Last time we talked about Functional Communication Training and manding, or helping your child learn to communicate their wants and needs in an appropriate way. Children quickly learn at a young age that the easiest way to get what they want is to engage in problem behavior. The louder they get or the more intense their behaviors become, the more likely we are as parents and caregivers to swoop in and do everything we can to figure out what is wrong and to stop the behavior. And, until now, you probably didn’t realize that by trying to do anything and everything you can to calm your child down you were actually reinforcing (rewarding) those problem behaviors- making them more likely to happen the next time your child needs or wants something. The good news is now that you understand a little bit more about behavior and reinforcement you can start to work with your child on how to use their words, signs, or picture exchange system/communication device to communicate with you verbally instead of behaviorally. There is a process called shaping that can help make it a little easier for you and your child to learn to communicate more clearly with each other, without making it too frustrating for your child. The most important thing to remember when trying to shape your child’s mands is that you will be starting at the very bottom (your child engaging in problem behavior to have needs/wants met) and slowly working your way up to the top (your child engaging in an appropriate verbal request to have their needs/wants met).
Sometimes when we are trying to teach our kids new skills we have to lay a foundation for those skills. Just like a house needs a solid foundation, so do our kids. When we are trying to build this foundation, one way we do this is through shaping. Shaping is exactly what it sounds like, we start with a very simple form of the response we are wanting and we slowly build up to the full, desired response. We use shaping to try and help decrease frustrations that could lead to an increase in problem behaviors or even the appearance of new problem behaviors. Like all things, shaping takes time. It is important to remember that shaping is a step by step process that we cannot move too quickly on, otherwise we risk losing the progress we have made up to that point. Your BCBA will help you create a shaping plan and help you to know when it is time to begin shaping a specific response in a new way.
For example: Manding with a vocal response
When you are trying to teach your child to mand for an item, you start with where they are at. If it’s a vocal response, you may start with them making any sound to get that item. Over time, that sound would have to sound more like the beginning sound of that word, then part of the word, until finally they are saying the word. It may look something like this.
- Begin by providing a ball any time your child makes a vocal sound when the ball is present and desired by your child.
- Once your child is consistently making sounds to get the ball, you only provide the ball when your child says “buh” (makes the “B” sound).
- Once your child is consistently saying “buh” to get the ball, you only provide the ball when your child says the full word, “ball”.
In the example above you see how you slowly shaped your child’s vocal response from any sound, to a beginning sound, to a clear word. The same can be done if your child is responding with sign language or a picture exchange program as well. It is important to remember to meet your child where they are at and to slowly build up and shape their response with time, reinforcement, and the guidance of your BCBA.
Sometimes, a process called chaining is used in conjunction with shaping. Chaining involves taking a more complex behavior and breaking it down into smaller parts. Next time we will dive into chaining a little deeper and how it can be used with manding and many other skills.