin a day, and sometimes their efficacy, demonstrate to given opportunity ample to work more slowly, and shouldbe be expected that many more suggests or lack of it, unlessseriousside effectsemergeearly in their use. Experience they are ineffective. treatmentattemptsare abandonedprematurelythan actuallyfail because
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DIRECTIONS FUTUNE
Looking ahead, we expectto seeeducationfor developmentallydisabledpersonsbecome progressively more effectivethan it is today. Several developmentssuggestthis. 1. A blendingof developmentaland behavioraleducationalapproaches,at least to some degree, seemslikely, with the shengths of each approach conhibuting to an integrated curriculum. Z. There is an increasingtendency for schoolsto expand beyond their "core" classroom education programs into servicesmeeting more of the needs of handicapped children and their families' earlyintervenstressing numbersof schoolsare providingeducationalprograms 3. Finally,increasing pretion, that is, educationalprograms for developmentallydisabled infants, toddlers, and positive effects. no doubt willshow major and dramatic Early educationalinterventions schoolers. procedures become more common in preschools, conespondAs these behavioral,/educational ingly greater numbers of children will be helped to a greater extent than at present.

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CHAPTER
COMMON PROBLEMS AND PRECAIITIONS

38

some of the common probThis chaptersummarizes in behavioralteaching lemsthat may be encountered programs for developmentally retarded children. Many of these problems or mlstakes have already been presented in earlier chapters. This chapter brings together in one place the various precautions we have mentioned earlier. that do occur can be divided The mistakes into two main groups. There is a generalset of problems that cut acrossmany teachingsituationsand are and thereis techniques, independentof the teacherls likely to most are problems that a set of more specific occur within a behavior modification framework.

PROBTEMS SPECIFIC
This sectionpoints out some of the specificproblemsthat may occur in a behaviorallydesignedteaching program. Theseproblems are not alwayseasyto detect, and you may need the help of a colleagueor a quite peer group to point out errors in any teaching technique. Even though a teacher may start out pertecl,it is not unusualthat teachers"drift" from criterion performanceover time fiust as the children Peerscan be irift), and slow changesin teachingstyle are difficultto detectand difficultto self-eliminate' can very helpful in keeping one on the right track. The main probtemsthat arisein behavioralteaching be summarizedbelow. Rewcnds cne Dlllerent From Punlshmentg and the child One of the most common mistakesoccurs when rewards begin to look like punishments and with voice of tone same in the cannot discriminatebetween the two. If the teacher's"Good" is said getting inis the sameenthusiasmas the "No," then in alllikelihood the developmentallyretarded child with the same adequatefeedback. (At certain advancedteachinglevels"Good" and "No" may be stated

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to guide the child, but emotional quality because the inlormationolvalue of thesewords will be sufficient is not the case') certainlyduring the early stagesof learning for the developmentallyretarded this about expressing One possible reason why adults become less emphatic or enthusiastic ,'No" may be becausethey extinguishtheir own feelingsfor thesewords over time' It is diffi,,Good,, and month, year after year' cult to maintain the same kind of high-level emotional expressionmonth after One needs reinforcement from peers in order to maintain such a discrimination' VcrietY In Consequenceg children. A good teacheris Many adultsare restrictedin the kinds of coniequencesthey provide for their kisses' approval (or disapproval)in a variety of ways: he or she verbally approves' one who expresses playswith the child,and, hugs,shokesand tickles,and feedsthe child, letsthe child get out of the chair, teacherwho is not asskillfulmay in leneral, bringsto him allthe kindsof goodiesa child can imagine'A monotonousrewardis that settlefor a monotonous"Good," and the problem with such a stereotyped in the teaching situation' satiationis quickly reached for the reward and the child loses interest of positivereinforcers,a Remember also that, in addition to rewarding the child with a variety and tensionwhen the child is faced good teachermay also manageto teachthe child some uneasiness normal children probably learn soluiuitn u problem to which he does not have a ready answer. Most in them' The tension or uneasiness tions to problems becausethe problem createsa certain state of positivereinforcers,but to avoid or escape reward for accomplishinga difficult task is not just to get the that precedetheproblem solution. A good teacheris from the kinds of negativetensionsand uneasiness some of the samekind of tensionor urgencybeforea probablyone who helps her childrenexperience reliefover the solution problem is solved, and to experience Adult Ir Boss children occurs when the adult failsto one of the main problems in teaching developmentallyretarded to "walk on eggs"with their children,that is, who is in conhol. Many adultshavebeen advised establish watch out for their fragile egos' which is to not present demands, to not upset or disturbthem, and to we have outlinedthroughoutthis book' Let your childrenknow bad adviceaccordingto the principles at earliertimes are automatically you are the boss. Leithem know that whateverprivilegesthey enjoyed are earnedback, it is the odult who decides revokedwhen they misbehave,and that, when privileges how and when this occurs. harshbut, if our data are Also, once in a while the teacherhasto be very strict.This may sound for developmentallyretardedchildren correct,structuredand "authoritative" environmentsmay be best structuremay be lessened'and during the early stagesof their learning. Slowly, over time, the teacher's but democracyhas to be earned-it is not given' Keep in replacedwith more democraticprocedures, become an important friend to your mind that it is possibleto be firm and yet be friendly' You do want to for him. child, so that gainingand keepingyour approvalis significant the kind and do not establish curriculum the into quickly Most teachersprobably proceed'too rockingand flapThe child who sitsin a class of earlyconhol that is n"."rrury for subsequenilearning. against a frustratingsituation' ping his arms, who screamsor attackshimself or others when he is up prolably is not what most teacherswould call an ideal student. who is selectedto work with the Much of the child's learning will depend on the type of adult is a guide' confident,and outgoing,if our experience child. It is bestto selectpeople who are assertive, obsessive are who themselves, or People whose voices are very tender, who have difficulty asserting disabledchildren' of developmentally abour right and wrong just don't make good teachers

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Expcrnding Your Child's World

Be Ccreful In How You Reward recognize Most persons that one hasto be carefulin one'suse of punishment.It usedto be thoughtthat disabled childrencould use all the loving one could affection could do no harm, that developmentally give them. Increasingly, we are becoming aware of how one has to use love with caution. Love is to powerfulmedicine;it can be used against the child aswell asto his benefit.Many personsfind it easier as to conceptions of children healthy attitude has contributed than a one, Perhaps this love a sick child we are of their future. More specifically, "mentallyill" and "damaged," and lowered our expectations (or self-injurious and other contingent on affection withdrawing demands) observinghow showing "psychotic"behaviorsservesto shape and maintainsuch behaviors.The reason why many disabled personsare trapped by their behavioraldeficiencies and sometimeseven come closeto killing thempsychologists, and psychiis that they were loved at the wrong time. Teachers, selves throughself-injury persons. atrists can be the most dangerousof honorableand well-meaning Mqke The Tricrls Dlscrete to the succinctonset and spacingof trials. Another problem in technicalexecutionof teachingrelates the impor' (I977l'at the Universityof Californiaat Santa Barbarahave discussed Koegel and associates as distinctand discriminable hials" (seeChapter 1). In order to make the instructions tanceof "discrete a one can observean adultteaching the teacher"pace" the hials.Sometimes it is criticalthat aspossible, reinforcement and the "fluid," a ended is hial which no sooner one in that seems very child in a situation betweenevents.Or, if the child doesnot regiventhan a new hial is presentedwith no pauseor spacing are repeatedwith no pause in between.Such "fluidity" may work for normal spond, the instructions of learnchildren,but is too difficultfor slowerchildren.For suchchildren,at leastduringthe earlystages ing, it is criticalthat there is a spacingbetween the teacher'sinputs so that the child can better discriminate what is said and "ready" himselffor responding.Supposea teachersays, "Johnny, look here, this as a fluid and point to the red block, no, not the green block, I mean the red block," and presents continuous statement.Such a teacher is probably becoming an ineffectiveperson becauseher inshucInstead,as we have frequently tions beginto losetheir communicativeintent; she is beingneutralized. arguedthroughoutthe book, the adult may say, "Johnny, look here," pausingat that time to allow the a succinctinstruction.The teacherthen child to attend, and if the child does attend, then presenting whetherthe child performed adequatelyor not, and, dependingon the child'sperformance, observes rewardsor not. Each step should be distinctand succinct. Overselective Attention One of the more significantproblems that faces many developmentallyretarded children concernsrein their attention. As far as we can determine, developmentallyretardedchilshictionsor overselectivity dren restricttheir attention and focus on fewer parts of a teachingsituationthan do normal, or average' children of the same chronologicalage. In other words, the children do not petceiveall of the input the adult may want te provide. The problem is twofold: first, if the adult employs a lot of extra aids or cues, as in manuatlyprompting or visuallyguidingthe child through a task, the child may become"hooked" with a on the prompts or guidancecues and not perceivethe other cuesthat the adult wants to associate particularperformance.For example, if the adult helps a child by pointing out where the correct answer is, then the child may become unduly hooked on the adult'sfinger prompts and will visuallytrack or otherwisefollow the adult's hands in order to perform. The child's attention to the adult's hand may be so shongthat he does not seeor hear what elseis goingon. The childrenmay carefullystudythe adult's face for those extra cuesthat give away the conect response,and be so intent on readingthe adult'sface
Common Problems qnd Precqutions

237

passes watchyou to seeif you usemanysuch thatwhatever themby. Havesomeone elseis happening promptsor exha cues. unintended Senslng vcrsur Percelvlng pointsout the difference Anotherproblemin attention it and perceiving, For example, between sensing yet possible isentirely that the for a childto look directly at the adult's face,and not seeor hearanything adultis hying to communicate. The child may haveno auditorydeficitwhatsoever and evenshouting probably It is easyto the instruction like that are universal. to him doesnot makehim hear.Problems remember hall,and leftafter50 minutes with a totalvoid how sometimes in school we entered a lecture disabled asto whatwassaid-the lectureseemed to havepassed rightby you. Many developmentally peculiarities is thata childcanbesitting to the exheme.Whatthisimplies children showsuchattentional at allto whatis beingsaid. nicelyand lookingat the teacher but not payingany attention probably useof comesaboutthroughdifferential Paying"real" attention(seeing and hearing) (or In the various training steps outis learned. rewards and punishment no reward).In short,attention to the childto pay meaningfulattention wasa stepthatforcedor enabled linedin thisbook,therealways reinforcemenf, that is, the child was the teaching material.Most often this step involveddifferential (or admonished) when for responding to the adult'scues,and not rewarded rewarded for responding then he likewise, For example,if the adult says"ah" and the child responds thesecueswere absent. wouldbe rewarded. If the childsaid"ah" and the adulthad not spoken(or if the adulthad said"mm") the child Throughsucha procedure and perhaps admonished! then the child would nof be rewarded, Also,if He learn to attend. do if he attends. can right time, and he can only so at the will learnto respond meanthat he has your child learnsto pay attentionto one set of cues,this doesnot simultaneously doesnot mean how to attend to consonants learning learned to attendto all othercues.For example, The longer hasto be trainedseparately. to vowels.Suchattention to pay attention that he haslearned you will seethisrelationship you work with a child,and the more progress he makes, the more clearly and relnforcement. between attention For example, problemin attention situations. The child's shouldbe keptin mind in alllearning littleby mereobservation of otherchildren learnrelatively childrenprobably developmentally disabled in of learning, way. Particularly the early stages that learn eventhoughnormalchildren or the teacher It is shaping. teacher-student learnmostly throughdirectone-to-one children developmentally disabled group, verwith the teacher in a children place retarded child among other a severely a waste of timeto observers. the childrenas passive inshucting ballyor visually Twenty Percent Ar Plcry to the the children becomeveryreinforcing with thesechildren, working in successful As one becomes for it is a commonmistake Undertheseconditions learning something. adultbecause they are actually For examat least still. learn, or to sit to the child's capacity session beyond adults the teaching to extend prople,it is not unusual who havechildren sitstillforan hour at a time.Be carefulto to seeteachers around' and run stand up where they can gramexplicit for the childrenevery5 or 10 minutes, breaks longerbreak.Work for a minuteor two. Once everyhour, havea somewhat and otherwise exercise for 2 hours, then returnfor 2 sessions hard for 2 hours,then have more informalschoolor teaching 6 to 8 hoursof hardwork, with playor inforhoursof hardwork again.Try to setthe day up to include to run how reinforcingit was for you at recess mal teachinginterspersed throughout,Remember to make Perhaps 80% work, 20% playis the ideal. Also, remember around,scream, and act crazy. part the child. of on the upon correctbehavior such"gettingout of chair" contingent
Expcrnding Your Chlld'r World

t
,

and formal situationvery academic is for the adult to makethe teaching A relatedmistake progress is spentin entire day that the child's rewarded by the so may become The adult throughout. for smallchillikely,particularly data,it seems Althoughit is hard to quoteadequate tasks. academic just reason than for no playing other for or rough-housing sometime dren,thatthe adultmustschedule and to be shictand bossyfor 5 minutes It is possible development. the child'sneurological to facilltate for situation horses around,only to returnto a structured then takea l-minute breakwhereeverybody play and work-all per' between The child shouldbe ableto learnto discriminate the next 5 minutes. sonsmustlearnthat discrimination. Ttre Chtld Works Hcrder Ttran the Adult canbe seenwhen an adultputsout a to discern and difficult little moresubtle that is a Anotherproblem sitsback,enjoyinghimselfwhileself-stimulatamountof effortand the childjust passively hemendous hies too hard and the drill the teacher it is because very slowly, when a child moves ing. Sometimes on his own. The ideal he worksand putsout behaviors work at all. A childwill not learnunless doesn't and not theteacher. right answer, with the up isonein whichthe chitdworksveryhardto come situation If You Punigh, Bemember To Rcwcrrd for or aversives, the use of discipline, concerns warn against One lastproblemwe want to especially good behavreinforce fails to If one "bad" behavior withoutalsousinglotsof lovingfor "good" behavior. begin will eventually will beveryshortlived,andthechildren or aversives of discipline effects the ior then then behavior, for unacceptable of a child an adultdisapproves Whenever to hateandfeartheirteacher. if the child For example, rewarded. thatcanbe positively behavior that aduttshouldpromptacceptable not selfdoes and still child sits as the then, as soon hasbeentold a loud "No!" for self-stimulating, the adult mustapprovewarmly"Good!" An adultwho is shictmustalsobe an adultwho is stimulate, wouldnot beverygoodfor your veryloving.If you find an adultwho isshictand not loving,heprobably child.

i
ii

GENENAIPNOBTEMS
places in thismanual. to at various that we havereferred in teaching Therearesomegeneralproblems below. are summarized Theseproblems Worktng ln Isolqtlon withoutregualikeis to work in isolation, professionalpersons parents and for A verycommonmistake to work with difficult is very performance. It from a groupof peerswho can monitorone's lar feedback (it is stilltoo described are inadequately children,and the rulesfor teaching disabled developmentally A peer and losehis skills. much of an "art"), so that a personwho worksaloneis likelyto move astray for anyteacher is mostimportant andfailures successes eachother's weeklyto observe groupthatmeets of encouragement the needs and one and not detectthem, or parent.It is too easyto make mistakes work with your childin front of others;in sucha inshuctive, to improve.To makesuchfeedback others one can be mostexplicit. situation parents and between separation the commonand unfortunate problemconcerns Onerelated in this book, one has to engageall significant teachthe programdiscussed To adequately teachers. andteachers. Quitesimply,theteacher bothparents andthatincludes environment, in thechild's adults
C;ommonProblems qnd Precquttona 239

hasto know what the parent knows; the only way that will happen is if the parent informsthe teacher. Similarly,the parent has to know what the teacherknows and the only way this will happen is if the teachertellsthe parent. One can only do this in a group in which everybodyis equal. It is rare to endisabledchildren are taught. Instead,it is countersuch groups in most placeswhere developmentally or meet togetheron a monthly basis more common to seea schoolwhere the parentsand the teachers even lessfrequentlyand where the parentssit on one sideof the room and the teacherson the other, That is a poor working environment. about each other'spresence. each feelinguncomfortable in schoolthatthesebehavthat if the child learnsnew behaviors A similarmistakeis to assume to to the home. We know now that it is very likelythat schoollearningdoes not transfer iorswill transfer (aswell as child psychispecialeducation retardedchildren.Historically, the home for developmentally effortsfrom the community at large.Somehow its educational has isolated ahy and clinicalpsychology) "inadequate"home environmentand placed an from it was hoped that if the childrenwould be taken forth everywhere' within an "enriched"school (or clinic)environment,then the childrenwould blossom spontaneously. occur not it does change has to be programmed; Most often, generalized Forgetting qboui After-Ccrre the day is endedwhen schoolis over and the childrenare sent er feelsthat It is oftenthe casethat a teach home. Thus, we think that schoolis over on Friday or it is ended in June when the child goeson vacaknow that too when the child goes into firstgrade. Yet most teachers tion, or it ends with kindergarten and lose the gainsthey have made in school once schoolis many childrenwith problemswill regress transferof learningto nonschool over. Therefore,schoolsneed more flexibleprogrammingto facilitate disabledchildren will become a 16-hour-aenvironments.In the future, school for developmentally endeavor, connectingall environments.Perhapsonly parents day, 6-day-a-week,12-month-a-year ' staff can provide such a service,but then the parentshave to be trainedand brought into the teaching Teachershave to give their skillsto the public' Lcbeling the child from other All too often terms such as "mental illness"or "brain damage" serveto segregate (or the absence of same)that work to the child'sdetriment. children,and to invite a set of interventions of a child'sproblem (not to mentionthe where too often the mere diagnosis We are part of a profession leadsto the child'sdeteriorahas been treatedin stateschoolsor mentalhospitals), way it traditionally the child outisticwhen labeling from tion. In our work with autisticchildren, for example, we refrain many people' It is The mere labelof autismscares introducinghim to school or to other professionals. term' to call the child "language delayed," or some such neutral descriptive much lessdestructive and Somethingis obviously very wrong in a professionwhen a child, after he has been diagnosed labelsare treated,failsto improve o, g"t, worse. If the concept of "mental illness"and related diagnostic and littlemoral value. In part, the concept it may be found that thesetermsbear no scientific analyzed, ,,mental for childrenwho are different some acceptance illness"survivesbecauseit servesto establish "stupid" or from others.That is, it may be betterfor the child to be called"mentallyill" than to be called some ,.crazy." may have solvedsomeimmediatesocialproblems Although the contept of mentalillness detrimental was 80 or 90 years ago (when it was first coined), the long-rangeeffect of the concept it failed to provide an adequatetreatment. because is not quite as popular asbefore (mostperAt the presenttime, a term suchas "mental illness" with such labels),and is graduallybeing replacedwith equally lze the danger associated sonsrecogn ibrain qbscurelabels,such as damaged."There is no evidencethat the newer term will help children
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Expcnding Your Child's World

more than the older term. The problem with both termsis that they do not lead to any scientific form of treatment.In fact, very often and perhapsmuch too often, thesetermsinvite some hands-offapproach that preventseffective treatment.It is possible that termssuch as "mental illness"and "brain damage" were coined by professionals who were supposedto help such childrenbut were faced with repeated failure,and who then put the responsibility for their failureon the child (the child is "too sick" or "too braindamaged") . Working with thesechildrenis difficultand the disappointments can be bitterindeed, and one has to survivesomehow. In any case, avoid a systemwhere your child becomestrapped in obscureterminology,inventedfor someoneelse's benefit.Even if a child does havebrain damage,he hasto be taught,and that process is an explicit requiringhim to takeincreasing responsibility for his life and to learnto faceincreasing maturity. Spending Time on the Dlcgnosis We have seenmany parentswho have spentan enormousamount of money and time trying to establish the "correct" diagnosisfor their child. In general,theseparents usually become more confused because the more placesthey visit, the more diagnoses they receive(retarded,autistic,aphasic,brain damaged, emotionally disturbed,schizophrenic, psychotic,atypicaldevelopment).The more diagnosesa parent obtains,the more money a parent spends.It is rare that the diagnosis really altersthe treatmentanyway, so it is pointless to seek all thesefine and often imaginaryclassifications. There is, in our opinion, another dangerbehind extensive perdiagnostic work: it misdirects sonsto look for answersto the child'sproblems"inside" the child, when today all we really can do to help the situationis to manipulate the child'sexternal(educational) environment.As mattersnow stand, lookingfor problemsinsidethe child too often impliesa hands-offattitudeand an acceptance of status quo. This is particularlytrue with terms referringto some (usuallyhypothetical)brain or "cognitive" damage,or mental illnessconstruct. This stateof affairsmay have come about because personswho diagnoseare often not also good at teachingor giving therapy. Perhapsone cannot excellin both areas.It seemsparticularly true that theordticians and diagnosticians in our field express opinionsaboutthe assessment and treatment of the developmentally disabledwithout themselves possessing for treatment or skills or responsibility education.In other words, all too many have lost touch with the data. If a professional does express your diagnostic person opinionsabout child, ask if that for treatmentor carries concreteresponsibilities education.If not, you should view his or her opinionswith considerable reservation. Although one may view diagnostic testingwith a great deal of skepticism, behaviorally orientedteachers measure both behaviorand its environmentwith a greatdeal of precision,and do so continuously.In any behavioralteaching effort one learnsquite precisely what the strengthof a particular response is, what exactlycan be usedfrom the environmentto strengthen and weakenit, what the rate of changemaybe, andsoon. Theseassessments aredirectly relatedtoteachingandheatment, theyare individualized for each student, and only personswith extensiveheatment,/teaching experience can performsuch an assessment. It is alsodifficultto imaginea behaviorally orientedteacherwho doesnot have a profound respectfor his or her students' nervoussystems. When working one-to-onewith bpersons,one learnsto observe,to wait, to "stalk," to stimulate,and to activate haviorallydisabled that extremely complex organic system, so as to quickly "slip in" an instruction when the system sems "open" and to soothe it with a shoking gesturefor a reward. To teach with precisionis to leam to usethe most complex and delicatesystemavailable. In fact, many considerthat behavioralteachingis to the nervoussystemwhat softwareprogramming is to a computer. One is defined in terms of the other, and
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for successful both are essential operation. lt is nonfunctional diagnosticclassifications and grosslyineffective hypothesesabout the nervous systemthat many have problems accepting. Tecching "Experienced" kolessloncrls For some unknown reason, most professionals, once they escapethe stressof seekingan educationand once they have received some monetary and community support for their professionalefforts,are very resistant to change. This meansthat a parent who is hying to have an impact on the way in which a child There are exceptions is taught is more likely to succee4in working with studentsor young professionals. to this, and when one meets an older professionalpersonwho is curious about the professionand willing to change, one has the most effectiveliasona child can get. However, as a generalrule, the longer a person has worked in the field, the lesslikely it is that such a person will acquire new ways of teachingor freating. We make this warning here becausewe have spent an enormous amount of time tying to professionals(often at their request)to no avail. The main impact of new educateach well-established tional developments will center on students and the very young professionals. Not Accepting Feedbcck children,and sinceso much hasto be disabled Sinceso littleis known about teachingdevelopmentally in which updated.An environment learned,everyteacheror clinicianhasto be taughtand continuously either the child's parentsor teacherare not amenableto feedbackor change is an environment in which the child may be "stored" for variousperiods of time, sometimesfor a lifetime. One of the most common mistakesthat people make in planning for developmentallydisabledpersonsJsto assumethat a school or family environment, at any one time, is adequate. It is much more in the child's interestto assume that any one schoolor clinic is inadequate.Only an outsideobservercan fully help developmore adequate teaching and heatment. Therefore, hy to avoid the "expert" teacher or clinician. There are no "expert" teachersor-clinicians. Similarly, the senseof securitythat a pleasantteacher or doctor will give to a parent is false. Much too often, a parent will pay for this "security" a few yearslater when the child has failed to improve. In giving feedback,try to constructa situationin which both the professionalandthe parent are It is likely that if one startswith a simpletask, likely to succeedat first, then heavily reward such a success. at a time, then one willsucceed. like havingthe child sit on a chair and visuallyattendfor a few seconds Avoid the big tasksin the beginning, becausethe adultsinvolved willbe on extinction and will lose interest in the child. One can only learn to take criticismfor failureswhen one also can experiencesuccesses. A full appreciationof what is involved in a good working relationshipbetween adults and children, and between professionalsand parents, is beyond the scope of this book, but it is of much importance. Bewcre of Undesircble Changes tn Yourgelf ideallsm If you work in a large institution, such as a statehospital,be aware that you may extinguish,your just delay at least being aware of such change, one can act to stop or and good teachingtechniques. By it, There are many other changesto guard against.Be aware of the possibilitythat, if you do behavioral work with severelydisabledchildren where you do employ a lot of "right" and "wrong," you may begin to turn into an exhemely rigid, "black-and-white" person. Explicit "right and wrong" can help in the beginningof a child's curriculum, but such extensiveand extreme controlwillinhibit spontaneitylater. AJso,be carefulnot to burn out too fast. Make your working environment reinforcing, have nicepersons around you, and try to seethe biggerpicture. Even if progressis very slow, scareyourselfonce in a while

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Erpcrnding Your Chlld's lfforld

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wlth the awfulprospect that if you don't do the work welt,your chirdmay end up in a stateinstituuon. Visit a stateinsfftutionto see how bad it is. It will gve youin"rgy to carry on. Avold Ttcl oOno,, hogntrn often a chlld willbe placedin a classroom that is totallydomilat"d by a parilcutarapproach,be psyit chodynamtc, behavloral, or sensorimotor. The problemwtth suchaplacernent ts that, at the present ilme' thereareno datathat cantell that any one approach isgoingto do ail the work for the chlld. on the other hand, it ls often difftcuttto add neru,_barely iested.pi-".h", because they are unltkelyto have datato backthemup' An experlenced teacher oi clinlcian, or a well-informed parent,lsa person who is eclectlc-he or shels familiarwith severaltheoretical orlentations, and can draw upon them when he wants.It ls lmportantto recognize the rrmitafions of any one approach.

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with token reinforcement. Journalof Experimental Child Psychology, 1965, 2, 219-235. Bricker, W. A., & Bricker, S. S. The infant,toddler, C a r r ,E . G . , N e w s o m ,C . D . , & B i n k o f f ,J . A . S t i m u l u s and preschool project.In research and intervention control of self-destructive behavior in a psychotic (Ed,), Interuention T. D. Tjossem strategies for high child. Journolol Abnormal Child Psychology,I976, risk inlontsand young children.Baltimore: Univer4, 139-153. sityPark Press,1976. Fredericks, H. D. B., et al.A data-based classroom t'or Donnellan-Walsh, A. Teachingmokes a difference: themoderately (Znded.) andseuerely hondicapped . Teacher's manual. Santa Barbara, BarCalif .; Santa Monmouth, Ore.: Instructional Development Corp., baraCounty AutismProject,1976. (Available from 1977. NSAC Bookstore, 2808 Federal Lane,Bowie,Md. Koegel, R. L., & Rincover, A. Treatment of psychotic 20775.) children in a classroom environment. L Learning in a Kozloff,M. A. Educating childrenwith learning and largegroup.Journolot'AppliedBehauior Anolysis, behauior problems. New York: John Wiley& Sons, 7974.7,45-59. 1974. Koegel, R. L., Russo, D. C., & Rincover, A. AssessingKuypers, D. S., Wesley, C. 8., & O'Leary, K, D. How and training the generalized useof behavior modifito makea tokensystem fail.In O. I. Lovaas & B. D. cation with autisticchildren.Journol of Applied (Eds.) Bucher Perspectiues inbehouior modification , Behauior Anolysis, 1977,10, I97-205. withdeuiant children. Englewood N. J.: PrenCliffs, Rincover, A,, & Koegel, R. L. Classroom treatment of tice-Hall, 1974. autistic children:II. Individualized instruction rn a Lindsley, O. R. Direct measurement and prosthesis in group. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, retardedbehavior.Journal ol Education,1964, 1977,5, IL3-126. 147,62-87. Watson,L. S. Hou to usebehouiormodificotion with mentally retorded and autistic children: Programs for RECOMMENDED READTNGS parents odministrators, teachers, and nurses. Tuscaloosa, Ala.: Behavior Modification Technology, 1972. BirnbraueJ r ,. S . , W o l f , M . M . , K i d d e r ,J . D . , & Tague, C. Classroom pupils behavior of retarded

REFERENCES

Expcnding Your Child's World

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INDEX
A
Abstract sign language, 760 Acquisitionof behavior, 15 Actions labelingof expressive,747-148 receptive, I43-746 simple, imitation oI, 6I-69 participatActivities, recreational, ing in, 102-103 Adult as boss,as problem in behavioralteaching program, 236 Affectionate behavior,teaching, 86,193 After-care,forgetting,as problem in behavioralteaching program, 240 punishmentand, Aggressiveness,

B
Backwardchainingin teaching of dressing and undressing,

in,20-27,22
targetbehaviorselection in,

79-20,22 in, 2L-22 trials

spontaneous c r e a t i v e2 , II-272 fostering, 209-2I0 i n i t i a t i n g2 , 12-2I3 t a r g e t ,s e l e c t i o n oI, 19-20,22 hansferringof, from home to school, 277-278 Behavior analysisversusdevelopmental theoretical in training orientations disdevelopmentally abled,225 Behavioralclassrooms, effective, creating,225-226 Blocks, playing with, teaching,

123 of eating skills, 117

of phrasesand sentences, 782 Behavior(s) acquisition of, 15 affectionate, teaching,86, 193 punishmentand, aggressive,

25
a l t e r n a t eb , u i l d i n go I , 2 5 - 2 6 characteristics of , of developmentallydisabled children,29-35 complex, teaching,86-87 c o n s e q u e n c eo sf , v a r i e d ,a s problem in behavioral teachingprogram, 236 c o n t r o l l i n g2 , 11 corner, for eliminatingdisruptive behaviors,54 disruptive managementof, in classroom, 230-233 m i l d l y , e l i m i n a t i n g5 , 3-56 corner behavior for,54 extinctionfor, 53-54 time-out for, 54 working through task saying no in, 55-56 punishment and, 15 extinctionof, 15 g e n e r a l i z a t i oo nf , 1 0 9 - 1 1 1 m a i n t e n a n co ef , 1 1 1 -1 1 2 managementof, in community settings,187- 190 p u n i s h a b l e2 , 4-25 recording of, 37 -40 self-destructive, recordingof ,

25
Arm raising in early receptive language training,82 imitationtraining ior, 62-63 Assertion training, I94- I95 Attention directingand maintaining,

100101 Brushing
- 137 g, 1,29 hair, teachin t o o t h , t e a c h i n g ,1 2 9 - 1 3 1

c
Clapping hands, imitationtraining for, 65-66 Classroom(s) behavioral, eflective,creating,

49-57
and motivation,relationbetween, 33-34 34-35 overselective, problem as in behavioral teachingprogram,

225-226
educationin, and home treatment, differences b e t w e e n ,2 2 3 - 2 2 5 Colors matching, 78 teaching, 167 C o m b i n gh a i r , t e a c h i n g . 1 2 7- 1 2 8 C o m m u n i c a t i o ns , imultaneous. 153-154 r e s p o n s e sb .uild' Communicative ing, 100 Community setting managing c h i l di n . 1 8 7 - 1 9 0 n e w , p r o b l e m si n . 1 8 9 - 1 9 C t Compliance.building. 1l I 'nffi Convicnons.teachirq" 19"1

237-238
problemsof, in developmentally disabledchildren,

33-35
time-out from, see Time-out toy Auditory self-stimulation, 106 to reduce, selection Aversives 16, 17, 22 aspunishment, summarycommentsabout,

37-38
self-stimulatory, in developmentallydisabledchild r e n ,3 1 - 3 2 see olso Self-stimulation shaping of, 19-22 giving instructions in, 21,22 prompts and prompt fading

25-27
working through task while using,for eliminating disruptivebehaviors,

55-56

2{5

Copyingdrawing,teaching,104 Cornerbehavior, for eliminating disruptive behaviors, 54 Counterphobia afterovercoming Iear, 196-197 Curricula, leverage versus total push,224

group, one-to-one versus

223-224
shong punishversus weak ersin,224-225
motivational problems in,

D
DescrlptivesentencesIn sign language training,

158160
Developmental theoretical orientations versus behavior analysisin haining developmentally disabled,225 Developmentally disabled children attentional problems in, 33-35 behavior characteristics of .

32-33 self-stimulation in. 31-32 see alsoSelf-stimulation tantrums in, excessive, 29-37 teaching guidingprinciples for, 3-5 philosophy of,2-3 Diagnosis, spending time on, as problemin behavioral teaching program, 247-242 Discrimination learning,64- 65 Disruptive punishment behavior, and, 25 Drawing, teaching, 103-105 Dressing, teaching, I25- 126 Durationrecording, 40

Fears inational,deftnition of, 195 overcoming,795-L97 Feces, smearing of, punlshment and.24 Feedback not accepting, as problemin probehavioral teaching gram,242 on punishment, 27 Feelings identifying, L92-L93 personal, yes/no training for, 179-180 teaching about, I9L-797 Frustationtolerance, teaching, 190

G
Game(s) "Gettlnginformatlon," 207 "l do/l am," 205 "Listenlng and flndlng,"206 "What ls lt?", 205 "What'smlssing?", 204 Generallzatlon across tlme.111-112 response,110-111 stimulus, 109-110 Generallzation tralnlng for expressive actionlabeling, 748 for expressive labehng, obJect 147 for preposltions, 170-171 for receptive actionlabeling, 145 for receptiveobJect labeling, 138 for slze,color, and shape, 757-158 for time concepts, 178 Gettlngobjects, teachlng, 85 Grammar,teaching,181-183 Grossmotor imitation, 62-67 Group Instructlon, ln shaping, maxlmlzlng lndlvidual instruction,228 lndox

29-35
characteristics of, I education for behavlor analysisversus developmental theoretical orientations ln. 225 behavioral teaching programs for, problemsin,

E
Eating skills, teaching, 117-118 Echolalia, 149-151 overcoming, 150-151 Expressive speech, definition of, 133 Expressive language trainlng for actionlabeling,147-148 for objectlabeling, 139-742 for prepositions, 170 for sizelabeling, 166 Extinction of behavlor, 15 straight, for eliminating disruptivebehaviors, 53-54 for tantrums. 30 Extrinsically versus intrinsically conholledrelnforcers, 21L-212 Eyecontact,teaching, 49-50

235-243
creating effective behavioral classrooms for, 225-226 futuredirections in, 233 home versus classroom. 223-225 individual, maximizing, 226-230 optimizing instructlonal configuration in,

227-228
group instruction shaping in,228 shaping independent work in,229-230 volunteers in, 226 leverage versus totalpush cunicula for,224 managing disruptive behaviorsin, 230-233

F
Faclal expresslonsand gestures, imltation of . 67 -68

us

H
Hair, brushing or combing, teaching, 727-128 Hands clapping, imitationtrainingfor, 65-66 quiet,teaching,46-47 Home teacherat,2l9 heatment in, and classroom education, differences between, 223-225

t
Labeling of actions expressive, 747-148 receptive, 743-146 of feelings, I92-193 of objects expressive, I39-742 receptive, 135- 138 in signlanguage training, 756-757 as problem in behavioral teach. ing program,240-24L of size expressive, 166 receptive, 765-166 Language advanced, l63-183 intermediate, teaching, 133-160 receptive early,82-84 haining in, 81-88 sign,153-160 seeolsoSignlanguage Laziness, in receptive language training, 87 Learning discrimination, 64-65 observational, 203- 207 teaching, L11 preparation for, 43-56 progress in, recording, 712-173 with schoolfriends,219-220 Light,turning on, teaching, 85-86

of two-dimensional obpcts generalized, TT i d e n t i c a l7 ,6 o f v i s u a ls t i m u l i ,7 I - 7 9 Modeling for overcomingfears, 196 in receptiveobjectlabeling,

137138
Motivation and attention,relation between, 33-34 problemsof, in developmentally disabledchildren,

32-33
Mouth, opening of, teaching,67 Multiple requests in early receptive languagetraining,

I
Imaginfng, teaching, 799-202 Imltatlon training for facialexpressions and gestures, 67-68 for grossmotor skills,62-67 makingprogress in, 68 for pitchof speech, 98 for simple actions, 6L-69 for speech sounds,92-94 for speedof speech, 98 verbal, 89-98 for volumeof speech, 97-98 for words,94-97 play,teaching, Independent 105 Independent work, shaping, in maximizing individual instruction. 229-230 Inshuctional configuration, optimizing,in maximizing inshuction, individual 227-228 Instructions giving of, in behavior shaping, 21,22 verbal, following, 81-88 Intrinsic rewards, building, 111 Intrinsically versus extrinsically controlledreinforcers, 217-2L2 Isolation, workingin, as problem in behavioral teaching program,239-240 Inder

84 N
"No!", working throughtask whileusing, for eliminatingdisruptive behav. iors,55-56 Nose,touching in earlyreceptive language training,85 imitation for, 63-64 trainlng

o
Objects, labeling of expressive, 139-742 receptive,135- 138 in sign languagetraining,

156-r57

M
Matching of colors, 78 of objectsin classes,77 of shapes,78-79 of three-dimensionalobjects,

Observational learning,203- 207 Overconection as punishment, 77-I9 Overselective attention, 34-35

P
Pants putting on, 125 removing, 124 Parent at school, 218-219

77
generalized,to generalized two-dimensional representations, 77 -78 identical,72-76

lrt

P a r e nl c o nt i nu e d and teacher,cooperation between,2lg Perceiving v e r s u ss e n s i n ga ,s problem in behavioral teachingprogram, 238 P e r s o n afle e l i n g sy , e s /n o t r a i n i n g for,179-180 P h r a s e st,e a c h i n g ,1 8 1 - 1 8 3 Picturetraining in expressive action labeling,

objectlabeling,

148
in receptiveaction labeling,

r45_t46
Pictures,matchingof, 76 Pitch, imitation,in verbalimita+i^n +raihih^ 98

Play a p p r o p r i a t eb , u i l d i n g ,1 1 1 i n d e p e n d e n tt,e a c h i n g ,1 0 5 skillsfor, appropriate,99-I07 to work ratio in behavioral teachingprogram,

137_ 138 Psychotic talk,151-152 overcoming, 152 Punishment, I5-I9, 22 behaviors deserving, 24-25 definition of, 24 misuse of, 23 p h y s i c a1 l ,6 , 1 7 , 2 3 - 2 7 for managing disruptive behavior in classroom, 232_233 and rewards balance of, in behavioral teaching program, 239 distinguishing between, rn behavioral proteaching grams,235-236 rules for using, 16-L7, 22, 25-27 strong versus weak,in home and school treatment, 224-225

duration, 40 of learning progress, 112-113 of punishment effects, 26-27 reliability in, 40 of self-destructive behavior, 37-38 of self-stirnulatory behavior, 38-39 Recreational activities, participating in, 102-103 Reinforcers, intrinsically versus extrinsically controlled,

27r-272
Requests,multiple, in early receptive language training,84 Response,generalization, 110-111 Restaurant,managingchild in, trainingfor, 188- 189 Restitutionin overcorrection, 18 Rewards careful use of, in behavioral teachingprogram, 237 escaping negatives as, 12-13,

238-239
Playing with blocks, t e a c h i n g ,1 0 0 - 1 0 1 teacher2 , 07-202 w i t h t o y s , t e a c h i n g ,1 0 1 - 1 0 2 Practice, positive,in overcorrection, 18 Prepositions, teaching, 169-17 I Pretending advanced, 201 b a s i c ,2 0 0 - 2 0 1 Professionals, "experienced, " teachingof, as problem in behavioralteaching program,242 Prompts in behaviorshaping, 20-21 ,

n
Random rotation i n d i s c r i m i n a t i oln earning,

22
exhinsicand intrinsic,14-15 individualdifferences in, 14 i n t r i n s i cb , u i l d i n g ,1 1 1 in motivation,32-33 positive and negative,contrast between, 13 selectionof , 11- 72, 22 taking away, as punishment, 16 and punishment balanceof, in behavioral teachingprogram, 239 distinguishing between,in behavioralteaching programs, 235-236 schedules for, 13- 14 in stimulusgeneralization, 110 selection of, 11-14 self-stimulatory behavioras, 31 s o c i a l ,b u i l d i n g ,1 1 1 strategies for, for increasing social interaction, 220 Running away on outing, managing, 189-190 Index

64-65,66
in early receptivelanguage training, 83-84 in expressive action labeling, 148 in expressive objectlabeling, 740-t4I in matchingthree-dimensional objects,74-75 in receptiveaction labeling,

22

r44-745
in receptiveobjectlabeling, 1 3 6 -1 3 7 Receptivespeech,definitionof,

fading of, in receptivelanguagetraining,88 in receptivelanguagetraining, 87-88 in receptiveobject labeling,

133
Receptive language training for actionlabeling, 143.746 for object labeling, 135-138 for prepositions, 169-170 for sizelabeling, 765-166 for "your"and "my," I73-I75 Recording of behaviors , 37 -40

137138 Pronouns, teaching, 773-775

Proprioceptive self-stimulation, toy selection to reduce, 106 Proximityprompting in receptive 21,8

ffi

s
School for developmentally disabled, 220,223-233 failurein, 22I friends in, learning with, 2t9-220 parentat,218-279 preparing childfor, 215-221 ol,215-217 selection from transferring behavior hometo, 2I7 -278 in, in Self,undesirable changes probehavioral teaching gram,242-243 punishment Self-destructiveness, and,24 Self-stimulation to reauditory,toy selection duce,106 disabled in developmentally children, 3I^32 proprioceptive, toy selection to reduce,106 punishment and, 25 language in receptive training, 87 recording of, 38-39 to reduce, toy selection tactile, 106 toy selection to vestibular, reduce,106-107 visual, to reduce, toy selection 106 perceiving, as versus Sensing problemin behavioral program, 238 teaching Sentences in signlanguage descriptive, 158-160 training, 181-183 teaching, Shapes 78-79 matching, 167 teaching, Shirt,puttingon,725 Shoes puttingon,126 removing,123-124 153-160 Signlanguage, 160 abstract, of, 153-154 advantages Index

for, 155-160 curriculum trainingprogramfor, beginning,155 proper,teaching, Sitting, 45-47 Size,teaching, 165-166 Skilts dressing, 723-726 eating, teaching, 117-118 play, appropriate, 99- 107 self-help b a s i c1 , 1 5 -1 3 1 practical, 110 building, toileting, 779-122 building, 111 Social rewards, Socks
h! ri'tin^ ^n ts*"",5 1 2(

in receptivelanguagetraining.

removing, I23-724 in signlanguage Spontaneity 157-158 training, Spontaneofs behavior creative, 211-2I2 fostering, 209-2I0
initiatinn ?12-21"
t l t t \ t v \ l l l J !

S o u n d s ,i m i t a t i o n of, in verbal imitationtraining, 92-94

\nankrnn lh I I

for tantrums, 30 Speech expressive, definitionof, 133 r e c e p t i v ed , efinition of, 133 S p e e d ,i m i t a t i o n of, in verbal imitationtraining,98 1,0 9 - 1 1 0 S t i m u l u sg e n e r a l i z a t i o n Store, managingchild in, training for, 188 S t o r yt i m e , 2 0 6 - 2 0 7 181-183 S y n t a x ,t e a c h i n g ,

T
toy selecTactileself-stimulation, tion to reduce,106 Talk 149-151 echolalic, 150-151 overcoming, psychotic, 151-152 152 overcoming, Tantrums recording of, 40 duration 29-3I excessive,

87 Teacher at home,219 and parent,cooperation between,2I9 playing,20I-202 transferring controlof child fromhometo,2I7 -218 objects Three-dimensional generalized, matching of, with generalized two-dimenrepresentations, sional 77-78 of,72-76 matching identical, matching of, with identical repretwo-dimensional 77 sentations, teaching, Time concepts, 177-178 Time-out disruptive for eliminating 54 behaviors, behavdisruptive for managing ior in classroom,232 16, 77,22 as punishment, 30 for tantrums, Il9-722 daytime, training, Toilet 33 Tokens,as motivators, teachof frustration, Tolerance, ing, 190 teaching, Toothbrushing, 129-131 nose Touching language in earlyreceptive 83 training, imitationtrainingfor, 63-64 Toys playing with, teaching, - 102 101 of, 105-107 selection 103-104 Tracing, teaching, Training,imitation,61-69 see alsoImitationtraining Trials 2I-22 shaping, in behavior teaching in behavioral discrete, program, 237 objects Two-dimensional of, 77 generalized, matching three-dimento generalized TT-78 objects, sional

,ro

Two-dimensional objectscontinued identical, matching of,76 with three-dlmenslonal ob!ects,77

tion to reduce,106 Vocalizations bringingundertemporalconhol, in verbalimitatlon training,97-92 increasing, in verbalimitation

Words, imitatlonof, in verbal imitationtralning, 94-97 Work independent, in maxishaping, inmizingindividual

u
Undressing, teaching,123-724 V Verbalimitation, 89-98 Verbalinstructions, following, 81-88 Vestibular toy self-stlmulation, selection to reduce, 106-107 toy selecVlsualself-stimulation,

Vorume, llll'll3;]fl 3l,ou, ',",- ,"ohu::1;i'.?;,?'3"ffi,", tationtrainlng,9T-98 program, teaching

Volunteers, for maximizing individualinstruction, use of,226 238-239 World, expanding child's, L85-243 Writing,teaching,105

W Y "Whatam I doing?", teaching, . 148 "What do you want?",teaching, 747-742 "What is it?", teaching, 141 Yes/no training,179-180

890'

Index