2020-06-17

Date recorded: June 2020

Developed by:
Nona Davis, MT
Sonia Stellato, M.ADS, BCBA

PURPOSE

ABA IN THE CLASSROOM This workshop will guide you on how to use
Getting Children with Autism Spectrum ABA strategies to teach children with ASD and
Disorder to Follow Instructions other developmental disabilities to follow
instructions in the classroom.
Presented by:
Laura Dignard. M.ADS, BCBA
Sonia Stellato, M.ADS, BCBA
This presents is for informational purposes only and does not constitute clinical or legal advice.
Follow up with a BCaBA/BCBA/BCBA-D is recommended to develop a specific plan for your child or
student.

TOPICS COVERED WHAT IS COMPLIANCE?

1. What is compliance?
2. What is reinforcement? From a behavioural perspective…
3. How to use reinforcement
4. Developing instructional control Compliance is following an
5. Strategies to use in the classroom instruction within
5-10 seconds

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WHY IS COMPLIANCE IMPORTANT WHY IS COMPLIANCE IMPORTANT

▪ For children with disabilities, it may be correlated with
▪ Common concern for teachers – 78% of teachers academic progress (Wehby and Lane, 2009)
identified “follows directions” as a very important and
▪ Noncompliance is correlated with a number of
essential kindergarten entry level skill (Gorrell, 2003)
psychiatric diagnoses later in life (Keenan and
▪ Noncompliance is a very common challenging
Wakschlag, 2000)
behaviour in children (McMahon & Forehand, 2003) ▪ Compliance is predictive of the frequency and
severity of problem behaviour later in development
▪ Compliance is a foundation skill for learning a variety (Keenan et al,, 1988)
of more complex social, academic, and self-care ▪ Important for safety reasons
skills (Lin, Lawrence, & Gorrell, 2003)
▪ Can result in stress and social isolation for parents

TYPES OF NON-COMPLIANCE

Passive Simple Refusal Direct Defiance Negotiation Passive

Noncompliance
• Does not complete
• Indicates with
words or gestures
they do not intend
• Display of hostility
or anger when
instructions are
• Attempts to bargain
or compromise Non-Compliance
task
• Not overtly on completing the given
noncompliant task • Overt resistance

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Simple Refusal Direct Defiance

UNDERSTANDING COMPLIANCE

Negotiation
Strong Good
Compliance
Motivation Reinforcers

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UNDERSTANDING
REINFORCEMENT IS KEY!
REINFORCEMENT
Motivation has two ▪ “If you don’t have good reinforcers and are not
states ▪ Motivation can working to establish them, you might as well go
change throughout home.”
Satiation the day - Ron Leaf
▪ For some learners
social praise is not
▪ “Positive Reinforcement is the most important and
enough
Deprivation most widely applied principle of behaviour analysis.”
– Cooper, Heron and Heward (2007, p. 257)

WHAT IS REINFORCEMENT? WHAT IS A REINFORCER?

Person/
The relationship of delivering or removing an Tangible Activity
Attention
item from the learners environment to increase
a target behaviour
Sensory Edible
Social

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REINFORCEMENT VS. BRIBERY REINFORCEMENT

Reinforcement Bribery Remember….
• Rewards are earned for a job • Bribes are often given in
well done response to a challenging
• Creates a lasting positive behaviour ▪ Reinforcement is the process of
change on behaviour • Changes behaviour in the
moment but not other time
delivering a reinforcer to a learner which
• Planned ahead of time and
delivered with praise • Reactive and delivered in results in the increase of future behaviour
• Adult is in control – they decide frustration
when (and if) rewards have • Child is in control – negotiation
been earned is made in exchange for
compliance

SELECTING A REINFORCEMENT
RULES OF USING REINFORCEMENT
SCHEDULE
Identify Deliver Maintain ▪ At the beginning, reinforcement is provided frequently
Reinforcers Reinforcement Reinforcement ▪ Your student may require reinforcement every few minutes for the
absence of disruptive behaviour, and the presence of appropriate
behaviour should result in even stronger reinforcement
Pair with social praise Continue to develop this
Should be motivating
process ▪ The initial schedule should be based on a baseline rate of the disruptive
Delivered immediately after
behaviours
desired behaviour Start to reinforce every other ▪ For example, if the student acts out every 15 minutes, they should
Find variety response once consistently receive feedback and reinforcement before 15 minutes (10 mins)
Delivered after each instance following instructions
of desired behaviour ▪ This way the student will be able to be successful and receive
reinforcement
Find novel reinforcers Label the item and why its Overtime make it practical
being delivered ▪ As you fade a reinforcement schedule, more powerful reinforcers should
be used

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CLASSROOM CONSIDERATIONS IDEAS FOR REINFORCERS IN THE

CLASSROOM
▪ In a school setting, there may be some restrictions on the
categories of reinforcement you are able to deliver based on ▪ Vary your verbal praise – check out 100 Ways to Praise a Child
the classroom, teacher and your student (e.g. edibles, iPad)
▪ Use particular reinforcers during specific times of the day

▪ If they are an early learner they will need to be reinforced

more frequently ▪ Use a bin or backpack and either leave it in the classroom or
bring it with you
▪ Rotate items in the bin frequently
▪ If you are working with an advanced learner you may be able
to introduce a token economy system where they can work
for longer periods of time and choose their reinforcer

REINFORCEMENT IN THE REINFORCEMENT IN THE

CLASSROOM
CLASSROOM With Tokens

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REINFORCEMENT IN ACTION PAIRING

▪ Pairing is the process where a learner learns that
▪ Pairing is the first step to gaining instructional control teachers are the givers of good things and good
things come when we are nearby
▪ Instructional control is the most important aspect of
any learner-teacher relationship ▪ Set up the environment - put things away, or up high
on shelves that are normally available to your student
▪ It creates a positive working relationship and can be for free.
described in terms such as compliance training, or ▪ You want the reinforcers to be in your control. You should
earning your student’s respect have the most powerful reinforcers in your possession and
also be the most important reinforcer so that you can
begin to establish instructional control.

Show the client you are in control of the reinforcers

TEACHING COMPLIANCE
ROBERT Show the client you are fun
ABCs of Instructions
SCHRAMM Show the client you can be trusted – say what you mean and mean
A B C
what you say (antecedents/ (learner behaviour) (consequence/
teacher behaviour) teacher behaviour)
7 STEPS TO
Show the client that following your directions is to their benefit and the
best way to access preferred reinforcers
Instructions Correct response Reinforcement
INSTRUCTIONAL Start with reinforcing each desired response Prompts Incorrect response
No response
Error Correction
Prompts
CONTROL Show that you know the clients priorities

Show the client that ignoring instructions/choosing inappropriate behaviour will

not result in reinforcement

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TEACHING COMPLIANCE TEACHING COMPLIANCE

ABCs of Instructions
▪ Use antecedent strategies (what happens before a
behaviour) and consequence strategies aka
Deliver the Child completes Provide reinforcement (what happens after a behaviour)
instruction instruction reinforcement
▪ Complete daily compliance drills.

TEACHING COMPLIANCE TEACHING COMPLIANCE

The Set-Up The Set-Up
▪ Establish fun activities without placing demands on ▪ In a classroom, it is helpful to have a bin, wear an apron or
your learner use a backpack of reinforcers that the student knows they
have access to through you
▪ Occasionally call the student’s name and then deliver
a reinforcer to pair the student’s name with
reinforcement ▪ The delivery of reinforcement in the classroom can take on
many forms – this is a time to get creative
▪ Follow the child’s motivation when pairing

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TEACHING COMPLIANCE TEACHING COMPLIANCE

Antecedents Antecedents
Create a Task analysis
▪ Make eye contact
▪ Break skills down into smaller, teachable steps
▪ Deliver instructions a directive/ statement
▪ List the steps in sequential order
▪ Learners with ASD may need complex skills broken ▪ Ensure to be at child’s eye level
down into smaller steps ▪ Increased proximity to the child
▪ Number of steps vary by skill and learner needs ▪ e.g. within 3 feet when giving the instruction

TEACHING COMPLIANCE TEACHING COMPLIANCE

Antecedents High-P Example
▪ Present high probability requests immediately your
target instruction
▪ A series of instructions a student is most likely to perform

▪ Learners are more likely to follow instructions easy

instructions before completing a harder task
▪ Think of a printing worksheet – first you start with just a
letter then by the end of the page you are practicing the
whole word

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TEACHING COMPLIANCE TEACHING COMPLIANCE

Antecedents Prompting
▪ Deliver clear concise instructions
▪ If the child does not
▪ Decrease the amount of instructions per day (to start) comply to your instructions Physical
Model
within 5 seconds:
▪ Only provide instructions for things you can follow ▪ Prompt to complete the Verbal
through with task
▪ Provide your student with choices throughout the day ▪ Deliver reinforcement (e.g. Gestural
tangible or token paired with
to provide them with a sense of control
social praise) contingent
▪ e.g. the order to do chores, what to have for snack, what upon compliance
to work on first

TEACHING COMPLIANCE TEACHING COMPLIANCE

Prompting Prompting
▪ Prompts are used to increase the chance that the Least-to-Most Most-to-Least
client will perform a given behaviour
• Providing no or minimal • Better for brand new skills
▪ Too much = prompt dependence assistance at first, then • Provide higher level prompts
▪ Too little = errors, trouble learning prompting after the child has right away to avoid errors and
responded incorrectly or not at then fade
all • Physical-Model-Gestural-
▪ Use more prompts for new skills that are difficult and • Give the instruction---wait 2 to Verbal-Visual
fewer prompts for skills that the learner is somewhat 3 seconds---prompt response
familiar with • Say-Show-Do: Verbal, model,
physical
▪ Prompts need to be faded

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TEACHING COMPLIANCE
TEACHING COMPLIANCE
Prompting
▪ Complete 5-minute compliance drills each day
▪ Must plan to fade prompts so that the learner can
▪ Set up about 15 artificial tasks for your learner to do
perform the skill independently
▪ Choose tasks he/she already knows how to do or
▪ Goal is for the learner’s behaviour to be under the
are easy to do
control of relevant environmental cues
▪ Give the instruction once
▪ For example, when the bell rings, you line up. We want to
fade additional prompts (e.g. teacher saying “time to line ▪ Praise and reinforce your learner when they initiate the
up”, teacher pointing to the line, etc.)
task within 10-sec and completes the task in 30-sec

TEACHING COMPLIANCE TEACHING COMPLIANCE

Correcting Errors Step by Step
▪ If your learner does not initiate following the
instruction within 5 seconds, walk quickly to your child
take them hand over hand and repeat the instruction,
follow through with the task and praise them (“That’s Select easy Give the
Deliver
reinforcement
Deliver a
prompt for
___) Set a goal
tasks instruction for correct incorrect
Repeat
responses responses
▪ You will start to see your child spontaneously comply
in real life
▪ Also complete daily drills for instructions related to
safety. For example, “Come here” and “Stop

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TEACHING COMPLIANCE TEACHING COMPLIANCE

Error Correction

TEACHING COMPLIANCE THROUGHOUT THE DAY

Delivering Reinforcement
▪ In the beginning don’t let a good response of any kind pass ▪ When you give instructions in real life, remember to
without meeting some form of reinforcement (e.g. a sticker, reinforce! A special treat, praise etc.
stamp, social praise, etc.)
▪ Only provide instructions with which you can follow
▪ Later when student is following your directions consistently you
can begin to thin out the ratio of reinforcement through

▪ Once your student is consistently following your instructions ▪ When non-compliance occurs get up and complete
this can be maintained by slowly thinning out the amount of the correction procedure, follow through
reinforcement through an increase in the response –
reinforcement ratio.

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REFERENCES
TAKE HOME POINTS Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2008). Applied behavior analysis (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill-
Prentice Hall.

▪ Compliance is critical for children with and without Davis, C. A. (1995). Peer as behavior change agents for preschoolers with behavioral disorders. Preventing School Failure, 39(4), 4-9.

disabilities Ducharme, J. M., & Ng, O. (2012). Errorless Academic Compliance Training: A School-Based Application for Young Students With
Autism. Behavior Modification, 36(5), 650–669. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145445511436006

Leaf, R. B., & McEachin, J. (1999). A work in progress behavior management strategies and a curriculum for intensive behavioral
▪ Should be a focus of instruction at home, school and treatment of autism. New York: DRL Books.

community Oliver, R. & Skinner, C. H. (2003). Applying behavioral momentum to increase compliance: Why Mrs. H. Reved up the elementary
students with the Hokey-Pokey. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 19, 75-94.

Schramm, R., & Miller, M. (2014). The 7 steps to earning instructional control: a program guide for developing learner cooperation with
▪ Methods supported by research such as, guided Aba and verbal behavior. Place of publication not identified: publisher not identified.

compliance and differential reinforcement, should be Singer-Dudek, J., Oblak, M., & Greer, R. D. (2011). Establishing books as conditioned reinforcers for preschool children as a function
of an observational intervention. Journal of applied behavior analysis, 44(3), 421–434. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.2011.44-421

used to teach compliance, beginning at an early age Stephenson, K. M., & Hanley, G. P. (2010). Preschoolers' compliance with simple instructions: a descriptive and experimental
evaluation. Journal of applied behavior analysis, 43(2), 229–247. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.2010.43-229

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