G-8: Design and implement procedures to fade stimulus and response prompts (e.g., prompt delay, stimulus fading) ©
Want this as a downloadable PDF? Click here!
Want a self-paced video course that covers all the test content and more? Click here!
Target Terms: prompt fading, prompt delay, stimulus fading
Prompt delay
Definition: Prompt delay – gradually increasing the amount of time between the Sd (or the stimulus you are conditioning as the Sd) and the prompt. This gives the learner time to respond.
Example: Prompt delay – Patricia is learning to tact the color “blue”. The first trial, the therapist shows her a blue ball and immediately provides the model prompt “blue”. The next trial the therapist shows Patricia the blue ball, and waits three seconds before providing the prompt “blue”. The third trial, the therapist shows Patricia the blue ball, and waits six seconds, but after 5 seconds Patricia says “blue”. The therapist provides high quality praise.
Stimulus fading
Definition: Stimulus fading – gradually remove/reduce the presence of a stimulus prompt until the response is under the control of the stimulus that needs to be the Sd.
Example: Stimulus fading – Indy is working on putting away folded clothes in the dresser she shares with her sister. Indy mixes up her drawers and her sister’s drawers. Indy’s dad puts a 2 inch long orange mark in Expo marker on Indy’s drawers and explains that her drawers are the “orange drawers”. Each day she correctly puts away her clothes, her dad removes about a quarter inch of the line, until there is no line left. Indy is now able to put away her folded clothes independently.
Think critically about prompt hierarchies…
You may be familiar with prompt hierarchies. They often include a pyramid visual to depict more intrusive to less instructive prompting. The idea if that the less intrusive the prompt is, the closer to independence the learner’s skill is. This can make sense, but use clinical judgement for each case!
Consider re-thinking prompting and independence. People may not gain full independence for all skills. It may be a case of choosing the best (safest/more dignified) prompt for the context. It’s also important to consider the prompts that are more likely to be offered by non-staff members of the community.
Many people might consider that a skill under gestural prompt is “closer to independence” than if it were under the control of a vocal prompt.
BUT…
Consider the case of an adult with Autism who needs help moving through the steps of using the bathroom. Would it be more helpful to respond to vocal prompts from a staff member speaking from outside the bathroom stall, or responding to gestural prompts from a staff member in the stall with the client?
Or, consider the skill of entering a debit card PIN at the grocery store. If a client does not do this on their own, it is likely that the cashier will vocally (not gesturally) prompt them. We want the client’s skills to matter in real life.