Engaging with Items - BARRIERS TO LEARNING WEBINAR

This video example is property of Dr. Megan Miller. For more information about addressing barriers to learning, check out our webinar on barriers to learning titled Rediscover your Roots: Putting the analysis back in behavior analysis: https://collective.dobettermovement.u...
*This webinar is part of our member library or can be purchased individually

In this video, Megan demonstrates how to respond to a learner who is learning how to engage with new items and leaves the teaching setting. The targets for this step of a developing reinforcers program or teaching to play program is to help the child learn how to play with new items for increasing durations so the item either becomes conditioned as a reinforcer or serves as an item the child can engage with during down time. It is important to slowly build up how long the child will engage with the item instead of letting the child choose how long to play because this helps the child experience the item for a longer period of time and learn about how to interact with the item. It is important to keep the durations short initially and slowly increase them so the experience is not aversive to the child.

In the video, Megan prompts Malerie back to the table and Malerie follows the instruction. However, if Malerie resisted the instruction, Megan would not have forced her back to the table. She would have implemented the procedures from the 7 Steps of Instructional Motivation and waited for Malerie to choose to play with the item again.

All programs should be overseen by a BCBA and individualized to each learner.