Question

Let’s say you are teaching a typically-developing young child how to eat with a spoon. Describe the steps you would use in fading, including your final desired stimulus (remember to use a clear operational definition), initial starting stimulus, and the reinforcer you would use. Describe a minimum of four fading steps, including at least two different types of prompts.

Final Desired Stimulus:

Starting Stimulus:

Reinforcer:

Fading Steps and Prompts:

Answer 1

Here in teaching a child to eat with spoon we can use Applied Bahavior Analysis Strategy. ABA is used to bring positive and meaninful change in behavior.

The starting stimulus is the antecedent stimulus that has a stimulus control over the behavior.,the intaking of food.and it is feeding by the parent. Here the final desired stimulus is teaching the child to use spoon for eating food. , that is trying to teach a person to respond properly to.

ABA also uses two learning theories Classical conditioning and Operant Conditioning to accomplish the result. Prompting and fadind are used in step by step to obtain the desired result.

Prompting means inducing aperson to perform a desired action. and fading means withdrawing the prompt naturally and in a sequence. Here the food is taken in a plate and with a spoon feeded to the child. let us do this in five steps First the child is allowed to hold the spoon along with the parent while feeding the child. In the second step the parent is decresing the support that is not fully holding the spoon. Here the parent may give support to the wrists of the child while doing the activity. At the third stage the parent may decrese  supporting the wrist of the child in doing the activity. In the fourth stage the parent is just touching as a formality say forearm or elbow of the child while doing the action. At the fifth stage the parent is slowly withdrawing the support and the child is independently taking the food.

While teaching a new skill prompting there are two types . In the first type  most to least prompting is used. that is great  support (maximum promt) is needed to start the action and to continue it. When the skill is learned by the child that is second type  of prompt that is least to most prompt is ideal .becuuse least to most type prompt is needed to practice a mastered skill.that is minimum promt is used.

The parent has to fade the prompts as soon as possible the infant has learned the skill because otherwise the infant will become overdependent. Always the infant will insist for the help of the parent for doing the task. The parent need have a plan how to withdraw the prompt and it should be in order / different steps.

Here fading occurs

1. decresing the support by only supporting the wrist of the child

2. touching with slight support to the wrist.

3. not supporting the wrist but touching the infants hand slightly.may be the forearm or other part of the hand .

4. Withdrawing the physical contact with the child.

Reinforcement can be given for the desired behavior or for the sucess of leaning a new skill. here positive reinforcement of operant conditioning can be used for encouraging the student. It can be praiseor gifts . If the infant has a special interest in a vedio he/she can give access to it after completing the task.