3 Prompting and Prompt Fading

The purpose of prompts

A prompt is added assistance that makes a correct response more likely when an ordinary instruction or environmental cue is not yet enough. Prompts can help a learner practice a new skill successfully, but the goal is to transfer control to the cue that should naturally guide the skill, rather than create dependence on an adult’s reminder.

For example, the natural cue for putting on a coat might be the instruction “Put on your coat,” and the natural cue for brushing teeth might be seeing a toothbrush. Added prompts are supports for learning, not necessarily part of the task itself.

Prompt types and hierarchies

Different prompts support different parts of a response:

• Verbal: A spoken hint, direction, or answer, such as “What do you use to brush your teeth?”

• Gestural: Pointing, looking toward an item, or making a hand signal.

• Model: Demonstrating an action for the learner to imitate.

• Physical: Providing partial or full physical assistance to help complete a movement. Use this cautiously, briefly, and only when appropriate; stop if the learner resists or becomes distressed.

• Visual or textual: Providing a picture, checklist, written word, or other visible cue.

• Stimulus prompt: Changing materials or their arrangement to make the correct choice easier to notice, such as placing the correct symbol closer to the learner. Fade these added cues too when they are not part of the natural task.

A prompt hierarchy ranks prompts by how much assistance they provide. One commonly used progression is visual or gestural, then verbal, then model, then partial physical, and finally full physical assistance. However, no single hierarchy suits every learner or task. A spoken hint may be more intrusive than a visual checklist for one learner, while the reverse may be true for another.

Choosing a prompting procedure

Choose a prompting procedure according to the learner’s current skills, the task’s difficulty and safety requirements, and how quickly errors could cause harm or frustration. Consider whether the learner can imitate a model, understand verbal directions, see visual cues, and perform the required movements. Prompts should be ones the learner can perceive and understand, that fit the task’s motor and communication demands, and that can be reduced safely.

When uncertain, compare feasible approaches through brief teaching trials. Use observed performance—not habit—to guide the choice, since prompting strategies may work differently for different people and skills.

Two common procedures

• Least-to-most prompting: Give the ordinary instruction and allow a planned opportunity to respond. If needed, increase assistance through a defined hierarchy until the learner responds. This allows an opportunity for independent responding, but waiting too long or allowing repeated errors may not suit every learner or task.

• Most-to-least prompting: Start with a prompt likely to produce a correct response, then reduce assistance as performance improves. This can limit errors early in learning, but requires a clear fading plan so the learner does not wait for the prompt.

For example, to teach someone to put a book away, an instructor might first say, “Put the book on the shelf.” With least-to-most prompting, the instructor could then point to the shelf, model placing a book, and provide appropriate physical guidance if needed. With most-to-least prompting, the instructor might initially model the action, reduce the model to a gesture, and later present only the usual cue.

Planning and applying prompt fading

Prompt fading is the planned, gradual reduction or removal of assistance. Select the fading method before teaching begins, and define how performance will guide changes.

Common methods include:

1. Reduce prompt intensity: Move from full physical assistance to partial assistance, a model, a gesture, or another less intrusive cue.

2. Use time delay: Initially give the prompt immediately after the instruction. Gradually wait longer before prompting to give the learner a chance to respond independently. If the learner does not respond within the planned interval, provide the prompt.

3. Fade stimulus prompts: Gradually remove or reduce an added visual or material cue. For example, shrink a highlighted area or move a cue toward its typical location.

4. Use graduated guidance: Adjust physical assistance moment by moment as the learner performs the movement, reducing help when it is no longer needed.

Using performance to support independence

During teaching, record whether each response was independent or prompted, the prompt level, and, when useful, errors or response time. Reinforce independent responding. Use the data to decide whether to fade further, maintain the current level, or temporarily provide more support.

Check whether the skill occurs with the ordinary cue and, when appropriate, across people, materials, and settings. If the learner waits for a particular adult or prompt, review whether prompts are being faded and whether the natural cue is clear. Independence depends on choosing an appropriate prompt and systematically reducing assistance; prompt types and hierarchies are tools, not fixed rules.