Risk of choosing the single-opportunity method of assessment for assessing mastery of a task analysis. May underestimate the learner’s abilities. Variation of forward chaining. Breaking down longer chains into smaller chains and/or skill clusters, teaching each skill cluster, and then chaining each skill cluster.

Interrupted Behavior Chain – This is a type of communication sabotage, or incidental teaching. A specific routine is identified that the child knows well, and one step is intentionally omitted – intended to elicit protests or requests.

Behavior Chain with Limited Hold is when a person has to complete the required task within a limited time in order to produce reinforcement. For example, the burger makers at McDonald’s must complete a burger within a certain amount of time or the customer is angry.

Think of shaping as step-by-step, gradual learning. For example, if you want an animal in a laboratory to walk across a room and press a lever, then you first start reinforcing or rewarding any behavior that is getting the animal closer to the lever.

The difference between shaping and fading is that shaping involves the gradual change and development of a behaviour while the stimulus stays about the same, whereas fading involves the gradual or complete change of a stimulus while the response stays about the same.

For example, when a skill is taught using a hand-over-hand prompt, it should be withdrawn as soon as possible so the student can perform the task without prompts. Fading ensures that the child does not become overly dependent on a particular prompt when learning a new skill (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007).

There are two procedures for fading prompts:

1. Most-to-least prompting: Prompt intrusiveness gradually decreases as correct responses occur, typically used when teaching a new skill (errorless learning).
2. Least-to-most prompting: Amount of assistance is gradually increased until the learner gives an appropriate response.

Stimulus fading is a behavioral procedure that entails the gradual approach of the feared stimuli (e.g., an unfamiliar person) closer to the child, allowing time for habituation (or adjustment) to the stimulus prior to each move closer.

All prompts need to be faded over time or when the student is successful to prevent prompt dependency. If prompts are faded too quickly, errors may be made by the learner. Prompts are used to increase the likelihood that a student will provide a desired response. Fading is gradually reducing the prompt.