THE RESPONSEPSY 3570: Practicum with Special Populations
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Correct or Incorrect Response One line on the monitoring form
But that doesn’t mean it’s not important Most important part of the trial Correct responses lead to reinforcement Incorrect responses are teaching
opportunities There are many different types of
responses
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Verbal Responses
We have a few different types of procedures requiring a vocal response Echoics (IM Words/IM Prases) Manding (Child-specific) Tacting (Label objects, noun/verb) Intraverbals (Sentence completion)
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Verbal Responses
Why do verbal responses require more attention? Shaping/Differential Reinforcement Many of the children cannot enunciate the
responses very well Your job is to determine if each utterance was
correct, or at least an acceptable approximation Consistently requiring approximations that are
closer and closer to the desired terminal response should result in clear, correct responses over time (example on next slide)
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Shaping Up the Word “Bubbles”1. Child says “buh” YES/REINFORCE
(first close approximation – keep reinforcing until you have a different closer approximation)
2. Child says “muh” NO/DON’T REINFORCE (different but not a closer approximation)
3. Child says “buh buh” YES/REINFORCE (different and a closer approximation)
4. Child says “bah” after already saying “buh buh” DON’T REINFORCE because we are only accepting the response “buh buh” or closer approximation to “bubbles” at this point
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Selection Responses
An SD denotes the correct stimuli/action, and the child must select that response out of the available options ID objects, Direction Following, ID body
parts, etc. Wait for a clear, distinct response to be
made Watch out for scrolling
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Matching Responses
There is a sample stimulus presented and the child must select a corresponding stimulus from an array
The sample stimulus will be placed next to, or on top of, the corresponding stimulus We don’t necessarily care about topography, as
long as it is clear that the match has been made For example, the child may pick up the picture on the
desk and hold the matching pictures together in his hands
Check with your supervisors if you are unsure if a topography is acceptable
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Multi-Component Responses Some responses have more than one part to
them, which can make distinguishing between correct and incorrect responses confusing
In these cases, reading the procedure carefully will be the best thing you can do Does each component have to be independent? Can prompting be provided for some steps? Providing social reinforcement for intermediate
steps
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Sustained Responses
Some procedures require that a response be maintained for a certain amount of time Box work, bike, etc.
In these cases, the response is only correct if the response is maintained the whole time with no interruptions However, some procedures allow a certain
number of prompts to be given before a response is considered incorrect
ALWAYS READ THE PROCEDURE CAREFULLY
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“Non” Responses
Some procedures even SEEM to require the lack of a response in order to receive reinforcement Quiet hands, Sit Quietly, etc
In these cases, the response is only correct if no other behaviors “interrupt” the desired behavior
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Common Issues - Scrolling
Scrolling The child might “try” every response in an
attempt to find the right one and get reinforcement Why?
Make sure to only reinforce distinct responses
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Common Issues - Indiscriminate responses
Sometimes it’s hard to determine if a response was correct or incorrect Make a quick decision, and react
accordingly Call over a supervisor if one is available Inform the SC, TA, or supervisor if patterns
develop