Every discrete trial should have a Consequence (C) or immediate feedback. The end or consequence is your response to the students behavior. Your response should occur immediately after the students response. Responding immediately will help shape the behavior by letting the student know whether he responded correctly.
Differential Reinforcement techniques should be used to shape the desired behavior (B) of the student. The use of differential reinforcement provides information regarding the quality of the demonstrated behavior.
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Excellent, spontaneous responses result in the BEST reinforcer- "Excellent", with excitement and often a tangible reward. |
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Prompted responses gets a lower quality or Moderate level of reinforcement “Almost or Good Try”. |
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Incorrect response, but good attention gets mild informational feedback. Informational feedback is natural and models language to the student. Ex. “Say it better”, "You need to look", "Keep your hands down". |
Differential Reinforcement Chart
| CORRECT + good attention = best reinforcement |
| CORRECT + poor attention =mild reinforcement |
| INCORRECT + good attention =supportive feedback “Good try” |
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INCORRECT + poor attention = informational feedback “try harder”“, "you need to look” |
| NO RESPONSE = after 2-5 seconds you can either prompt or give informational feedback and end the trial |
| OFF TASK BEHAVIOR = if the student is showing inappropriate behavior, such as getting out of chair or stimming; give feedback, correct the behavior and end the trial. |
For more information on Differential Reinforcement, refer to page 136 of "A Work In Progress" by Ron Leaf and John McEachin. This is the first book in our list of "Must-Read Books" and you will find it invaluable to your program.
You will find many valuable books, tapes and conference info at the Future Horizons website about ABA. Future Horizons is a company specializing in products related to Autism Spectrum Disorders. This is the FIRST place to look for books and tapes on Autism because that is what they SPECIALIZE in providing.