Teaching Methods Sped 248
- 1. Teaching Methods: Students with ASD Mary E. McDonald, Ph.D., BCBA Hofstra University
- 2. Direct vs. Naturalistic Approaches Direct Instruction DTI Choral responding Scripted curriculum Explicit instruction with response prompting Teacher initiated and directed Little student participation Naturalistic Strategies Incidental teaching Time delay Expectancy Expansions Curriculum is not set Student initiated Active student participation
- 3. Relevance for ASD Direct instruction is often warranted in the initial stages of teaching for most students with ASD. They do well with DI- as they learn information that is typically concrete in nature and through repetition and practice. Later, once skills become acquired students move onto more naturalistic strategies
- 4. Naturalistic Strategies also referred to as “milieu” teaching, involve planned episodes of brief adult-child interaction that take advantage of naturally occurring reinforcers in the course of ongoing activities and routines (Halle, Alpert, & Anderson, 1984). Naturalistic strategies were originally designed to promote generalization of communication skills from therapy settings to natural environments. However, these strategies have also proven effective across developmental domains for teaching new skills as well as improving existing ones. Four variations of naturalistic instruction include: Incidental Teaching Modeling Expansions Naturalistic time delay
- 5. Naturalistic Strategy Incidental Teaching Definition: Incidental teaching is an instructional strategy in which the adult uses child initiations during ongoing activities as opportunities to have the child elaborate on their request or use a higher level of communication to request. Incidental teaching was first developed as a way to promote generalization of communication skills from therapy to classroom settings (Hart & Risley, 1968), but it has since proven effective in teaching a broad range of skills to children with a variety of disabilities (Kaiser, Yoder, & Keetz, 1992). Example: An adult joins a child engaged with a barn, the child reaches toward the adult to gain access to a cow. The adult says “cow”, child repeats “cow” and adult gives the child the cow. Incidental teaching involves having the child use a higher level of communication to request items (e.g., from a point to one word from one word to two words etc…).
- 6. Naturalistic Strategy Modeling Definition: The concept of modeling (Bandura, 1965) as an instructional strategy is derived from research suggesting that typical children tend to imitate the behavior of children and adults who are significant to them, especially when therefore, such behavior is reinforced. One of the primary rationales for the inclusion movement, is that children with special needs will learn from the behavior of non-disabled peers (Peck & Cooke, 1983). For such learning to occur, children with disabilities must be aware of the behavior of their peers (Bailey & Wolery, 1992). The target behavior must, of course, be one the child is capable of imitating. Given these prerequisites, modeling has been used successfully with young children with disabilities to improve communication, motor, social and play skills. Example: At snack time, a child who does not consistently use a spoon is seated across from a favorite peer or sibling who uses a spoon correctly. An adult serves tiny portions of pudding to each child. The child modeling spoon feeding is reinforced verbally and with offers of more pudding following correct use of the spoon.
- 7. Video modeling Student observes behavior on video and imitates the behavior Can be used for a variety of skills including social skills
- 8. Naturalistic Strategy Expansions Definition: An adult responds to a child’s verbal initiations with a verbal model that is slightly more grammatically complete than what the child was using, building on the child’s present level of communicative competency. Example: For a child working on using action words, while looking at a favorite picture book, when child points and says, “Piggy!,” the adult replies, “Piggy eating!”
- 9. Naturalistic Strategy Time Delay & Expectancy Definition: During a familiar routine, an adult skips a step or pauses between steps and looks expectantly to the child for a set period of time (also called “wait time”). If the child initiates a response, the routine continues. If not, the adult models the expected behavior before the routine continues. A variation of this procedure, called “violation of expectancy” (Bailey & Wolery, 1992), involves the adult performing a step in the familiar routine that is out of sequence, incorrect, or incomplete. This strategy has been used to increase social interaction, communicative initiations, and independence. Example # 1: Time Delay - While singing “This Old Man,” the adult pauses 3 seconds after the phrase, “He played---?” to allow the child to respond with the appropriate number in sequence. Example # 2: Violation of Expectancy - While helping a parent set the table for a family of three, a child is given three plates but only two sets of utensils.
- 10. Activity-based Instruction ABI is considered to be a child-directed approach to intervention because of the emphasis on following the child’s interests and actions. The first element of ABI is the use of routine, planned, or child-initiated activities. The supporting premise is that “activity and actions initiated by children are more likely to engage and maintain their attention and involvement than activity and actions initiated by adults” (Pretti-Frontczak et al., 2003, p. 11). Once a child has initiated an action, the adult follows the child’s lead whenever possible to encourage and expand on the initiation.
- 11. Activity-based Instruction The second element of ABI involves embedding a child’s individual goals or objectives in routine, planned, or child-initiated activities. Routine activities are those events that occur on a predictable basis at home or at school. Examples at home could include eating, dressing, toileting, bathing, or bedtime routines. In an educational setting, routines could include arrival, circle time, transitions, snack, centers, or recess. Bricker et al. (1998) define embedding as “a procedure in which children’s goals or objectives are included in an activity or event in a manner that expands, modifies, or is integral to the activity/event in a meaningful way” (p. 13).
- 12. Planned activities are those that generally happen with adult guidance and participation. Examples might include making cookies, reading a story, or playing a group game. Child-initiated activities are selected by the child for their interest and appeal and require little adult support or reinforcement.
- 13. Activity-based Instruction The third element of the ABI approach involves using logically occurring antecedents and consequences. Antecedents can be thought of as the actions or events that precede a target behavior, whereas consequences are those that follow the behavior. Logically occurring antecedents are selected by the adult for the purpose of promoting a target child response in a meaningful context. For instance, an adult may choose snack time to attempt to promote verbal requesting from a child. In ABI, logical consequences generally involve completing a routine or planned activity. At times it may be necessary for the adult to become involved in ensuring that the logical consequence evolves from the child’s desired response.
- 14. Example Aaron is working on using multi-word phrases or sentences to make his wants and needs known. When it is his job at snack time to pass out napkins and utensils, the teacher uses a naturalistic teaching strategy combined with “wait time” to encourage Aaron to practice his target behavior. Ms. Dickerson passes out containers of pudding to the children, and then gives Aaron napkins and plastic knives to distribute. Aaron begins to give each child a napkin and a plastic knife. Shortly thereafter, the children begin to notice that they need spoons. One child tells Aaron he doesn’t need a knife. Aaron continues to pass out knives. Another child gets up and goes over to the teacher to report that the children need spoons. Ms. Dickerson prompts the child to “Tell Aaron; he’s the helper.” The child complies, and Aaron goes to the teacher, stands next to her, and waits for her to notice him. She turns and looks at Aaron expectantly but does not speak. Aaron looks back at the snack table, then says, “spoons.” Ms. Dickerson prompts, “Oh, the kids need spoons!” Aaron nods and repeats, “Kids need spoons.” Ms. Dickerson gives Aaron the spoons, and he takes them to the snack table, where some children cheer and others tell him “Thank you, Aaron!” as they dig in to their pudding.
- 15. Activity-based Instruction The fourth and final element of ABI is the selection of target skills that are functional and generative. Functional skills are those skills that allow children to “negotiate their physical and social environment in an independent and satisfying manner to themselves and others” (Bricker, Pretti-Frontczak, & McComas, 1998, p. 18). Generative skills are those acquired skills that a child uses or performs across different settings regardless of people, events, or materials. Bricker and her colleagues (1998) use the term generative to refer to “the child’s ability to make minor modifications in response to similar, but changing, conditions” (p. 18).
- 16. Selecting skills The first step is the administration of comprehensive curriculum-based assessment/evaluation tools.
- 17. Selecting skills The second step in selecting appropriate target skills is summarizing the results of the assessment in terms of interests, strengths (including emerging skills) and needs.
- 18. Selecting skills The third step is to target skills that are important. Skills to target should be: functional usable across settings, with different people and materials observable and measurable part of the child’s natural daily routine/ environment.
- 19. Selecting skills The fourth step in identifying appropriate goals and objectives involves prioritizing skills. It is recommended that teams target skills that match the child’s developmental level enhance the child’s repertoire of functional behaviors, appear to be skills the child would not develop without intervention. Skills that involve multiple domains and can be generalized across settings are appropriate priorities for goals or objectives.
- 20. Selecting skills The final step in selecting appropriate target skills is to develop written goals and objectives that are Observable Measurable and clearly understandable to team members. Assessment tools such as the AEPSi, HELP or Carolina Curriculum are organized into developmental strands that include goals and objectives. http://www.aepsinteractive.com/ (AEPSi) http://www.vort.com/products/help_overview.html (HELP) http://brookespublishing.com/store/books/johnson-martin/index.htm (Carolina)
- 21. Progress Next, in order for child progress to be measured two intervention criteria must be met: goals and objectives must be measurable and must be measured repeated opportunities for practicing targeted skills must be provided
- 22. Advantages of embedding goals and objectives into daily activities providing multiple practice opportunities for learning target skills within daily routines and activities, not having to pull children out of ongoing activities to work on their IFSP/IEP, compatibility with a variety of curricular approaches and different environments, capitalizing on the interests and inherent motivation of children when they are actively engaged, increasing the likelihood of successful implementation by involving family members, teachers, therapists, and other children in the intervention.