RBT Exam Study Guide Unit C: Skill Acquisition

Skill acquisition is covered on this page of our free RBT Exam Study Guide. This is based on the RBT Task List’s Section C, which contains the following skill acquisition related tasks:

Determine the key elements of a written strategy for skill development.
As directed by the skill learning plan, get ready for the session.

Make use of reinforcement contingencies, such as continuous/intermittent scheduling and conditioned/unconditioned reinforcement.
Put discrete-trial teaching techniques into practice.
Use naturalistic teaching techniques, such as accidental instruction.
Put task-analyzed chaining processes into practice.
Put discriminating training into practice and use stimulus control transfer techniques.
Put prompt and prompt fading protocols into action.
Put maintenance and generalization methods into practice.
Put shaping procedures into action.
Put token economy protocols into action.

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The importance of learning skills in ABA The first thing that usually comes to mind when someone thinks of ABA is behavior reduction. But ABA is so much more than just minimizing disruptive behaviors. One of the main responsibilities of an RBT is to teach customers new skills. There are countless skills you can work on with your clients, including social skills, communication, independent living, pre-academic and learner ready skills, vocational skills, safety skills, etc. The task list’s Section C discusses the many approaches to teaching and practicing new skills.

RBT Task C-1: List the necessary elements of a written plan for skill development.

Deficits in a variety of skill areas are addressed by ABA therapy, including everyday living activities, social and communication skills, and more. The methods and skills taught are tailored to the needs of the student.

Every ability that a therapy team wants to help a learner develop is documented in a skill acquisition plan. The skill to be taught and the method of instruction are described in these blueprints. This is crucial to guaranteeing uniformity in the way the skill is taught by all. It’s crucial to understand each client’s unique plans since even though several clients may be working on the same skill, their methods may differ.

Plans for skill acquisition should contain the following details:

An explanation of the talent being targeted
The detailed instructions outlining the program’s conduct and what
qualifies as an appropriate response
Reinforcers and instructional materials are required.
Encouraging the use of hierarchy and tactics
How to react to mistakes and reinforce appropriate responses
Methods for gathering data
Mastery criteria
Plans and recommendations for generalization and maintenance

RBT Task C-2: As directed by the skill acquisition plan, get ready for the session.

At the beginning of each session, you will need to arrange your teaching space according to the details provided in the client’s skill acquisition plan. Additionally, your BCBA may have a written session procedure that summarizes the information required to ensure the success of your sessions.

Getting ready for your session could include:

Examining plans for skill acquisition
Examining the present goals and creating any instructional resources required to meet them As appropriate, setting up token boards, first-then boards, reinforcers, etc.
Getting your data collecting materials ready: ensure that your device or data sheets are in a convenient location (see to A-1).
going over any session notes from other RBTs and any BCBA notes that may be relevant.

RBT Task C-3: Apply reinforcement contingencies (e.g., continuous/intermittent scheduling, conditioned/unconditioned reinforcement)

The relationship between a certain behavior and the reinforcers used to increase or strengthen it is referred to as the contingencies of reinforcement. Reinforcement of behaviors can occur continuously or sporadically.

When reinforcers are given each time a person exhibits a specific behavior, this is known as continuous reinforcement. For example, each time your client requests a toy or snack using their picture icons (I.e., PECS), this behavior is immediately reinforced by providing access to the requested items.

When reinforcers are only given occasionally when a specific behavior is exhibited, this is known as intermittent reinforcement. Consider a child learning how to tie their shoes, for instance. Praise is employed as a reinforcer for this ability on an intermittent schedule of reinforcement. As a result, you may give behavior-specific praise when your client ties their shoes on their own. At other times, you provide no commendation.

Four regimens of intermittent reinforcement are then further subdivided into intermittent reinforcement. You can learn more about how frequently to reinforce a specific skill or behavior with the help of these schedules.

The following are the four intermittent reinforcement schedules.

Fixed interval (FI) schedule of reinforcement: Providing reward after every X number of minutes. The interval in a fixed interval schedule is always the same. Working for a paycheck is the most typical illustration of a FI schedule of reinforcement. A paycheck, which is given to you on a regular and dependable basis, is usually how you get reinforcement. For instance, you get paid for the two weeks that you worked every two weeks.

When a goal behavior occurs X times, reinforcement is given according to a fixed ratio (FR) schedule. The quantity of answers needed to obtain reinforcement remains constant throughout a fixed ratio schedule. A paraprofessional might, for instance, reward her kid with a token for each five pages they read on their own. There is no change in the quantity of pages that students must read in order to receive one token.

Reinforcement is given according to a variable interval (VI) schedule, which varies in the amount of time. The amount of time that must elapse before reinforcement is given varies but averages out in a variable interval schedule. A VI-5 plan, for instance, would involve reinforcement about every five minutes. As so, you would reinforce around every 4-6 minutes. When a youngster requests a snack and her mother responds, “Wait,” sometimes for just one minute, this is an example of a VI schedule. She might have to wait four or five minutes at other times.

Giving reinforcement after a variable number of instances of a target behavior is known as a variable ratio (VR) schedule of reinforcement. In a variable ratio schedule, the quantity of responses needed to obtain reinforcement fluctuates. For instance, before granting her client a break in the playroom, an RBT needs her to finish two to four programs.

Advice: To help you remember these reinforcement schedules, bear in mind:

Changes are the variable.

Fixed = The same

Time-based interval

Ratio = Based on several instances

Reinforcement, both conditional and unconditioned:

There are two types of reinforcers: conditioned and unconditioned. Reinforcers that are intrinsically useful to every human being from birth are known as unconditioned (primary). Consider what you need to survive: food, water, a controlled temperature, and sex. Books, toys, money, and tokens in a token economy are examples of conditioned (secondary) reinforcers that become reinforcing when paired with other reinforcers.

RBT Task C-4: Put discrete-trial teaching techniques into practice

One teaching strategy that is frequently employed in ABA is discrete-trial teaching (DTT). It is seen as an organized approach to learning new abilities. Although DTT is frequently carried out at a table, it can also be used in an environment other than a table. This is a typical misinterpretation.

DTT consists of three main parts:

The SD/instruction (and prompt if needed)
The student’s reaction
The result (i.e., a correction if the response is wrong, or reinforcement for the right answer)
Each response is followed by another trial after a brief data collection period.

DTT Illustration:

After displaying a photo of a dog to the client, RBT inquires, “What is it? —> The client responds, “dog” —> RBT responds, “Excellent work, it’s a dog! “

RBT Task C-5: Use accidental teaching and other naturalistic teaching techniques

Generally speaking, naturalistic instruction is less regimented than DTT. This kind of instruction takes place in the natural setting of the student. Areas of the learner’s house, public places like shops, eateries, or playgrounds, or the learner’s school or daycare could all be considered natural environments. In naturalistic or incidental teaching, you use your client’s motivation to target goals. Compared to DTT, which is more therapist-led, this is frequently more client-led.

Your learner’s objective, for instance, is to use picture icons to command for desired products. This is a great objective to pursue in a naturalistic manner. By encouraging your student to mand when they show interest in an object under your control, you can target manding in the natural setting.

For another example, imagine a learner who has a goal of following safety instructions such as “come here” and “stop.” These could be taught in your learner’s natural setting using their motivation. It’s possible that bubbles motivate your learner. You may stand across the room, holding the bubbles, while urging, “Come here.”

RBT Task C-6: Put task analyzed chaining techniques into practice

The process of dissecting a complicated task into manageable, discrete parts is called a task analysis. Think about brushing your teeth or getting dressed. How many separate steps do such kinds of skills require? Just think about brushing your teeth. To acquire this talent, you must become proficient in each of the following steps: get your toothbrush and toothpaste, open the toothpaste, brush the top left, top middle, top right, and so on. A task analysis shows each of the phases needed in the process.

Once the task analysis is finished, you can use chaining methods to teach complex abilities. These entail going through a methodical process and teaching each stage separately. Let’s go over some of the chaining techniques you might employ with your customers.

The total task chaining approach is frequently employed for abilities that the student can demonstrate with some degree of ability but has not yet mastered. In this chaining technique, the learner is allowed to finish the stages freely, while the therapist assists with suggestions only on steps that the learner hasn’t yet mastered. To put it another way, prompts are only used when necessary. The client may get their toothbrush and toothpaste on their own and open the toothpaste in the example of brushing their teeth. The therapist next asks them to moisten the brush. They then begin brushing on their own, receiving assistance as needed for the next procedures.

Forward chaining procedure: This is accomplished by enabling the learner to demonstrate the first step independently, then the therapist suggests (or demonstrates) the other steps of the chain. For instance, the therapist would prompt the learner to complete the next steps after the learner obtained the toothbrush on their own. Once the learner mastered getting the toothbrush, they would add another step in (i.e., getting the toothpaste) that the learner would do independently. This would go on until the student is able to follow the chain without assistance.

The backward chaining technique involves guiding the student through each stage of the chain until they arrive at the last one. At this stage, the student autonomously performs the final step. After the learner has mastered the final step, the therapist guides them through the second-to-last step, after which they independently demonstrate the final two steps. This keeps going until the entire chain is mastered.

RBT Task C-7: Put discrimination training into practice

Teaching a learner to distinguish between stimuli is known as discrimination training. For instance, your learner is exhibiting discrimination if they are able to look at all of the photos and choose the bed when you say, “find the bed,” after laying out a deck of picture cards. Discrimination is taught through systematic reinforcement. You can train your students to discriminate by providing reinforcement for particular behaviors in the face of certain stimuli and withholding reinforcement for other behaviors.

Using the example from earlier, you wouldn’t reward your student for choosing a picture of a car when they were told to “find the bed.” Rather, you would only give reinforcement when they choose the right bed image. Through the process of discriminating training, stimulus control is created.

RBT Task C-8: Put stimulus control transfer protocols into practice

Techniques for fading prompts to shift control of a reaction from one SD to another are known as stimulus control transfer techniques. The response is controlled by the prompt when a therapist asks a correct response. In order for the learner to become independent and not reliant on prompts, we should ideally shift stimulus control to the naturally occurring stimulus.

For example, imagine a client is learning to follow 1-step directions, such as “get your cup.” When you first target this goal, you would deliver the instruction while pushing them to retrieve the cup. Each learner would require a different kind of prompt.

As an example, let’s look at point prompting. When a caregiver or therapist requests it, the learner should eventually be able to grab their cup on their own. Therefore, once they grasp getting their cup when the instruction is presented with a point prompt, we must fade those prompts to take them closer to independence. To ensure that the learner can independently and accurately follow the instruction by picking up their cup, we would gradually fade the prompt (see RBT Task C-9) until the naturally occurring stimulus—that is, the command, “go get your cup” is sufficient.

RBT Task C-9 : Implementing prompt and prompt fading procedures

The purpose of prompts is to assist the student in evoking or exhibiting the appropriate response. Before, during, or right after the SD or instruction, you can give a prompt. A prompt, however, cannot follow a response from the student. For example, say you are training your client to categorize items in their environment. Initially, you would provide the SD “what is this? and then promptly prompt by stating the right response aloud. The correct response would then be repeated by the client. This is how it would appear:

(SD) “What is it? When the customer is shown a cup, the learner responds by saying “cup”—> (Prompt) “cup”—> (Consequence) reinforcement

Every prompt is tailored to the learner and the skill. Flushed to less intrusive cues, some students respond well to intrusive ones. Less invasive prompts from the beginning might work better for other students who pick things up more quickly or who are more likely to get dependent on them.

Prompts are an essential component of teaching skills. To fade them, though, a strategy must be in place. Our students will learn to rely on prompts if we keep asking them the right answer, which will prevent them from becoming proficient in the skill. We call this prompt dependence.

Prompt types:

Gestural cues: Pointing, looking, or making other gestures to help the student figure out the right answer.

Example: Telling your learner to pick up a toy while pointing to the toy on the ground.
Verbal cues: Giving the right answer out loud.

As an illustration, ask your student what their name is, then vocally respond with the appropriate response: “What’s your name? Bob.”
Physical cues: Using physical support to elicit the appropriate answer. Partial physical prompts and full hand-over-hand (HOH) prompting are two extremes of physical prompts. Although they are the most invasive, physical prompts can be useful for a variety of skills. Additionally, compared to other prompts, they might be more unpleasant for the learner.

For instance, instructing your student to wave and then physically guiding their hand to do so. Model prompts: Giving an example of the right answer. Model cues can be done live or via video modeling.

Example: As you walk your student through the process, demonstrate how to tie your own shoes.
Placing the appropriate target object or image closer to the learner than other objects is known as a positional prompt.

Example: Placing a field of 3 pictures in front of a learner. The proper picture is up close, and the other two pictures are in the back.
To fade prompts, you will steadily lower and eliminate the prompts until your learner is autonomously answering appropriately. The two most frequent strategies for prompt fading include:

Most-to-least prompt fading: The skill is first taught using the most invasive prompts. The suggestions gradually change to less invasive ones when the student shows that they understand the skill. Consider introducing hand washing, for instance, and beginning with a hand-over-hand cue. Fading may involve transitioning from HOH to partial physical cues (e.g., wrist or elbow guidance), followed by a gesture, and finally no cue.

Least-to-most prompt fading: The skill is first taught using a less invasive prompt. You switch to a more intrusive prompt if the less intrusive one fails to elicit the right answer. When teaching a student to wash their hands, for instance, you begin with a gesture. They don’t react to this prompt, hence this is unsuccessful. You then move to a partly physical prompt, which they are successful with.

RBT Task C-10: Implement generalization and maintenance procedures

Being able to display acquired abilities in situations and with people where they are most important is one of the main objectives of ABA therapy. To put it another way, we want our students to exhibit critical abilities with their parents and other caregivers at home, in the community, at school, and so on. Our clients have not succeeded in generalizing a skill if they are only able to use it in a manipulated therapy environment or when they are only able to use certain stimuli.

When someone exhibits a learned behavior in new contexts and ways, this is known as generalization. For instance, they display the behavior in different contexts, with different stimuli, or with strangers. We refer to this as stimulus generalization. If a client learns to label a sink in a photo and then goes on to be able to label different examples of a sink, they have generalized this talent.

Response generalization is a different kind of generalization that happens when someone learns a behavior and can subsequently perform additional similar behaviors. For example, you train your client to greet you by saying “hi” upon your arrival. After kids get the hang of it, they can say “hi (name),” “hey,” “hello,” “what’s up,” and other ways to greet you.

When a student exhibits a skill following the removal of the intervention, maintenance has taken place. You instruct your client, for instance, on how to utilize “please” and “thank you” while requesting and receiving favored things. You are no longer actively teaching, encouraging, and reinforcing this talent once they have mastered it. Nevertheless, they still use “please” to command, followed by “thank you.” As a result, this ability persisted after the intervention ended.

BCBAs design skill development programs with strategies to encourage maintenance and generalization. It is the duty of RBTs to carry out these plans. The following are some tactics you can employ to assist a student in maintaining and generalizing skills over time:

Use several different stimulus examples. For instance, you could use several images of shirts or real shirts in various sizes, colors, patterns, etc. to teach a child to recognize the names of clothing (e.g., shirts, socks, pants, shorts).

Teach in many settings. As a child learns skills in a manufactured therapeutic context, you can foster generalization by addressing the skills in multiple environments. A youngster learning to follow instructions like “come here,” for instance, would be taught to do so in a therapy room, other rooms in their house or clinic, and then possibly outside, in a park, or in a store.

Vary your teaching. It’s crucial to train youngsters to respond to the same instruction when presented differently. Some generalized instructions for teaching a child to wait include “wait,” “hang on,” “wait for a second,” or “give me a minute.”
Encourage and support a variety of answers. Rote responses hinder your learner’s ability to generalize, so you don’t want to encourage them. Therefore, as long as each response is accurate, support and encourage your student when they give varied answers. Keep in mind that there are frequently numerous approaches to a task and numerous appropriate answers.

RBT Task C-11: Put shaping techniques into practice

A teaching technique called “shaping” involves methodically reinforcing approximations toward a final objective. Consider, for instance, that your learner’s ultimate objective is to be able to answer to their name when they are in the same room as their teacher, parent, or therapist. The objective is for them to ask, “What? when someone calls their name. Instead of aiming for the end goal at first, they will be far more effective if you start with a smaller approximation of it.

In other words, instead of attempting to train them to reply to their name when you’re across the room from them, you would start by teaching them to respond when you are right next to them. You provide them reinforcement when they follow this instruction. Once they master this target, you move the distance further away. Now, they need to respond to their name being called a few feet away in order to gain reinforcement. With each new target, the distance could get a little farther until the ultimate objective—responding to their name from the other side of the room—is accomplished.

RBT Task C-12: Put token economy protocols into action

A token economy is a reinforcement strategy to improve adaptive or desired actions. This is done by offering your student tokens, which are generalized conditioned reinforcers. Tokens become reinforcing when paired with other reinforcers.

The following actions are involved in a token economy:

The behaviors, reinforcement schedule, and tokens will be determined by the BCBA. Each learner’s token economy can appear substantially different. Coins, stars, poker chips, tallies, and stickers are a few examples of tokens. If you want to help your learner understand exactly which behaviors earn tokens, you will probably start with 1-3 behaviors that are targeted in the token economy. The BCBA may introduce more behaviors as they get better at those ones.

To ensure you know exactly how to run the token economy process with your client, the BCBA assigned to the case will write up the process in detail.

When your learner exhibits the target behavior or behaviors, you will give them tokens. Typically, you’ll start with a continuous reinforcement schedule (See Task C-3) and proceed toward an intermittent schedule once your learner knows the requirements. When giving tokens, highlight the behavior for which they are earning them and provide praise that is relevant to that activity.

Tokens are traded for backup reinforcers by the learner. These are actions or objects that reinforce one another. The learner will need to cash in a certain number of tokens for each backup reinforcer. For instance, one item might need 10 tokens to cash in, while another might need 20.
In a token economy, a response cost is occasionally applied. This implies that when a learner engages in an incorrect target behavior, they forfeit the tokens they have earned. A response cost should not be utilized as a first resort, as it is a punishment mechanism.