Prompts

The following infomation is about the use of prompts for students with ASD. Verbal prompts are the least intrusive of prompts. They can be ineffective for students with severe language delays. When using verbal prompts with students with ASD, less is more and the fewer words are used, the easier it often is for the child to process.


INDEPENDENT: The student knows how to do this task without any help from you.

INDIRECT VERBAL (IV): An indirect verbal prompt tells the student that something is expected but not exactly what. Example: "What next?" "Now what?" Start here when using the increasing hierarchy.

DIRECT VERBAL (DV): This is a direct statement of what we expect the student to do or say. Example: "Come here." "Put the glass on the counter." This level of prompt requires that the student be able to follow your direction. If the indirect verbal assist didn't work, move to this level.

GESTURE: Pointing, facial expression, mouthing words silently or otherwise indicating with a motion what you want the student to do.

MODELING: Modeling is simply showing the student what you want him or her to do. You do not physically touch the student. In order for modeling to work, the student must know how to imitate another person's actions.

PARTIAL PHYSICAL ASSIST (PPA): As the name suggests, a partial physical assist is less intense or intrusive than a full physical assist. If full physical assist is hand-over-hand, the partial physical assist can be visualized as providing minimal supportive guidance--touching the wrist to stabilize handwriting and encouraging the student to jump without actually lifting his or her body off the ground are two examples of providing PPA.

FULL PHYSICAL ASSIST (FPA): Hand-over-hand assistance to complete the targeted response. This is usually used when the target response is motor in nature. For example, a full physical assist might entail putting your hand on the student's hand and moving the student's hand through the action of writing his or her name. If the student is learning to jump up and down, providing a full physical assist would mean physically lifting the student up and down in a jumping motion. You will know before you start teaching if the student will need this type of assistance. If so, use the decreasing prompt hierarchy instead.

Information obtained from:
Homeschooling Kids With Disabilities. URL: http://www.members.tripod.com/~Maaja/
The Verbal Behavior Approach: How to Teach Children with Autism and Related ...
By Mary Barbera, Tracy