Presented by Lauren Askew

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A Functional Approach toTeaching Young
Children Language

• Presented by Lauren Askew Ethan Long, Ph.D.,
  BCBA
• The Bay School
• April 27, 2006

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May Institute

• Provide educational consultation, behavioral
  healthcare, rehabilitation services

• 50 years working with students with challenging
  behavior

• School Consultation Services to 200 systems per
  year

• Identified as one of Americas Best Non-Profits

• Recipient of DOE School of Excellence award

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May Institute

• Research-based services with proven effectiveness

• Over 1,500 presentations since 1978

• Over 300 published peer-reviewed articles

• Behavior support practices endorsed by the U.S.
  DOE

• Doctoral- and masters-level professional staff

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May Institute in California

• The Bay School the newest May Center for
  Child Dev

• Nonpublic school serving children ages 5-21 with
  autism

• Early Intervention program serving birth to three

• Developing school consultation to support school
  districts

• Located in Santa Cruz www.thebayschool.org

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A Special Thank You!

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Why Classify Language?

• The same word has many meanings based upon the
  conditions in which it was learned
• Definition of words are determined by the
  functional category
• Many children with Autism have difficulty
  building a verbal repertoires that includes each
  of the categories for the same word
• Categories are functionally independent, and
  children have to learn to transfer the word to
  the other categories

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Where Do You Begin?

• Teach language in each category
• Transfer language from known categories into the
  unknown categories
• Teach fluency
• Teach with varied Sds

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Who Can This Help?

• Children who are non-verbal
• PECS
• Objects
• Sign Language
• Children with verbal communication
• Vocalization
• Children with Apraxia
• Fill-Ins

• You want to start with a form of communication in
  which the child understands the stimuli
• For children who are just starting to produce
  vocal language, you often want to start with a
  non-verbal method
• You can use a combination of communication systems

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Functional Categories of Language

• Mand
• Requests
• Tact
• Labels
• Receptive
• Instructions e.g., Bring me Do this
• Intraverbal
• Item not present e.g., nursery rhymes

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Functional Categories of Language

• While the following are not categories of
  Language, they are still very vital pieces of
  teaching
• Echoics
• Motor Imitation
• Feature, Function, Class (FFC)

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Feature, Function, Class FFCs
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Functional Categories of Language
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Echoics

• Essential to teach complex verbal language
• Used as a prompting technique
• Used to shape articulation
• Used in correction procedure

• Examples
• Say ba/ ba
• What is it? Cookie/ cookie
• ooeee/ ooeee
• Cooeee/ Cooeee

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Example of Echoic
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Example of Echoic
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Mands Requests

• I talk, I get
• Occur when motivation for an item is strong
• Usually the first form of verbal behavior
  acquired
• Produces immediate and specific reinforcement
• Inappropriate Manding

• Examples
• Grabbing a cookie
• Handing you a picture of cookie
• Sign language request for cookie
• Verbal request for cookie, Cookie
• A child standing in front of the cabinet where
  the cookies are kept and screaming

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Example of Mand (Plumb Banana)
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Receptive Instruction

• Incorporate multiple Discriminative Stimuli
• Find the
• Touch the
• Give me
• Bring me

• Examples
• Touch the cookie
• Give me the cookie
• Eat the cookie
• Put the cookie under the table
• Bring me the cookies
• Throw the cookie away
• Dip the cookie in milk
• Bite the cookie

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Example of Receptive (Actions)
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Example of Receptive (Table Work)
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Tacts Labels

• Requires Social Reinforcement
• Includes
• Nouns
• Adjectives
• Pronouns
• Actions
• Relationships
• Many children have more tacts than mands
• Tact Extension

• Examples
• What is it? Cookie
• Is it a big cookie or a little cookie? Big
  Cookie
• Who has the cookie? She does
• What am I doing to the cookie? Eating
• Where is the cookie? In the bag

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Example of Tact (Pictures Books)
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Intraverbal Item Not Present

• Object is not present
• Answering WH questions
• Controlled by what another person says
• Many children have weaknesses in intraverbal
  language

• Examples
• Rote Counting
• Nursery Rhymes/ Songs
• What did you do at school today?
• What animal says, moo (cow not present)
• Name some foods
• Where are the cookies (you are not in kitchen)?
• Who made you cookies (mom is not present)?

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Example of Intraverbal
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Functional Categories of Language
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Functional Categories of Language
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Functional Categories of Language
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Functional Categories of Language
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Part II Teaching Mands
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How Do We Begin?

• What is the child interested in?
• What are the childs self-stimulating behaviors?
• What motivates the child?
• Is the child motivated by others?
• How is the child currently communicating?
• Will the child follow simple directions?
• Does the child ask for items that they want?

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What if My Child is Not Interested?

• Use their Self-Stimulating Behaviors
• How can I make these functional?
• How can I incorporate myself into them?
• What parts can they mand for?
• What if my child is not into foods?
• Look at what they spend most of the time doing

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Sensory Information From Activities

• Linear movement
• Drawing
• Ribbons up and down
• Visual Stimulation
• Tops
• Wheels on cars
• Smell
• Smelly Markers
• Scratch and Sniff Stickers

• Taste
• Sweet/Sour/Salty
• Sound
• Books with music
• Song clips
• Movement
• Pulling wagon
• Pushing you on bike
• Trampoline

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Getting Ready to Start

• Pair new items
• Teach in the childs everyday environment
• Set up the environment to make every moment a
  teaching moment

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PAIR! PAIR! PAIR!

• It is imperative at the beginning, and throughout
  training, to pair novel stimuli with those
  established reinforcing stimuli
• Pair new caregivers, teachers, staff
• Pair new toys
• Pair new activities
• Pair non-preferred activities
• We need to build an EO for these items so that
  the child will want to play with them AND
  communicate for them!

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Using the Childs Motivation

• Establishing Operations Principle
• Temporarily increase the effectiveness/value of
  the reinforcer
• Temporarily increase the behaviors that have been
  consequated by that reinforcer in the past
• Satiation
• Deprivation
• Competing EO

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Why do I Need to Pair?

• If Real World items (toys, games, people) are
  not reinforcing to the child, we will only have
  an EO for the child to talk when hes in this
  artificial environment (sitting at a table) with
  artificial stimuli (pictures) and artificial
  reinforcers (videos, candy, treats)
• In other words, if you can pair items that are
  already established as reinforcing with
  non-preferred items you will be able to create
  more conditioned reinforcers
• Vail, T Freeman, D. (2002), p.15. Employee
  Training Manual. Mariposa School. Cary, NC.

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How do I Pair New Items?

• Things to remember before you start
• This is not at a table
• Pair in the natural environment
• It does NOT look like work!!
• Avoid demands and questions!
• This is fun!!
• Be a participant!
• Be silly! Be animated!

• Pick a reinforcing activity
• Start introducing new item
• In the room (no demands)
• Play near the item
• Start playing with the item during the
  reinforcing activity
• Transfer item so that they are reinforcing on
  their own
• When they mand for the item, then you can start
  introducing demands

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Examples of Pairing

• Deep pressure hugs (reinforcing)/ Books
  (non-preferred item)
• Books (reinforcing)/ Farm (new item)
• Visual Stims (reinforcing)/ Bay Blade (new item)
• New Items
• Blocks
• Train
• Toy Car
• Doll

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Pairing a New Teacher
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Pairing (Non-preferred Activity)
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Getting Ready to Start

• Pair new items
• Teach in the childs everyday environment
• Set up the environment to make every moment a
  teaching moment

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Teaching in the Everyday Environment

• Examples
• Bath time
• Reading a book
• Swing
• Singing a song

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Teaching in the Everyday Environment

• What I will not do
• Place a lot of demands at first
• Ask questions
• Work
• Take materials and do DTT outside

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Getting Ready to Start

• Pair new items
• Teach in the childs everyday environment
• Set up the environment to make every moment a
  teaching moment

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Setting up the Environment

• Select items that you can control
• Amount
• Duration
• Ease to remove or deliver
• Multiple opportunities for delivery
• Make reinforcement contingent upon instruction

• Examples
• Hanging bags of snacks on the wall
• Putting toys in Tupperware containers
• Put him on a swing but make him ask for push
• Pull out the bubbles, but make him ask you to
  blow

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Setting up the Environment (Juice)
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So, Lets Start Teaching
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Manding (Bubbles)
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Points to Consider

• Begin teaching one word mands
• Avoid teaching adjectives and pleasantries
• Avoid using Yes/No questions
• Select words that are reinforcing
• Select words that are already familiar to the
  child

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Teaching Techniques

• Mix and Vary Tasks and Avoid Mass Trialing
• Reduces problem behavior
• Enhances generalization
• Increase acquisition of skills
• How to?
• Present tasks one after another
• Mix skill areas during intensive teaching
  sessions
• Incorporate items that easy (mastered) and
  difficult (targets)

• Fast Paced Instruction
• Higher rates of correct responses
• Less task avoidance
• How to?
• Decrease intervals between SDs
• Use errorless learning to insure quicker
  responding

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Errorless Teaching

• Increases the number of correct responses
• Lowers task avoidance and problem behavior
• How to?
• Prompt before incorrect responses
• Fade prompt quickly
• Prompt within 3 seconds
• Avoid No, No Prompt procedure

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Errorless Teaching
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Teaching a Child to Use Vocal Mands

• Fillin to mand transfer
• In Blow bubble, Blow ___
• St Bubbles
• In What do you want?
• St. Bubbles
• Echoic
• In Do this clap hands
• St. Clap hands
• In Do this- Ball
• St. Ball
• In Say Ball
• St Ball

• Echo to mand transfer
• In What do you want? Ball
• St Ball
• In What do you want?
• St. Ball
• Transfer to new question
• In What do you want?
• St Ball
• In Do you want ball or cookie?
• St Ball

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Teaching a Child to Use Vocal Mands

• Pure Mands
• In What do you want?
• St Cookie
• In Look expectantly
• St Cookie
• Only asks for visible items
• In What do you want?
• St Cookie
• In (hide cookie behind you)
• What do you want?
• St Cookie
• - Gradually move item to place where it is
  usually kept

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Correction Procedure

• Correction Procedure
• Prompt within 2/3 Seconds
• Ask the question again and you prompt the answer
• Ask the question
• Ask the question again to get answer with no
  prompt.
• Mix in easy distracter trials
• Ask the question again

• Correction Procedure
• In What do you want?
• St no response
• In What do you want? Ball
• In What do you want?St Ball
• In What do you want?
• St. Ball

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Correction Procedure
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References

• Cohen, S. (1998). Targeting Autism. Berkeley
  University of California Press.
• Martin, G. Pear, J. (1999). Behavior
  modification What it is and how to do it. New
  Jersey Prentice Hall.
• Skinner, B. F. (1957). Verbal Behavior.
  Massachusetts Copley Publishing Group.
• Vail, T. Freeman, D. (2002). Employee training
  manual Verbal behavior training seminars. Cary
  The Mariposa School.

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Contact Information

• www.thebayschool.orgThe Bay School 5400
  Soquel AvenueSuite FSanta Cruz, CA, 95062
• T 831-462-9620 F 831-462-4786