THE ART OF ASKING

1. THE ART OF ASKING Strategies to teach simple and complex requests Adeline Low University of Houston – Clear Lake

2. Overview • Language (requesting) • Motivation • Simple requests • Choosing first words • Teaching simple requests • Eliminating prompts • Building complex request frames • Intermission • Complex requests • Rationale and importance • Prompting • Teaching complex requests • Language based environment • Take-home message

3. Language • Language • Critical for successful navigation • Taught by others in the environment • Categories (Skinner, 1957) • Echoic • Mand: REQUESTS • Tact • Intraverbal

4. Why Teach Requests First? • Rewarding to the speaker • Allows the leaner have some control over his/her environment • Potentially assist in decreasing problem behaviors • Directly benefits the learner • Capitalize on our learner’s motivation for a given item when teaching to request • KEY: ensuring that the learner is motivated to gain access to the item (Sundberg & Michael, 2002)

5. Motivation (Communication Temptation) • Motivation for items constantly changes • Affects the value of the item • Individuals try harder to engage in a behavior when the motivation exists

6. Capturing Motivation LEARNER TEACHER Navigate around the environment Observe for signs of interest Sees an interesting toy and reaches out for it Block access and require a response. Prompt if necessary “Train” Provide access to toy Gets toy train

7. Creating Motivation LEARNER TEACHER Place highly preferred toys on a high shelf Require a response. Prompt if necessary “Train” Provide access to toy Gets toy train

8. Ideas For Creating Motivation • Bowl of ice cream without spoon • Glass without liquid in it • Coloring book without crayons • Play a game and stop abruptly • Computer but turned off • Bread with no peanut butter • Stand in the doorway when child wants to go out • Puzzles with one missing piece

9. Considerations • Assessment • Determine learner’s existing language repertoire • Response selection • Speech • Signs • Pictures (PECS) • Using prompts (helpful cues) • Use as little as necessary • Deciding on types of prompts • Based on the learner’s history • Ways to introduce and eliminate prompts • Key: Get highest quality response with the least amount of prompting • Immediacy • Deliver reward immediately after the emission of the target response

10. Choosing First Words • Words that are for rewards • Words that the learner is familiar with • Relatively short and easy words • Words that occur frequently in the learner’s environment • Avoid words that rhyme • Avoid words that are linked to non-preferred activity/items

11. Teaching Simple Requests ANTECEDENT BEHAVIOR CONSEQUENCE • Motivation • Verbal prompt • to respond • Presence of • object • Echoic prompt Vocal response • Given the object • Descriptive praise • Physical contact

12. Teaching Simple Requests ANTECEDENT BEHAVIOR CONSEQUENCE • Hunger • “What do you • want?” • Presence of • cookie • “Say ‘cookie’” “Cookie” • Given cookie • “You said • ‘cookie!’” • Tickles, hug etc.

13. Eliminating Prompts • Should be done systematically • Begin when learner consistently responds following a specified prompt • Progressive prompt delay • Select most effective prompt • Progressively delay the delivery of prompt • Provide reward for both prompted and independent responses • However, provide more of the reward for independent responses than prompted ones

14. Eliminating Prompts ANTECEDENT BEHAVIOR CONSEQUENCE • Hunger • “What do you want?” • Presence of cookie • “Say ‘cookie’” “Cookie” • Given cookie • “You said ‘cookie!’” • Tickles, hug etc.

15. Eliminating Prompts ANTECEDENT BEHAVIOR CONSEQUENCE • Hunger • “What do you want?” • Presence of cookie • “Say ‘cookie’” “Cookie” • Given cookie • “You said ‘cookie!’” • Tickles, hug etc.

16. Eliminating Prompts ANTECEDENT BEHAVIOR CONSEQUENCE • Hunger • “What do you want?” • Presence of cookie • “Say ‘cookie’” “Cookie” • Given cookie • “You said ‘cookie!’” • Tickles, hug etc.

17. True Simple Request ANTECEDENT BEHAVIOR CONSEQUENCE Hunger “Cookie” Given cookie

18. Teaching “I want…” • For more advanced learners: those who can request independently • Always remember the MOTIVATION • Only reward full sentences • Gradually add on more words to expand the request frame

19. Prompting “I want …” LEARNER TEACHER Motivation for toy “Doll” No reward Prompt: “Say, ‘I want doll’” “I want doll” Receives toy Provides reward (doll)

20. INTERMISSION

21. Requests and Motivation (Recap) • Request • Occurs when the learner is motivated for an item • Specifies the desired/needed item • Motivation • Momentary increase or decrease in the value of an item • Evokes responses that have previously produced access to that item

22. Complex Request • Complex request = asking questions (request for information) • Occur due to high motivation for information • Specifies certain information as the reward • Reward for asking questions • The information itself • Outcome that the information allows the individual to achieve • Benefits • Expansion of language repertoire • Quicker and more efficient problem solving

23. Complex Request • Prerequisites • Extensive labeling repertoire • Extensive simple requests repertoire • Developing conversational repertoire • Necessary skills • Identification of necessary information and target person • Formulation of reasonable and understandable question • Initial targets • Information leads to access to powerful rewards • Avoid questions that produce social information

24. Complex Request • What is it? • Where is it? • Who has it? • When? • How do I?

25. Key Points • Ask question (request for information)  Gain information • Identification of “trigger” and reward for each question • Do not provide other forms of rewards • Ensure information is valuable

26. Prompting • Progressive Prompt Delay • Select most effect prompt • Initially, deliver prompt immediately (0s delay) • Progressively delay the delivery of prompt • Begin when the learner consistently emit the response following the prompt • Delay of prompts should be individualized • Provide reward for both prompted and independent responses

27. Question: “What is it?” Known picture Correct Reward “Tell me what you see on the table” Label Incorrect No reward Unknown picture “What is it?” Information provided

28. Question: “Where is it?” Place highly preferred item in a bag Remove item Item in bag “Where is it?” Learner opens bag Information provided Find item (rewarded) Find item (rewarded)

29. Question: “Who has it?” “Where is it?” Information provided – “Someone has it” Information provided – location of item “Who has it?” Find item (rewarded) Information provided – Person who has the item Find item (rewarded)

30. Question: “When?” Request for item “You will have it in a while” “You can have it right now” “When?” Gets item (rewarded) Information provided Successfully waits Gets item (rewarded)

31. Question: “How do I …?” Known steps Instruct learner to perform a multiple steps activity Correct Reward Performs steps Incorrect No reward Unknown steps “How do I do it?” Information provided

32. Language Based Environment • Incorporated into all activities • Multiple daily language opportunities • Training across individuals • Consistency • Arrange for opportunities to request in new situations • Plan for orderly progression to more complex forms of language

33. Take-Home Message • Motivation is KEY • Eliminate prompts as soon as possible • Consistency in response requirement • Provide multiple opportunities to practice requesting • Practice practice practice (Practice makes perfect!)

34. References Endicott, K., & Higbee, T. S. (2007). Contriving motivating operations to evoke mands for information in preschoolers with autism. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders,1, 210-217. Esbenshade, P. D., & Rosales-Ruiz, J. (2001). Programming common stimuli to promote generalized question-asking: A case demonstration in a child with autism. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 3, 199-210. Greer, R. D., & Ross, D. E. (2008). Basic teaching operations for early speaker functions. In Verbal behavior analysis: Inducing and expanding new verbal capabilities in children with language delays (pp. 112-163). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. Koegel, L. K. (1995). Communication and language intervention. In R. L. Koegel & L. K. Koegel (Eds.), Teaching children with autism: Strategies for initiating positive interactions and improving learning opportunities (pp. 17-32). York, PA: The Maple Press Co. Lechago, S. A., Carr, J. E., Grow, L. L., Love J. R., & Almason, S. M. (2010). Mands for information generalize across establishing operations. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 43, 381-395. LeBlanc, L. A., Dillon, C. M., & Sautter, R. A. (2009). Establishing mand and tact repertoire. In R. Rehfeldt & Y. Barnes-Holmes (Eds.), Derived relational responding: Application for learners with autism and other developmental disabilities (pp. 79-108). Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, Inc. Micheal, J. (1988). Establishing operations and the mand. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 6, 3-9.

35. References Skinner, B. F. (1957). Verbal behavior. New York, NY: Appleton-Century-Crofts. Sundberg, M. L., Loeb, M., Hale, L., & Eigenheer, P. (2002). Contriving establishing operations to teach mands for information. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 18, 15-29. Sundberg, M. L., & Partington, J. W. (1998). Teaching language to children with autism or other developmental disabilities. Concord, CA: AVB Press. Taylor, B. A., & Harris, S. L. (1995). Teaching children with autism to seek information: Acquisition of novel information and generalization of responding. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 28, 3-14. Williams, G., Donley, C. R., & Keller, J. W. (2000). Teaching children with autism to ask questions about hidden objects. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 33, 627-630. Williams, G., Perez-Gonzalez, L. A., & Vogt, K. (2003). The role of specific consequences in the maintenance of three types of questions. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 36, 285-296.