Glossary

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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A

Abstract
Ideas rather than a real thing.
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Aggression
Aggression is a physical expression of anger or frustration. Aggression may take many forms including hitting, kicking or biting others.
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Acquire
To obtain, possess, or receive by one’s own effects.
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Acquisition
Any stimulus that occurs before a behavior.
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Aided and unaided techniques
Unaided refers to techniques that require no external equipment. Aided techniques require external equipment.
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Antecedent
Factors that occur before the behavior and which are likely to cause or exacerbate the behavior. The initial phase of learning a new skill.
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Applied Behavior Analysis

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Attention
Ability to focus on relevant information
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Auditory
Something that is heard.
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Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)
When individuals do not have adequate speech skills, AAC helps them communicate and interact within their environment. This is accomplished through the use of switches, buttons, pictures, and many other adaptive devices. Consult a speech-language pathologist if you suspect an AAC device would be appropriate for your student.
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B

Backword chaining
The process of teaching a skill from the end of the desired skill to the beginning.
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Baseline
The period of time during which a behavior is observed and measured without any intervention. Baseline data serve the same purpose as a pretest, that is, to provide a level of behavior against which the results of an intervention procedure are compared.
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Behavior management skills
To revise a behavior by making it less extreme, severe, or uncompromising.
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Behavioral rehearsal
Role-playing a scenario or script in order to practice skills.
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C

Choice pairs
Choice pairs consist of two items related to the same routine or activity that are presented to an individual as a choice.
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Closed question
A type of question that contains options or conditions that a person chooses to answer.
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Coach
The adult who observes the inviting partner and provides collaborative feedback.
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Coaching target
An observable adult behavior the inviting partner selects for self-improvement. The target is typically drawn from effective teaching research.
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Cognition
The ability to learn and think.
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Communicative functions
Functions that include such things as requests, negation, comments, feelings, social communications.
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Communicative partner
The trainer, parent, or other individual who is responding to the initiation and approach of the child.
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Compliance
To follow directions or directives. If a child does what he is asked to do, the child has complied with the direction.
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Consequence
The natural or unnatural result that occurs as a result of the behavior. The outcome of an action, thought or deed.
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Contemporary behaviorism
Contemporary behaviorism focuses on observable responses but is directed toward general behavior rather than discrete acts, such as feelings and fantasies to the extent that these can be directly observed and measured.
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Contingency
The relationship between the target behavior (the response) and the reinforcer (the consequence of the target behavior). A requirement that a condition must be fulfilled before another condition to take place.
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Contract
Written agreements between two or more persons that detail what behaviors are expected and what the consequences are for completing or not completing the required behavior.
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Cue
A reminder or prompt that can be delivered visually, verbally, or physically.
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D

Daily living skills
These include skills such as personal hygiene, social skills, chores, cooking, transportation, etc.
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Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP)
Instructional guidelines recommended by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Recommendations are based on a) child development and how children learn, b) individual assessment of child strengths, needs, and interests, and c) understanding of the child’s social and cultural environment .
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Desired response
The behavior you want the child to display.
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Differential reinforcement of alternate behavior (DRA)
A procedure in which a reinforcer is given following the performance of a prespecified alternative, appropriate behavior.
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Differential reinforcement of higher rates of behavior (DRH)
A procedure in which a reinforcer is given following a specified period of time whereby the identified targeted behavior occurred at or above a prespecified level.
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Differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI)
A procedure in which a reinforcer is given following the performance of a prespecified appropriate behavior that is physically and functionally incompatible with the targeted inappropriate behavior.
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Differential reinforcement of lower rates of behavior (DRL)
A procedure in which a reinforcer is given following a specified period of time whereby the identified targeted behavior occurred at or below a prespecified level.
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Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO)
A procedure in which a reinforcer is given at the end of a specified interval provided a specified misbehavior has not occurred during the interval.
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Directiveness
the degree to which a teacher provides an answer or gives specific directions to a student rather than having the student figure it out.
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Discrimination
The process of behaving one -way in one situation and a different way in a different situation as deemed appropriate by prevailing circumstances.
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Down time
Time that is free from demands, sometimes needed to recover from sensory or emotional build-up.
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Due process
Rights provided to parents through IDEA that allows for a process parents can pursue to ensure their child’s accessibility to a free, appropriate, public education.
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E

Echolalia
Repeating what others say. Immediate echolalia occurs when the individual repeats words or phrases immediately after he hears them. Delayed echolalia occurs when the individual repeats words or phrases that he has heard possibly days or weeks later..
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Engagement
Appropriate interaction with objects and/or people in the environment.
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Executive functions
the ability to plan, execute and thoughtfully monitor behavior toward a specific goal.
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Extinction
The process of withholding the reinforcement thought to be maintaining a problem behavior.
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Extinction Burst
The term used when the undesired behavior gets worse before it decreases.
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F

Facilitation
Assisting students in answering questions or generating ideas through prompting or cueing.
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Facilitator
Person who leads the team during a meeting .
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Fading social stories
May include extending the time between readings of the social story with the child or placing more responsibility on the child to read the social story himself.
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Fidgets
Usually sensory-based toys or favorite small objects that give the child the desired sensory input that allows her to maintain composure or attention.
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Fight or flight
An animal’s natural response to fear or feeling of being threatened in some way. The initial responses of either fight or run away.
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Fluency
The natural rate of performance for an acquired skill.
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Focus person
Individual for whom the person centered planning sessions are held.
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Forward chaining
The process of teaching a skill from the beginning of the desired skill to the end.
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Functionally alternative
A more appropriate behavior that replaces and serves the same communicative or other purpose as the inappropriate behavior.
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Functionally equivalent behaviors
A procedure for identifying behaviors in a DRA that not only are incompatible and different (alternate) from the undesired behavior, but that also achieve the same function that previously only the undesired behavior achieved.
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Futures planning
A person-centered approach to planning a student’s program based upon their individual short and long-term needs, desires, and interests.
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G

Generalize, generalization
The extension of an individual’s behavior settings where no treatment or intervention has taken place. Stimulus generalization refers to performance under conditions other than those that were present during the initial learning. The learned behaviors are demonstrated in untrained settings. Response generalization refers to changes in behavior similar to those directly treated. The learned behaviors appear in other related behaviors. Generalization can be likened to a “spread-of-effects” phenomenon.
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H

Haptic modality
A way of doing things that involves touch and/or manipulation.
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Hyper or hyposensitivity
A greater(hyper) or lesser(hypo) response to tactile sensations.
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I

IDEA
A Federal law called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, that protects the rights of disabled students to a free, appropriate, public education.
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Idiosyncratic
Quirky, eccentric, or unusual way of trying to approach a situation or solve a problem.
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IEP
The Individual Education Plan that describes the student’s strengths and needs, goals and objectives, placement, and measures of the student’s progress toward achieving goals.
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Impulsivity
A cting without stopping to consider all of the consequences of one’s own behavior.
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Incidental teaching
Child-initiated teaching, dependent on child interests and motivation. The adult plans learning objectives and arranges the environment to entice the student. Learning takes place in the context of typical early childhood activities.
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Instructional Tool
Using a strategy or methodology to teach specific skills.
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Interpretive Tool
U sing a strategy or methodology to assist students in understanding a situation.
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Inviting partner
The adult who guides the coaching process by selecting goals, targets and observation techniques.
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J

Jigs
Refers to a picture or line drawing which shows the layout of specific materials in their correct combination or sequence necessary for the completion of a task.
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Joint attention
Sharing a focus of interest with others.
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K

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L

Labels
A visual tool that can help organize environment for the child with ASD.
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Learned helplessness
Learned helplessness occurs when individuals believe they have no control over their lives. This feeling of helplessness may cause children and youth to think they should not even try, because they believe they will never be successful.
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Learner likes
Learner likes refer to two or three pairs of items taken from an individual’s daily routine that he or she enjoys.
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Leveling statements
When communicative partners have legitimate but conflicting beliefs, this strategy is used to convey acceptance of one’s own position and someone else’s as equally valid, while defending the rights of the speaker and demonstrating a desire for compromise.
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Line drawings
Simple black and white drawings, often stick figures.
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M

Maintain
The continued performance of a learned skill over time.
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Maintenance criterion
The number of times mastery criterion is reached before a new target behavior will be selected.
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Map
A large piece of paper on which information given by the participants about the individual is recorded.
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Mapping
See "person centerd plan".
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Mass Trials
Rapid repetition of the same command in the same instructional session.
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Mastery criterion
A percent or number selected by the inviting partner to indicate when his or her target behavior has been satisfactorily demonstrated.
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Mini-schedule
A (visual) schedule that is used to guide students through smaller parts of their day, such as a bathrooming routine or working with the speech teacher
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Model
To demonstrate or show the child what he is supposed to do instead of what he is NOT supposed to do.
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Motivating activity
A favorite and enjoyable activity.
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Motivating factors
May be tangible objects, breaks, tokens, or hugs that encourage the child to work.
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Multi-channeling
The ability to respond to more than one stimulus at a time (auditory, visual, spatial).
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N

Natural cue
What prompts children to know what they need to do next.
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Natural ending
An ending of an activity that is obvious.
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Neutral probes
Strategy for encouraging discussion and gaining additional information following an inadequate or incomplete response to an open question.
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Nonverbal communicator
Nonverbal communicators do not use verbalization or speaking as their primary means of communication. Instead, they uses vocalizations, behaviors, or gestures to signal intentional communication.
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Nonverbal encouragement
Interpersonal communication that conveys the interest of the listener in ways other than words.
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O

Object misuse
Object misuse occurs when an object is not used for its intended purpose. For example, when an individual repeatedly bangs a cup on a table, he or she is not using the cup appropriately; thus, it is referred to as "object misuse."
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Open question
A type of question that does not contain options or conditions that person chooses (e.g., yes or no) to answer.
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Oppositional behavior
Behavior that seems to oppose everything the caregiver or an authority figure requests.
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Options
Different things one can do or say in response to a situation.
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Overselectivity
Attending to certain details without noticing what is most important to a situation.
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P

Peers
A similar-aged child.
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Peer coaching
A cyclical process by which adults with a common interest share knowledge and expertise within a mutually agreed-upon framework for giving and receiving nonevaluative feedback about self-selected goals for improving instruction.
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People locators
A visual tool that provides children with ASD information about where the people in their life currently are in a format that is more easily processed by the child. It can help reduce the anxiety and preoccupation some ASD children feel when favorite people in their lives are not around.
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Performance criteria
How a skill is performed correctly.
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Perseverative routine
A routine or habit done over and over again.
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Person centered plan
Process that is used to create a productive and meaningful future for an individual. Used synonymously with mapping.
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Personal hygiene
Appropriate methods of showering, toileting, brushing teeth, and getting dressed.
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Perspective-taking
Understanding that others can have different thoughts, emotions or opinions about something.
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Physical prompt
A prompt is a cue to elicit a specific behavior from a student. Physical Prompts (often called "Put-Throughs") are the most invasive type of prompt and refer to the act of physically guiding an individual to begin a response.
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Pictorial icons
Pictures that represent the action or object the teacher wants to communicate to the child.
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Picture point system
Typically, a page or a book with pictures or symbols to which the individual points to make a request or comment.
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Play
Engage in a pleasurable activity.
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Portfolio
A collection of data and pertinent student information.
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Positive behavioral support (PBS)
A specific method of using non-aversive interventions to address behavioral problems. The functions of a problem behavior are identified, and positive reinforcers are used (rewards for appropriate behavior) rather than negative consequences (punishers) for inappropriate behavior.
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Positive reinforcement
The presentation of a reinforcer that maintains or increases a desirable behavior: it should result in the behavior getting stronger and the person getting reward for his behavior.
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Postobservation conference
A brief meeting following the observation in which the coaching partner provides a nonevaluative summary of the data collected and encourages the inviting partner to make self-evaluative comments and propose a plan of action.
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Preferred object
A preferred object is what one wants.
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Preferred outcome
A preferred outcome is what the trainer wants to happen.
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Preobservation conference
A brief meeting where the inviting partner defines his/her selected coaching target for the coaching partner and provides a plan for data collection along with times and places for the observation and postobservation conference to occur.
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Prioritize
To order items, from greatest importance to least importance.
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Problem behavior
The behavior that the child exhibits that prevents her from performing successfully.
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Progressive Time Delay
This is a strategy in which the length of time between an instruction and a prompt to complete the instruction is gradually increased. In the beginning, there may be no delay between the teacher instruction and the assistance that ensures a correct response from the child. Over time, the assistance is gradually withheld for longer intervals until it is faded out completely. This strategy is often used to teach children to respond independently.
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R

Reciprocity
The giving and receiving of communication between two or more people.
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Reinforcement
A procedure that increases the likelihood that the particular behavior it follows will be repeated in the future.
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Reinforcement sampling
A procedure for allowing students to come into contact with potential reinforcers and for teachers to determine which reinforcers are likely to be effective with individual students.
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Reinforcer
Any event that increases the likelihood of a particular behavior, which it follows, being repeated in the future.
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Reinforcer assessment
A method of documenting preferred (and not preferred) foods, toys, objects, and/or activities. This is helpful in determining what a child will want badly enough to request.
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Response behavior
The behavior that occurs in direct response to the antecedent environment, event or condition.
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S

Sabotage
This strategy evolved from communication intervention research that demonstrated the effectiveness of “violating expectations” during familiar routines and activities in order to facilitate communicative responses.
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Satiation
A state that occurs when a reinforcer has been presented to the point that it is no longer effective in increasing or maintaining a behavior. For example, after being rewarded with candy for a month, the student no longer wants candy as a contingent reinforcer.
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Scaffolding
This instructional approach is based on the concept that children need strong supports in place for acquisition of new skills, with systematic reduction or removal of supports as they are able to perform skills with increasing independence and complexity.
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Scatter plot
A graph that includes dots for important items that can then be connected together to see progress.
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Script
A fixed set words or actions modeled and used in a particular situation.
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Scripts
A written plan of things a student can say in a given circumstance that he/she can memorize or carry with him/her.
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Self-injury
Self-injury is evidenced in physical abuse to one’s own body out of anger or frustration. Often, self-injury takes the form of head banging, scratching or biting.
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Setting events
The environment, event, or condition in which the behavior is likely to occur, and integral to understanding why it occurs.
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Shaping
The process of slowly changing or developing a behavior by reinforcing an approximation of the desired behavior.
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Shifting attention
Switch focus to and from a person, place, or thing.
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Shoe box tasks
A system for organizing materials into easily identifiable groups according to their use. The materials for each task are kept in one location, requiring the individual to follow one established process for collecting materials needed for an assigned task.
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Simulation
Designing a model of the situation (role-play) or method for practicing the behaviors in a situation .
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Social avoidance
Social avoidance is a term used to describe an individual’s desire to have little or no interaction with other people.
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Social communication
M essages used for interactive purposes such as initiating ideas and feelings, making requests and responding to others.
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Social skills
Skills that allow the child to be successful at interacting and developing social relationships with peers, family, and other adults.
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Stakeholder
Person who participates in a planning session because of their relationship and interest in the individual’s future.
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Stereotypic
Habitual and repetitive way of dealing with a situation or challenge.
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Stressors
T hings that cause stress for someone.
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Successive approximations
Rewarding students in increments of time, skill, etc., as they move toward a preset skill. For example, giving a student reinforcement for working for 5 minutes before expecting the student to wok for 30 minutes without any rewards. This helps to build early success, especially when teaching new behaviors.
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System of least prompts
This is an instructional strategy designed to facilitate successful performance while preventing prompt dependency. The procedure involves providing the least amount of assistance needed for correct performance at any given time, rather than using a predetermined level of assistance every time. It is also referred to as graduated guidance.
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T

Talk therapy
An approach to solving problems by verbally processing events with a qualified therapist.
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Tantrums
Tantrums are outbursts of inappropriate behavior, such as kicking and crying, that vary in length and intensity. Tantrums differ from aggression in that they are not directed towards another individual.
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Target behavior
A specific, measurable behavior that does not occur or that occurs at a frequency that we wish to increase or decrease.
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Task analysis
The process of breaking down a skill into small incremental steps that can be taught step-by-step.
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Transdisciplinary
This term refers to an integrated team approach to assessment and intervention. It involves sharing roles among service providers to minimize the need for direct contact while promoting the attainment of common goals.
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Transition
Moving from place to place, stopping one activity to go to another, any time there is a change in a routine. Change from one learning environment to another
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U

Undesirable activity
Something that is disliked.
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V

Vision
Description of what the participants hope and desire for the individual’s future.
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Visual discrimination
Ability to recognize small differences by looking.
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Voluntary control
A motor act that can consciously be executed.
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Visual schedule
A series of pictures and/or words that show the student what he needs to do and in what order it is to be done in a clear, structured sequence.
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Visual tools/visual support
Any of a number of different strategies such as schedules, people locators, labels, social stories, reminder cards, etc., presented in a visual format to be used by a person with ASD to help them understand the world around them.
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W

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X

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Z

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