Fading, Shaping and Chaining
Fading, shaping, and chaining are words that you will hear a lot if your child is receiving ABA therapy. Aside from their actual definition, they mean quite a bit more in mental health. These three concepts are very important in teaching. Understanding these concepts will enable parents to have a better understanding of treatment, and can potentially be used in other situations.
Fading
The concept of fading refers to the gradual lessening of something; usually reinforcement (for more info on reinforcement, refer to Reinforcement and Token Economies), or prompting to complete a task. The trick with fading is doing it systematically; the right time, the right thing and the right amount.
The right time is not too soon and not too late. If your child is struggling with something, it isn't the right time. If they are making steady progress of excelling, it may be the right time. For instance, you give your child a skittle every time he/she has a toileting success, and they have had consistent successes for 2 weeks, it may be a good time to start fading out that reinforcement.
The right time is not too soon and not too late. If your child is struggling with something, it isn't the right time. If they are making steady progress of excelling, it may be the right time. For instance, you give your child a skittle every time he/she has a toileting success, and they have had consistent successes for 2 weeks, it may be a good time to start fading out that reinforcement.
Shaping
Shaping refers to slow manipulation of a behavior. Don't let the "M" word fool you, this is a good thing! All three of these concepts lead to being more independent. It's like taking baby steps. With shaping, you want every baby step to be an ultra-positive experience. Think about this: if your child is just starting to acquire expressive language, they may come up with a nonsense word for "drink". Maybe it sounds something like "gee". When using shaping, you would reinforce your child's attempt at communicating their wants and needs. Eventually, try to get them to say "gink", then may "dink", and finally "drink", all the while reinforcing their hard work and persistent efforts. When your child finally says "drink" consistently, the behavior has been successfully shaped. Remember, it takes time, but as in the scenario we just talked about, if your child can request a drink from more than just you (if you're the only one that understands what "gee" means), that adds to their independence and their daily living skills.
Chaining
Chaining is the processes of adding small behaviors together to create a larger, more complex and sophisticated behavior. The easiest example of this is toilet training. You eventually want your child to respond to "go to the bathroom", but that can mean a lot of things, especially for our kiddos who think very literally. You may have to walk them through the entire process. First, we go to the bathroom, then we pull down our pants, sit on the toilet, and so on and so forth. These smaller behaviors need to be outlined, but they all fall into the routine of "go to the bathroom". Essentially, you are "fading" some of the verbal prompts until the different components are routine, or "chained" together.
References:
Anderson, S., Jablonski, A., Thomeer, M., & Madaus Knapp, V. (2007). Self-help skills for people with autism: A systematic teaching approach. Bethesda: Woodbine House.
Cohen, M., & Sloan, D. (2007). Visual supports for people with autism a guide for parents and professionals. Bethesda: Woodbine House.
Crocket, J., Doepke, K., Flemming, R., & Stevens, J. (2007). Parent training: Acquisition and generalization of discrete trials teaching skills with parents of children with autism. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 28(1), 23-36.
Denton, J. (1978). Changing social behavior and cognitive skills. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 52(4), 184-188.
References:
Anderson, S., Jablonski, A., Thomeer, M., & Madaus Knapp, V. (2007). Self-help skills for people with autism: A systematic teaching approach. Bethesda: Woodbine House.
Cohen, M., & Sloan, D. (2007). Visual supports for people with autism a guide for parents and professionals. Bethesda: Woodbine House.
Crocket, J., Doepke, K., Flemming, R., & Stevens, J. (2007). Parent training: Acquisition and generalization of discrete trials teaching skills with parents of children with autism. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 28(1), 23-36.
Denton, J. (1978). Changing social behavior and cognitive skills. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 52(4), 184-188.