4 Skill Acquisition Procedures

Purpose and professional role

Skill-acquisition procedures teach useful new skills and support a learner in using them independently in everyday situations. An RBT implements the written plan as trained, records performance as specified, and consults the supervisor if instructions are unclear or the learner’s response raises a concern. Work should stay within the RBT’s demonstrated competence and ongoing supervision.

Prepare for instruction

Before instruction, review the current Skill-acquisition plan and make sure you understand the target skill and its definition, including what counts as a correct response and what does not. Confirm the teaching arrangement, the authorized prompts and fading procedure, the reinforcement plan, and the measurement and mastery criteria.

Gather the specified materials, arrange the teaching area, and check that selected reinforcers are available and appropriate. Follow relevant organizational procedures for privacy, dignity, and participation. Do not invent or change targets, prompts, mastery criteria, or reinforcement schedules; ask the supervisor for direction if any part of the plan is unclear.

Implement the teaching plan

Present the teaching opportunity as written, give the planned instruction or cue, allow the specified response interval, and respond consistently with the plan. Record what happened using the plan’s definitions, distinguishing independent performance from prompted performance and recording incorrect or absent responses as specified. Keep interactions respectful and appropriate to the learner and setting.

For example, a plan may teach a learner to select a pictured cup from two pictures. The RBT presents the pictures, gives the stated instruction, waits the specified time, and records whether the learner selected the cup independently, selected it after a prompt, or did not respond correctly. The RBT then delivers the programmed consequence and proceeds to the next opportunity as directed.

Use the specified teaching format

Plans may specify different teaching formats. Discrete-trial teaching presents structured, repeated opportunities, commonly with a clear cue, response, and consequence. Naturalistic teaching uses activities or interests in the ordinary environment to create meaningful practice opportunities.

Chaining teaches steps in a task analysis. Forward chaining teaches from the first step onward; backward chaining teaches from the last step backward; total-task teaching practices the sequence as a whole. Use the method specified in the plan. These formats do not authorize adding demands or altering the teaching plan.

Prompt and fade assistance

A Prompt is assistance arranged to increase the likelihood of a correct response. It may be a response prompt, such as a gesture, model, or physical guidance, or a change to the stimulus, such as making the correct choice more noticeable. Use only the prompt type and level authorized in the plan and for which you have been trained.

A Prompt-fading procedure systematically reduces assistance so control transfers to the natural instruction or relevant stimulus. Procedures include least-to-most prompting, most-to-least prompting, time delay, and stimulus fading. The appropriate procedure depends on the plan and learner; no single prompt hierarchy is right for every target.

For example, when teaching a learner to wave after hearing “wave goodbye,” the RBT might initially model the wave, then reduce the model or introduce a delay before prompting if the plan specifies it. Record prompted and independent responses separately when required. Avoid extra or repeated prompts that are not in the plan, because they can change the teaching procedure and make it harder to determine whether responding is independent. If errors increase, prompts do not work as intended, or the learner shows distress or withdraws participation, follow the applicable protocol and contact the supervisor rather than improvising.

Deliver planned reinforcement

Reinforcement is a consequence that increases the future likelihood of a behavior. A preferred item or activity is not automatically a reinforcer: it functions as reinforcement only if behavior increases under the relevant conditions.

Deliver the consequence specified in the plan, promptly and contingent on the behavior identified there. Follow the planned schedule, amount, variety, and any token-system rules. For example, if the plan specifies a brief turn with a preferred toy immediately after an independent request, deliver it after that request, not after an unrelated response. Social consequences, such as specific praise, may also be used when the plan indicates them.

Do not withhold essential care, use unapproved consequences, or independently change the schedule or reinforcer. Share concerns about reduced effectiveness or appropriateness with the supervisor. Procedures may include positive or negative reinforcement and conditioned reinforcers such as tokens, as specified in the plan.

Plan for generalization and maintenance

Generalization occurs when a learned skill is used with relevant variations beyond the exact teaching example. For instance, a learner may practice asking for help with different materials, people, or in different settings. A plan may arrange practice across people, settings, materials, wording, or naturally occurring situations. Do not assume generalization will happen automatically; follow planned opportunities and record performance as directed.

Maintenance means that a previously acquired skill continues over time after the initial teaching phase. It differs from acquisition, which focuses on establishing the skill. A plan may schedule later probes or shift to a less dense reinforcement schedule after mastery. Continue as instructed, and do not stop practice or change schedules unless directed.

Coordinate implementation and supervision

The RBT’s role is to prepare carefully, implement the specified teaching format, use and fade prompts as directed, deliver the planned consequence, and record performance accurately. Generalization and maintenance require deliberate, plan-based practice. When instructions are unclear, performance changes unexpectedly, or participation raises a concern, seek supervisory guidance rather than making independent clinical changes.