Behaviour Support Services
Prompting - Types and Levels
Part 2 Resource Package
NOTE: This package consists of strategies which may or may not assist in responding to behaviour. It is provided for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice or treatment from a qualified behaviour clinician.
Types of Prompts
Prompts are a way of teaching a new skill to someone, with the ultimate goal for the skill to be performed independently one day.
1. Stimulus Prompts – occurs when the stimulus within the instruction is altered to encourage a correct response.
Examples: asking an individual to “press the button” or “find a coloured item” using a visual prompt, fading or contrasting the colour, exaggeration of the size of an item in a picture, positioning an item closer, or even placing highlights or stickers on the item itself.
Fading Contrast Positioning
2. Response Prompts - are presented in addition to the instruction to encourage correct responding.
Examples: asking an individual to “roll the ball”, while using a physical prompt to have the individual’s hand roll the ball forward. Thus, the instruction is stated at the same time the ball starts rolling. Also asking, “print your name” or “tie your shoes”, while offering a prompt to aid responding.
Commonly Used Response Prompts
The learner is manually guided through an entire task using hand over hand prompting
Partial
Physical Prompt Full Verbal Prompt Partial Verbal (Phonetic) Prompt Model Prompt Gesture Prompt
The learner is provided partial assistance through physical guidance for part of a task
The learner is provided with the entire word, sentence or specific response for the SD presented
The learner is provided with part of the correct verbal response, such as a phonetic sound or one word of the full sentence
The learner observes the task being completed correctly, live or through video
The learner is provided a cue by gesturing toward objects, pointing or nodding of head
The learner may be provided with a picture, drawing, textual or other written cue
Provides prompts after a specific amount of time has lapsed (e.g. 1 second, 5 seconds, etc.)
• The use of prompting can be helpful when teaching tasks, including new and difficult skills, or simply improving the thoroughness and independence of a partially-learned skill.
• Always consider the skill being taught, the support required to complete the skill, individualize any prompts used, be consistent, then fade your prompts with success!
• Remember: the goal of prompting procedures is to produce the highest level of independent correct responding with the least amount of resources.
Full Physical Prompt
Positional
Visual
Provides a cue by placing the materials in a specific order, position, or location to ensure the object is more apparent in the presence of the SD Time
Prompt
Prompt
Delay
Most-to-Least
Time Delay
Prompt Levels
Verbal
Gesture
Least-to-Most Prompting
Most-to-Least Prompting
Involves teaching a skill by starting with the most intrusive prompt to ensure the correct response, to avoid errors. The intrusiveness of the prompts are faded when the learner shows success.
Example: when making a sandwich, you would begin with offering a full-physical assistance to butter the bread; then next time offer partial-physical assistance to position the knife etc.
Occurs when the individual is provided with an opportunity to independently respond to the instruction. If no response or an incorrect response, a more intrusive prompt will be provided. The intrusiveness of the prompt increases until the individual engages in a correct response.
Example: If the instruction “sit down” is being taught, the prompt hierarchy may include a 5 second time delay, a positional prompt (moving chair next to individual), a gesture prompt (pointing to the chair), a model prompt (staff sits in chair), a partial-physical prompt (manual guidance from the shoulders) and then full-physical prompt to help sit down.
Full Physical
Time Delay
Verbal
Modeling Modeling
Partial Physical Partial Physical
Least-to-Most
Gesture
Full Physical
Graduated guidance prompts the skill that would be taught using cues within the physical continuum only
Example: When teaching how to grasp a pencil - only full, then partial-physical is used to prompt grasping the pencil.
Extra Considerations
Have a conversation with the individual and/or their caregiver’s about:
• Their comfort with prompting – in general • Types and levels of prompts to use • What prompts would look like – demonstrate on caregiver and role play implementation • How the individual protests, declines or terminates a touch
Secure informed consent or assent prior to: • Entering an individual’s personal space • Touching an individual • Full-Physical prompting (a.k.a. ‘hand-over-hand’) • Prompting during hygiene or self-care routines
Consider: • Sensory sensitivities • Cultural differences • Trauma background •
The reinforcing nature or aversive nature of touch • How to fade prompts – as independence is the end goal!
• The caregiver using ‘hand-under-hand’ prompting = the individual’s hands are on top of the caregivers
Reference: https://datafinch.com/prompt-hierarchy-aba/
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