Tue 14 Mar 2006
Mands: 9
Very short blog; very short working time. After Tony’s wonderfully animated late night his mood was very fragile. In addition to sleep deprivation the grass cutters were out in full force with their loud equipment. At first all was well and we went into his room to do some work while Anton and Marlaina ran some errands. We got through the intraverbals while Tony sat on his trampoline with some bowling pins. He did very well with these and seems be on his way to mastering the new additions! He wanted to escape into the living room and manded for me to open the door.
We briefly explored the living room before he manded for a walk. I put on his socks and shoes and he became very impatient while I grabbed the clicker and my flashcards. His parents returned from their trip and that added to the confusion and made Tony reluctant to go on his walk. His unhappy mood was in full swing until I picked him up and started running very quickly and stopping abrubtly. This was fun for him and we finished our walk with Tony in a good mood.
When we got home and went back into his room, his mood quickly regressed to crankiness. Marlaina decided we should let him watch some Blue’s Clues in order to preserve as much learning energy as possible for Jill’s impending visit.
March 15th, 2006 at 2:25 pm
Great post Anton. It’s clear that Tony is generalizing the body parts stuff! This babbling is a great thing that we should very proud of (as many kids with autism need intensive training to increase these vocalizations), not to mention word approximations!
In addition to the activities/skills that we added last week, I’d like to introduce “manding for information” with Tony. These would be teaching him how to mand “what”, “where”, “why, “how, “which”, “who”, and “when”. For now, let’s begin with “what” and “where”…………..
For manding “what”………..
Strategy (1)-ABA therapist should bring in a paper bag with things Tony likes inside (i.e., blues clues toys, crayons). ABA therapist will look in the bag and say “WOW, look at this” while keeping the bag closed. Using echoics, prompt Tony to say “What is it?” or “What’s in there?” (approximations will be accepted). ABA therapist then removes item from the bag and says it is a Blues Clues book and delievers immediately.
Strategy (2)-ABA therapist says “I have a surprise for you”. Prompt Tony to say “What?” or “What is it?”. Tell TOny what it is while ABA therapist delievers item.
For manding “where”………..
Strategy (1)-Present Tony with a closed box that has a reinforcer in it and say “this is for you”. Present the box two times with the reinforcer in it. On the third time, the box will be empty. Prompt him to say “Where?” or “Where is _______”. Present the reinforcer while saying “Oh, here it is”
Strategy (2)-While doing an activity the ABA therapist will abruptly end the activity with no warning and say “Come on”. ABA therapist should prompt Tony to say “Where”. ABA therapist will then say to play outside or any item that is more reinforcing than the item they are leaving.
Strategy (3)-ABA therapist should say “get the” or “give me the” requiring Tony to find an item necessary for a reinforcing task (e.g., “go get your shoes so we can go outside). The necessary item will not be available or missing from its normal place. Prompt Tony to say “Where are my shoes?” (again, approx. accepted and differentially reinforce). ABA therapist should then say thit is on the table, in the closet, in my pocket, etc.
Strategy (4)-Have Tony come to sit, but have no chair for him. Prompt “Where is the chair”
ABA therapist can use one or a combination of these strategies to reinforce “what” and “where” mands. Take data on these just as other mands and when he acheives criterion, we will move to other mands for information.
With our new data collection system, 70% or greater for three days consecutively will be sufficient to put into maint.
Could we have our next meeting on Friday, March 24th from 10-12?
Jay