Category: Solutions

A tag is worth a thousand words: Part 2

Martha Gabler

Part 2: Precise timing and planning versus sloppy timing and planning

Part 1 of this series described the benefits of using One Sound for One Movement to teach a skill to a child with autism, versus a babble of sounds for many movements.  Part 2 will focus on the all-important issues of timing and planning, and how they relate to teaching Safe Walking. See the table below for reference.

Why is timing important?

While many people know that a positive consequence following a behavior will result in that behavior occurring more often, fewer people appreciate the importance of timing. A precisely timed reinforcer that is presented exactly at the actual moment the child is doing the desired movement, or immediately after the desired movement, will result in the child learning the behavior much faster. Why? Because the experience of success and reinforcement is so closely tied to the desired behavior. It’s easy for the child to figure out, “Hey, that thing I just did is really great, because I keep experiencing nice rewards.”

Kids with autism live in real time, the “now”

Our kids with autism live in the moment, not the past and not the future. To work effectively with our kids, we have to live in the moment, be in the moment with them and observe them closely. The split second the child does the desired action, press the tagger and hand over a treat. Also, our kids with autism often move very fast. My son can easily do several movements in the course of a second or two. I have to be quick and precise to mark exactly which movement that I would like to see him do more often.

autism help, tagteach, ABA, applied behavior analysisNext Steps In Teaching Safe Walking

Questions?

Precise Timing is Superior to Slow, Sloppy Timing

For my son, this was incredibly precise information, and he learned quickly to take Two Steps/Same Direction. You cannot “mark” a specific behavior so quickly and precisely with any other method. Try it and see for yourself. Compare the tagger with using words or directly handing over a treat when your child has done something nice.

Recently I tried to use words to praise my son for something he had done. It took me four seconds to get over to him, praise him for what he had done and hand him a treat: four long, late seconds. In those four seconds, he performed at least five or six subsequent physical movements. How could he possibly know which of those many movements was the right one? Words are slow and sloppy. For this kind of teaching, a click is definitely worth more than a thousand words.

autism help, tagteach, ABA, applied behavior analysisPrecise Planning and Precise Timing go Hand In Hand

As you can see from the description above, I had a precise plan of action in mind to teach Safe Walking. The first goal was to teach my son to take Two Steps/Same Direction. Once he achieved that, we moved on to Three Steps/Same Direction. To tag and treat this behavior, once again, I watched his feet. Now I looked for what happened at the time of the third step. His movements were: Right Foot, Left Foot, Right Foot, Left Foot, Right Foot (in same direction as previous two steps?). If yes, I tagged and treated, if not, I watched and waited.

He achieved the goal of taking Three Steps/Same Direction fairly quickly, and we moved on to Four Steps/Same Direction, Five Steps/Same Direction, and so forth until we got to Ten Steps/Same Direction. At this point he was walking nicely in the same direction, so I changed my reinforcement plan: I intermittently tagged and treated for Three Steps/Same Direction, Five Steps/Same Direction and so forth.

Each Step  – Part of a Behavior Chain

In other words, I had a specific behavior plan all laid out. My next steps, which are laid out in great detail in the book Chaos to Calm, were to teach Walk Beside Me, Feet on Ground, and Wait. The goal was that my son would walk beside me, stop at corners, wait for the WALK signal, and cross streets safely. Each of these actions was a precise physical movement that I could tag and treat, and eventually build into a behavior chain.

In five months, my son changed from being a chaotic bolter to going with me, safely and pleasantly, on five mile hikes in the woods. He also was able to go on family shopping trips and walk nicely with us through the stores and wait in the check-out line with no agitation. He achieved this, literally and figuratively, one step at a time. Randomly taking my son out for walks and urging him to stay with me or be quiet and calm in the store would not have achieved this goal.

Because TAGteach allows us to be so precise and to break tasks down into such small steps, it is easy to understand what comes next and how to break that next step down into achievable increments. The click, or “tag”, requires us to think about what our child needs to learn, to break those goals down into very small steps, and to reinforce those tiny little movements that will lead to the big outcome.The click is worth more than a thousand words. The precise timing and planning which you can do with TAGteach becomes self-evident to parents after a few tries.

Next Post

The next post on this Topic, Part 3, will address how the precise reinforcement offered to the child via TAGteach, and the powerful experience of success this provides, helps the child learn new skills readily and joyfully.

TAGteach

TAGteach stands for Teaching with Acoustical Guidance. TAGteach is a teaching and communication method based on the scientific principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).

TAGteach enables extremely precise positive reinforcement of behavior by using an acoustical signal to “mark” the behavior – at the precise moment the child performs the behavior! The acoustical signal is a short, sharp sound made by a handheld device (the “tagger”). When the child performs the correct action, the parent/instructor immediately presses the button on the tagger and hands over a treat (candy, treat, token, praise, social recognition, or money) as a reinforcer.

With TAGteach, it is easy to reinforce behaviors precisely and quickly. The immediate, accurate feedback and positive reinforcement result in the child performing the correct action more often, and for longer periods of time. With immediate feedback and learning tasks broken down into small steps, children can learn many new skills with TAGteach — at their own pace.

autism, help, tagteach, ABA, positive reinforcement, applied behavior analysisCheck out the TAGteach International website

Join the free TAGteach listserve.

TAGteach taggers are available here.

See Martha’s book about TAGteach for Autism or ask a question

(with no obligation).

Sign up for my mailing list to receive updates, new articles and free tips right in your inbox!

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A tag is worth a thousand words: Part 1

Martha Gabler

Part 1: It is ONE SOUND for ONE MOVEMENT

We’ve all head that a picture is worth a thousand words. The idea that a click is worth a thousand words may be new. Let’s compare a click with a thousand words and see which is better for teaching a child, particularly a child with autism.

The click I’m talking about is also known as a “tag.” It is the key feature of a method called TAGteach, Teaching with Acoustical Guidance. The chart below shows six ways that the click is different from a thousand words. This post will address the first feature: One Sound versus Babble of Sounds.

tag vs 1000 words

ONE SOUND

Let’s look at the first feature: a click (tag) is ONE SOUND.  It is easy to hear and distinguish one single sound. A thousand words (or even just ten or twenty words) can be a confusing babble to a child with autism. Even if verbal, a child with autism may have difficulty understanding or complying with our words, instructions and warnings.

The click (tag) is always the same sound and it always means the same thing: Success and Reinforcement. The child knows he has achieved something (the tag point) and that he will get a reward. This process makes it easy for him to learn: just pay attention to the click and do that action more often! One sound, one meaning, one outcome (success). This consistency really helps a child with autism. Here’s an example.

USING ONE SOUND TO TEACH SAFE WALKING

With TAGteach, I was able to teach my son a valuable skill: walking safely out-of-doors, something I was not able to do before when I was using words. When he was younger, it took two people to watch my son outside because we never knew when or where he would bolt; it was always dangerous and nerve-wracking to take him out. Using the “tag” he changed from being unsafe outside to being able to go for five mile hikes in wilderness settings,safely and happily.

autism help, tagteach, ABA, tag pointBENEFITS OF ONE SOUND FOR ONE PHYSICAL MOVEMENT

The benefit of ONE SOUND was apparent right from the beginning. I had observed my son’s bolting behavior, and noticed that he did not take more than one or two steps in the same direction. He would constantly step, spin and bolt, step, spin and bolt. The constant changes of direction made his movements unpredictable. After watching this, I set the first tag point of “Two Steps in Same Direction.” I watched my son’s feet. Whenever, by chance, he took two steps in the same direction, I tagged and handed him a treat.

The ONE SOUND of the tagger “marked” the exact physical movement of taking the second step in the same direction as the first step. I didn’t explain with words, “Look, walk straight ahead and put one foot in front of the other. Don’t turn to the right or left. Go straight ahead.” He would not have been able to understand or comply with that string of 23 words. With the click, he figured out very quickly that taking two steps in the same direction was a really great thing to do! Since he was reinforced every time he took two steps, he performed that behavior more often! The click did the job that the words had failed to do. The click was much better than even one word.

Next time:  More about Precise Timing versus Sloppy Timing.

What is TAGteach?

TAGteach stands for Teaching with Acoustical Guidance. TAGteach is a teaching and communication method based on the scientific principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).

TAGteach enables extremely precise positive reinforcement of behavior by using an acoustical signal to “mark” the behavior – at the precise moment the child performs the behavior! The acoustical signal is a short, sharp sound made by a handheld device (the “tagger”). When the child performs the correct action, the parent/instructor immediately presses the button on the tagger and hands over a treat (candy, treat, token, praise, social recognition, or money) as a reinforcer.

With TAGteach, it is easy to reinforce behaviors precisely and quickly. The immediate, accurate feedback and positive reinforcement result in the child performing the correct action more often, and for longer periods of time. With immediate feedback and learning tasks broken down into small steps, children can learn many new skills with TAGteach — at their own pace.

autism help, tagteach, applied behavior analysis, ABACheck out the TAGteach International website 

Join the free TAGteach listserve.

TAGteach taggers are available here.

See Martha’s book about TAGteach for Autism or ask a question (with no obligation).

Sign up for my mailing list  to receive updates, new articles and free tips right in your inbox!

If you liked this post, please share it on social media via the vertical gray menu on the far right. Thank you!

 

 

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TAGteach How-to: Should I use the tagger when my child does something bad? Answer: NO! NEVER!

Martha Gabler

autism help, tagteach, applied behavior analysis, ABA

Sometimes people ask me this question. They have heard that the purpose of the TAGteach tagger is to teach skills by “marking” a desired behavior and following-up immediately with positive reinforcement. So, they may think, what about using the tagger to tell my child when he is doing something bad? Should I do that? The answer is NO, NEVER! Here are the reasons.

 

Purpose of TAGteach: Deliver positive reinforcement and increase desired behaviors

We use the TAGteach tagger to give a child two pieces of information:  (1) You just did something right, and (2) now you are getting a treat (reinforcer). The purpose of this two-step action (tag and treat) is to increase a behavior that we like! Decades of behavioral science research tells us that the best way to increase desired behaviors is to provide a positive consequence immediately after the behavior.

Using the tagger to mark an undesired behavior would be catastrophic. What if you ended up increasing the undesired behavior? That would make things worse. Also, if you mix up positive reinforcement and punishment with the tagger, it will destroy its effectiveness in increasing desired behaviors. Consequently, this great tool would be rendered useless. Please do NOT use the tagger to mark undesired behaviors.

autism, help, tagteach, aba, positive reinforcement, applied behavior analysis

To decrease undesired behaviors, set up a specific program to increase desired behaviors

Many children have undesired behaviors. The most effective way to reduce these is to provide high levels of positive reinforcement for the behaviors you want. Children want to please and learn, even our kids with autism. They would much rather be happy and have their caregivers be happy than have everyone be angry. Show them which actions will earn them success, praise, and positive reinforcement and they will do more of those great things. This will take some time, but a thoughtful TAGteach approach can help build new skills and new behaviors relatively quickly.

 

Punishment is ineffective

All the behavioral science literature explains that punishment is an ineffective way to reduce unwanted behaviors. It may appear to be successful in the short term, and it has the perverse effect of creating positive reinforcement for the person doling out the punishment (I swatted that kid and he stopped throwing blocks, next time he throws something I’ll swat him harder), but it has bad long-term effects on the child including: the escalation of punishers (hit harder), evasion, fear, anger, resentment, failure to learn the desired behavior, and worst of all, a loss of trust.

What is TAGteach?

TAGteach stands for Teaching with Acoustical Guidance. TAGteach is a teaching and communication method based on the scientific principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).

TAGteach enables extremely precise positive reinforcement of behavior by using an acoustical signal to “mark” the behavior – at the precise moment the child performs the behavior! The acoustical signal is a short, sharp sound made by a handheld device (the “tagger”). When the child performs the correct action, the parent/instructor immediately presses the button on the tagger and hands over a treat (candy, treat, token, praise, social recognition, or money) as a reinforcer.

With TAGteach, it is easy to reinforce behaviors precisely and quickly. The immediate, accurate feedback and positive reinforcement result in the child performing the correct action more often, and for longer periods of time. With immediate feedback and learning tasks broken down into small steps, children can learn many new skills with TAGteach — at their own pace.

clicker wristCheck out the TAGteach International website.

Join the free TAGteach listserve.

TAGteach taggers are available here.

See Martha’s book about TAGteach for Autism or ask a question (with no obligation).

Sign up for my mailing list  to receive updates, new articles and free tips right in your inbox!

If you liked this post, please share it on social media via the vertical gray menu on the far right. Thank you!

 

 

 

 

 

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TAGteach Tale: Turning reading stress into reading success with TAGteach!

Martha Gabler

autism help, tagteach, direct instruction, reading A friend sent me this uplifting story about one of her students who is learning to read.  She introduced TAGteach in a recent session and her student’s performance soared.

A tired student

“I have been working with a young girl with intellectual disabilities and speech challenges. She is learning to read with the well-known Direct Instruction Corrective Reading Decoding program. Dani (not her real name) came in this week looking tired and dispirited, and struggled with the first few words in the Word Attack practice section.

Using TAGteach for reading practice

This time, instead of cajoling her, I pulled out a tagger and started reinforcing correct and timely responses. For example, we worked on the word “each.” She had to say the sound of the underlined letter combination “ch,” then read the entire word, “each.” After asking her the first question, “what sound?” I sat back and waited for her response. She did not respond so I turned my head slightly away and gazed at a wall. After a pause, I heard a soft “ch” sound. This earned Dani a prompt tag. I asked “what word” and she responded fairly rapidly with “each.”

Direct Instruction So it continued. She earned tags for prompt responses (within 5 seconds of the request), and after working through two or three rows of words, she was responding on cue. I glanced at her and noticed that she was also responding with a stronger tone of voice AND had a smile on her face! We ended up having a terrific reading session. She completed Word Attack in record time with no errors. Her oral reading fluency for the text passage shot up by 23 words per minute from the previous session.

 

Lots of tags = high rate of reinforcement … and joy!

She earned 124 tags in 50 minutes.  This translates into 2.5 experiences of positive reinforcement per minute! In real time, she was being reinforced about every 25 seconds, so that is a very high rate of reinforcement. With her 124 tags she earned 12 tokens (10 tags per token) which she happily exchanged for prizes from our Reward Bin. Way to go, TAGteach!”

TAGteach: Good for academic skills as well as functional behaviors

This remarkable story shows how tagging Dani’s responses transformed this reading session into a successful, joyful learning experience.  Many people are aware that TAGteach is a proven way to increase functional behaviors. It is also a marvelous way to increase academic behaviors.

What is TAGteach?

TAGteach stands for Teaching with Acoustical Guidance. TAGteach is a teaching and communication method based on the scientific principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).

TAGteach enables extremely precise positive reinforcement of behavior by using an acoustical signal to “mark” the behavior – at the precise moment the child performs the behavior! The acoustical signal is a short, sharp sound made by a handheld device (the “tagger”). When the child performs the correct action, the parent/instructor immediately presses the button on the tagger and hands over a treat (candy, treat, token, praise, social recognition, or money) as a reinforcer.

With TAGteach, it is easy to reinforce behaviors precisely and quickly. The immediate, accurate feedback and positive reinforcement result in the child performing the correct action more often, and for longer periods of time. With immediate feedback and learning tasks broken down into small steps, children can learn many new skills with TAGteach — at their own pace.

box clickers (1)Check out the TAGteach International website.

Join the free TAGteach listserve.

TAGteach taggers are available here.

See Martha’s book about TAGteach for Autism or ask a question (with no obligation).

Sign up for my mailing list to receive updates, new articles and free tips right in your inbox!

If you liked this post, please share it on social media via the vertical gray menu on the far right. Thank you!

 

 

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Behavior Basic 43: End of Week Wrap-up

Martha Gabler

autism, tagteach, behavior basic, applied behavior analysis43. If a behavior deteriorates, strengthen it with an intensive course of reinforcement

Sometimes a child (any child, with a disability or without) may appear to have forgotten a skill. The child no longer says “Thank you,” or stops flushing the toilet, or goes back to kicking the seat in the car. The solution to this is simple:  go back to reinforcing the desired behavior. To revive the “thank you’s,” whenever you give the child a desired item, say “thank you” yourself and look at the child with the expectation that he will say it.  As soon as he says, “thank you,” give the item cheerfully and say, “Thank YOU!” Do this intensively for a while and the thank-you’s will return.  For other problems, set the relevant tag points:  Flush or Feet Down in Car, and tag and reinforce the child every time he performs the desired behaviors. Since the child already knew these behaviors, they will come back with an intensive course of reinforcement. When the child is performing the behaviors again, switch from a continuous reinforcement schedule (reinforcing every time) to a variable, intermittent schedule (reinforcing 1 out of 2 times, then 2 out of 3, then 2 out of 4, and so forth, until you are reinforcing only every 5th or 8th or 12th time).  Keep up the variable intermittent schedule, and the behavior will stay nicely in place.  So, if a behavior erodes, go back to the beginning and build it back up with intensive reinforcement.

REMINDER:  This concludes the wrap-up of Behavior Basics for the week.  Please remember the schedule: On the release date of each module, the Behavior Basics for that module will be compiled into a PDF ebook available from our blog and Facebook page. Click on this link to download the entire series of 42 Behavior Basics for free: http://statictab.com/m7bizwt.

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Hey, my kid just did something wonderful! Quick, how can I help him do more of that?

Martha Gabler

autism, tagteach, applied behavior analysis

 

We’ve all experienced this. Your beautiful, lively child with autism has just done something wonderful. It was a beautiful moment–actually, it was a beautiful micro-second–and it was over in a flash.  But, during that flash you saw insight, connection, understanding or wisdom. Wow!

We want more

As parents, we savor these moments. We discuss them with our family and friends and speculate on what they mean. We’d love to see more of them. Did you know that you can bring about more of these heart-warming events? Yes, parents can bring about more of these moments, and even make them last longer. How? By using positive reinforcement and an acoustical support.

The acoustical support I’m talking about is something called TAGteach. TAGteach stands for Teaching with Acoustical Guidance, and it combines positive reinforcement with an event marker signal. The event marker is a sound, a “tag” or “click” made by a small plastic device called a “tagger.” The “tag” sound marks a behavior at the split second that a child performs that behavior. With a tagger, you can reinforce even a micro-second of wonderful reaction. When you tag a behavior and follow-up as soon as possible with positive reinforcement (a treat, token or item that the child likes), you will see more of that behavior.

Positive reinforcement increases even the smallest behavior

Why does this happen? The scientific laws of behavioral science are at work here. The most important law tells us that a behavior that is reinforced is a behavior that will occur again. So, if you tag and treat a child at the precise instant she is giving you that amazing flash of insight or understanding, you will see more of those flashes. When you reinforce a behavior you strengthen it. As the behavior gets stronger, it will happen more often and last longer.

Simple Steps

TAGteach makes this scientific procedure easy to do. Here are the steps:

  1. Get a tagger (or anything that makes a sharp click sound: a ballpoint pen or flashlight)
  2. Get some treats your child likes
  3. Watch your child
  4. The split second you see one of the beautiful moments, PRESS the tagger
  5. Then give the child a treat

You are teaching your child that you like and appreciate what he just did. Since he is a smart kid and likes treats and the experience of success, he will repeat that action to get more treats and success. Easy. With time and practice, you will see more of those great moments. TAGteach makes it easy to “catch” those wonderful micro-seconds. Catch them and reinforce them, and you will have many more great moments to enjoy!

What is TAGteach?

TAGteach stands for Teaching with Acoustical Guidance. TAGteach is a teaching and communication method based on the scientific principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).

TAGteach enables extremely precise positive reinforcement of behavior by using an acoustical signal to “mark” the behavior – at the precise moment the child performs the behavior! The acoustical signal is a short, sharp sound made by a handheld device (the “tagger”). When the child performs the correct action, the parent/instructor immediately presses the button on the tagger and hands over a treat (candy, treat, token, praise, social recognition, or money) as a reinforcer.

With TAGteach, it is easy to reinforce behaviors precisely and quickly. The immediate, accurate feedback and positive reinforcement result in the child performing the correct action more often, and for longer periods of time. With immediate feedback and learning tasks broken down into small steps, children can learn many new skills with TAGteach — at their own pace.

autism, TAGteach, ABA, positive reinforcementCheck out the TAGteach International website.

Join the free TAGteach listserve.

TAGteach taggers are available here.

See Martha’s book about TAGteach for Autism or ask a question (with no obligation).

Sign up for my mailing list  to receive updates, new articles and free tips right in your inbox!

If you liked this post, please share it on social media via the vertical gray menu on the far right. Thank you!

 

 

 

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Behavior Basics 41 and 42: End of week wrap-up

Martha Gabler

autism, tagteach, applied behavior analysis, behav basics 4141. Click once to reinforce a desired behavior

In previous Behavior Basics we have discussed how a click sound is an excellent conditioned reinforcer because the sound is quick, precise and immediate. The sound “catches” a physical movement by the child at the instant he performs it, so the child gets specific information that he has achieved the goal, i.e., he has achieved success! But, how often to click? This is easy, just once for a desired physical movement. When the child performs the desired action, also referred to as the “tag point,” one click is all that is needed.  As soon as possible after the click, give the child a reinforcer. If the child performs the tag point again, click once at that time.  One click is all it takes!

autism, tagteach, applied behavior analysis, behav basics 4242. Click immediately to reinforce a desired behavior

We know from the ABCs of behavioral science (Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence) that the all-important consequence determines the future course of a behavior. A positive consequence causes a behavior to occur again, and eventually for it to occur for a longer time. The more closely the behavior and positive consequence match up in real time, the more effective the consequence is in strengthening that behavior.  The ideal consequence would occur while the learner is performing the desired action. Reinforcing during the behavior tells the learner, “This is it! This is right!”  It’s a powerful and positive experience for the learner, and cements that action in his consciousness. The only way to time a consequence this precisely is with a quick, sharp sound, like the click sound of a TAGteach tagger. So, watch your learner closely, click immediately to reinforce a desired behavior.  If possible, click while the learning is performing the tag point!

 

REMINDER:  This concludes the wrap-up of Behavior Basics for the week.  Please remember the schedule: On the release date of each module, the Behavior Basics for that module will be compiled into a PDF ebook available from our blog and Facebook page. Click on this link to download the entire series of 42 Behavior Basics for free: http://statictab.com/m7bizwt.

 

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Physical support, visual support, or acoustical support? Which one should I use, and why?

Martha Gabler

autism, tagteach, applied behavior analysis, special educationThree types of learning supports

We all know that kids with special needs need “supports” to help them learn. There are three categories of supports:

  1. physical support
  2. visual support
  3. acoustical support

Two of these, the physical and visual supports, are well known. The third category, the acoustical support, is not yet well known, but is rapidly proving its worth.

Each of these supports has a unique role. Let’s look at what each type of support can provide, and at their strengths and differences.

Physical Supports

Almost everyone is familiar with supports for kids with physical disabilities: among these are adapted equipment, braces, grips, wheelchairs, slant boards and adapted keyboards. These devices provide support to the body in performing tasks. With these devices, children with physical disabilities can achieve goals (mobility, reading, writing, self-care) that they could not achieve without them. Physical supports play a vital role in helping these children build skills and achieve independence.

Visual Supports

Up until the tidal wave of autism diagnoses, adaptive equipment supports were about the only known type of support. With the advent of learners with autism, families and schools learned about another outstanding type of support: the visual support. The strength of the visual support is that it provides information to a child who may have language and communication delays. The visual array of pictures can portray the steps a task, explain the schedule for the day, or provide information about emotions and expectations. The visual support can be a sheet of paper, a computer display or a quick note on a whiteboard. People have used visual supports in countless creative ways. Visual supports have been enormously successful in the autism community and are now a standard item in the home and in special education classrooms.

Acoustical Support

autism, TAGteach, ABA, positive reinforcementNow for the newcomer: the acoustical support.

The acoustical support, known as Teaching with Acoustical Guidance, or TAGteach, combines positive reinforcement with a sound (a “tag” or “click”) to increase desired behaviors and build skills. With this acoustical “event marker,” an instructor presses the tagger to make a sound at the precise instant a learner has accomplished a specific goal.  As soon as possible after the “tag,” the instructor gives a treat, token or other desired item to the learner. These two actions, tag and treat, deliver positive reinforcement to the child.

From the science of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), we know that behavior that is reinforced is behavior that will occur again. With the “tag” (the acoustical support) an instructor or parent can mark and reinforce even the smallest flash of a desired skill. When that small flash is reinforced, it will occur again and for longer duration. Eventually, with time and practice, it can develop into a reliable behavior. TAGteach makes it quick and easy to vastly increase the amount of positive reinforcement in a child’s environment, to personalize the goals to the child’s level, and to work at the child’s pace. The acoustical support has tremendous potential for helping all children learn.

How are these supports the same, and how are they different?

They are the same in that each one does an important job. They are different in that each type of support has a different role:

Adaptive equipment provides crucial physical support to the body.

It is a static, ongoing support, and it provides a service that neither of the other supports can do. It does not provide information; it does not provide positive reinforcement.

The visual support provides information.

The visual schedule tells the child how to do something, what is going to happen next, or gives the child a way to express emotions. The visual support is usually presented to a child before something happens (before the task or before the next event on the schedule), therefore it works as an antecedent. It does not provide physical support to the body and it is not a consequence that provides positive reinforcement.

The acoustical support provides positive reinforcement.

The acoustical marker, the “tag” or click,” immediately tells a child that she has accomplished a goal. As soon as possible after the tag, the child receives positive reinforcement (a treat, token, praise or other desired item). Since the tag comes after the desired behavior, it is a consequence, and better yet, it is a positive consequence. We know from behavioral science that the consequence, not the antecedent, determines the future course of a behavior, and that a positive consequence will result in the behavior happening again. Thus the acoustical support has a key role to play in increasing and strengthening desired behaviors. The acoustical support does not provide physical support to the body, and it does not provide information about the afternoon activities.

Each support has a vital job to do, and each one has its own specific role

If you want to provide information to a child about the events of the day, use a visual schedule; a physical support or an acoustical support will not do this for you.

If you want a child with a physical disability to move across the room, use the appropriate equipment for that child; a visual support or an acoustical support will not do the job.

If you want a child to perform a desired task more often and for longer periods of time, use the acoustical support — it provides the positive reinforcement needed to achieve this. The physical support and visual support cannot do this job.

All of these supports are important to the education of children with disabilities. If we think about what we want a support to accomplish, we can better select the right one. Think about whether you want to provide physical support, information or positive reinforcement to the child, and chose your support accordingly.

Better yet, think about combining the supports in creative ways!

Want to help a small child use a walker? Provide the walker, and break down the learning procedure into small steps; use a tagger to mark each tiny action that the child makes with a hand or foot to help propel the walker. Want to tell a child that he will be leaving school early? Make a picture schedule to show that mom is picking him up after lunch, and tag/reinforce when he Picks Up His Backpack and Walks Nicely to the door. Want a child to play with blocks? Use a tagger to reinforce the child every time she Walks Near Blocks, then Looks At Blocks, then Moves Hand Near Blocks, then Touches Block.

We can help our children learn more by using the full array of supports, and understanding what each support can do. With the right support for the right job, the child can make more progress across all fronts. That is a great outcome.

What is TAGteach?

TAGteach stands for Teaching with Acoustical Guidance. TAGteach is a teaching and communication method based on the scientific principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).

TAGteach enables extremely precise positive reinforcement of behavior by using an acoustical signal to “mark” the behavior – at the precise moment the child performs the behavior! The acoustical signal is a short, sharp sound made by a handheld device (the “tagger”). When the child performs the correct action, the parent/instructor immediately presses the button on the tagger and hands over a treat (candy, treat, token, praise, social recognition, or money) as a reinforcer.

With TAGteach, it is easy to reinforce behaviors precisely and quickly. The immediate, accurate feedback and positive reinforcement result in the child performing the correct action more often, and for longer periods of time. With immediate feedback and learning tasks broken down into small steps, children can learn many new skills with TAGteach — at their own pace.

TAGteach, tagger, autism, positive reinforcementCheck out the TAGteach International website.

Join the free TAGteach listserve.

TAGteach taggers are available here.

See Martha’s book about TAGteach for Autism or ask a question (with no obligation).

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Behavior Basics 35 & 36: End of Week Wrap-up

Martha Gabler

autism, tagteach, applied behavior analysis35. A conditioned reinforcer is something previously neutral that has gained reinforcing potential.

A conditioned reinforcer can be any quick sound or action. It can be a whistle, a tap, a flash of light, or a click sound made by a small plastic device called a “tagger.” Initially, the sound or flash has no significance for a child, but, by pairing the sound with a treat or other pleasing consequence, the “tag” (click sound) becomes an important event for the child. The tag means that a treat is coming. A tag means that the child did something right or achieved something. The tag is good news! The tag is worth paying attention to – this is very important. The tag teaches the child to focus on his own actions.  What was I just doing that caused Mom to tag and hand me a treat? Was it swinging my arm or looking at the toy?  Hmmm, I’ll try swinging my arm again. Nothing, no tag. Okay, I’ll trying looking at the toy again. TAG! Oh, that was it!  I get it. I’ll look at the toy some more! Boy, Mom sure seems happy when I look at a toy. I know she’s happy because she tagged and gave me a treat, and I’m happy too.

autism, tagteach, applied behavior analysis36.  Create a conditioned reinforcer by pairing it with something the child already likes.

How does the child learn that the acoustical signal, the “tag” (click sound) has meaning? You teach the child by “pairing” the tag with a treat. This can be achieved very quickly. When I first got a tagger, I sat down next to my son with a fruit roll-up and proceeded to tag and hand over slivers of fruit roll-up. It went like this: tag/hand over sliver, tag/hand over sliver, tag/hand over sliver, continuously. In 25 seconds he figured out that the tag meant that a treat was coming. 25 seconds! That’s all it took. I never had to repeat that lesson. I could immediately start using the tag to teach new skills. Try it! It’s great fun to teach a child with autism something in just 25 seconds!

REMINDER:  This concludes the wrap-up of Behavior Basics for the week.  Please remember the schedule: On the release date of each module, the Behavior Basics for that module will be compiled into a PDF ebook available from our blog and Facebook page. Click on this link to download the entire series of 42 Behavior Basics for free: http://statictab.com/m7bizwt.

 

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TAGteach Tale: Tink rocked her blood tests!

Martha Gabler

autism, tagteach, ABA, applied behavior analysis

Preparing the child

Medical procedures can be tough on kids with special needs, especially anything involving a needle. Advance preparation can help. Here’s how one dad in the UK used TAGteach to prepare his daughter Tink for some necessary but unwelcome blood tests.

 

How TAGteach helped the Dad

Dad Seany Pogson says, “TAGteach gave me confidence so I didn’t panic. I had been worried about it for about two weeks. TAGteach gave me a coping strategy by being able to build up my daughter’s experience to be ready for it. The nurses helped a lot too when I explained the situation to them. The nurses are there because they care. They don’t mean to cause any upset to anyone. If they had just taken her arm without her offering it, they wouldn’t have been able to do it.”

How Dad used TAGteach to prepare his daughter

“First of all, I built up touch on the arm as a cue so she was offering her arm for touch. Then I slowly increased it so she did it with other people. Next, I built it up from a touch on the arm to holding her wrist, and then offering her wrist to other people — again until she was comfortable with letting other people do the same.

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