Proven Methods

• DTT

  • This method involves presenting your child with learning opportunities in which his or her correct responses will be rewarded. For example, you could present a learning opportunity by saying, “Clap hands,” and then when your child correctly claps his or her hands, you could reward your child with praise, tickles, and a favorite treat. This simple interaction would likely increase your child’s ability to follow the instruction to clap his or her hands. DTT can be used to teach countless adaptive skills that can then be built-up into more complex and functional behaviors. A benefit of using DTT is that it allows your child to experience frequent success because the tasks are simple and clear. Also, with DTT your child receives a great deal of reinforcement to strengthen new skills.

• NATS

  • Naturalistic teaching strategies use your child’s current interests and activities to guide instruction. These techniques involve either capturing or contriving learning opportunities that arise in your child’s natural, and oftentimes play-based, environment. For example, while playing with your child, you might notice him or her reaching for a preferred toy, such as a book. You could capture this learning opportunity by giving the instruction, “Say, ‘Book’.” Once your child attempts to say the word book, then you could reward him or her with praise and by reading your child the book. An advantage of this technique is that your child may display very few negative behaviors since his or her current motivation is used to teach new skills. Additionally, since NATS occurs in the natural context, it promotes generalization of appropriate behaviors.

• Verbal Behavior

  • A verbal behavior approach views language as learned behavior that involves social interaction between speakers and listeners. Specifically, it describes how people communicate with each other for a variety of different reasons. For example, your child may say the word, “Cookie,” in order to get a cookie, or because he or she sees a cookie, or because you asked your child, “What is your favorite food?” By understanding this verbal behavior framework, you and your child’s behavior intervention team can use ABA methods to teach your child to communicate with others in a variety of situations.