Do your students need prompting to learn and complete tasks? Most special education teachers would answer with a yes. We often need to add support via prompts and cues to help our students learn, master, and generalize their skills. The problem comes when we fail to plan for fading prompts so students can truly be independent. Instead, students become prompt dependent.
WHAT IS PROMPTING?
Prompting includes any support we add to instruction, routines, or the environment to help students make progress. Two types of prompts are the hardest to fade:
- Verbal Prompting: includes any questions, words, or sounds you use when the student is working on the skill. It can be as simple as asking, “What do you need?”
- Physical Prompting: Includes pointing, gesturing, using hand-over-hand prompts, etc.
Both of these types of prompting require the same thing… another person to be with them. That’s not independence! Instead, use nonverbal visual supports whenever possible. Students can use visual prompts without anyone else being present.
WHAT DOES PROMPT DEPENDENCY LOOK LIKE?
Prompt dependence occurs when a student needs a prompt to initiate a skill or activity that they have already mastered. The student can only start or complete the activity if someone else does something.
For example, I once had a student who was given a prompt by staff when it was time to turn off the water when she washed her hands. The problem was the student still needed that prompt when she came to my classroom 2 years later. The longer the prompt goes without being faded, the harder it is for the prompt to be eliminated.
Not all prompting is bad. Prompting only becomes a real problem when the prompts aren’t faded. If we don’t plan for fading prompts, then we are creating DEPENDENT students instead of INDEPENDENT students.
“If we don’t plan for fading prompts, then we are creating DEPENDENT students instead of INDEPENDENT students.”
USING VISUALS AS CUES AND SUPPORT
Visual prompts or cues can include:
- Signs that tell students to open, close, exit, enter, etc.
- Visual schedules to help students know what to do and where to go next
- Task analysis visuals that help students complete multi-step tasks or activities
- Labels on items
- Visual recipes
- Arrows to help guide direction
The list goes on and on!
Visual supports are often included in our community. When possible, use the same visuals students will naturally see when they are out in the community. For example, use the same symbol on the bathroom door as in the community. This will help students navigate and find the bathroom in the community when they need it. Resist the urge to hang a cute sign on the bathroom door! Functionality is always better.
TIPS TO REDUCE PROMPT DEPENDENT BEHAVIORS
What if you have students that are already prompt dependent? Use these tips to help students become more independent.
1- Students don’t become prompt dependent on their own… we created their prompt dependency. It’s time to reflect on your behavior and identify the different ways you prompt students. For example, do you ask students, “What do you want?’ or maybe you automatically move your lips to make the beginning sound of a word to prompt the student?
Once you figure out all of the different ways you are prompting, make a plan on how to stop. Oftentimes, teachers have to give students more wait time. It can be awkward waiting for students who need longer wait times, but it is worth it!
2- Get familiar with the prompt hierarchy and use least to most prompting. Prompts at the “least” section of the hierarchy are easier to fade.
3- As you begin decreasing prompts, increase reinforcement. You want to reinforce every attempt at independence! If your student attempts it on his or her own without your prompt, reinforce it immediately.
4- Make sure you are communicating with the family or caregivers about the fading plan. In order for students to make progress across settings, everyone needs to be on the same page. Review the data with everyone involved once a month to assess progress and make tweaks to the approach as needed.
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