ABA Term of the Month – “Prompt”

By Francisco Prieto, MA, MS

Welcome to ABA Term of the Month! Here we will explore various terms used in Applied Behavioral Analysis practice, break down what they mean and some best practice strategies associated with either the behaviors or practices!

April 2019’s ABA Term: “Prompt”

Prompt is the term that is used in ABA to describe the form of support that is provided by a BII, adult, or even a classroom peer.

There are different types of prompts that are used to support our students in the classroom, some requiring more involvement from the BII and some that may just require the BII to point or show a gesture to their student.

Prompts are usually delivered after a student has received instruction from a teacher or classroom aide to ensure that the BII is used as a support system appropriately. BIIs in the classroom deliver prompts to their students as they are needed and can start fading prompts to test for prompt dependence.

Prompt dependence is when a student or individual waits for an instruction/prompt from someone before engaging in a replacement behavior. An example of prompt dependence is when the bell rings for recess and the students begin to walk outside but one student remains in the classroom to wait for a prompt from their BII.

Ultimately, we work towards student’s independence and this is reached by minimizing the number of prompts that are given to our students. BIIs and BIDs also work in increasing the time in between prompts to allow the student to process the content of the prompt and to engage in the initial instruction prior to the prompts.

The above example may or may not apply with your client, so please discuss strategies with your supervisor for your assigned client before applying them in practice.