Teaching Manding

1. Teaching Manding Michelle Geist, BCaBA & Mary Gill, BCaBA November 27, 2006

2. OBJECTIVES Define mand Explain the benefits of teaching manding first Describe how deprivation effects motivation Explain how satiation effects motivation Describe how motivative operations (MOs) can be used and manipulated to teach language

3. Mand A mand is asking for the things that you want and is strengthened by getting them There is a tendency to say �juice� when you want it, and you get it Manding is what teaches the learner that talking or signing is useful

4. Types of Mands Mands for items Ball, cookie, movie Mands for actions Jump, open, pour Mands for assistance Help Mands with carrier phrases Give me, I want.. Mands for removal of aversives Stop, let go, leave me alone, etc. Mands for attention Look!, Watch!, etc. Mands for information How? Where? Why? What? Who?

5. Motivation Talking is more easily acquired and occurs more often when the motivation is strong for desired items, objects or activities It is easiest to teach language skills when the motivation is high

6. Using Powerful Reinforcers Begin mand training by using the learner�s most powerful positive reinforcers It may be helpful to utilize a Potential Reinforcer Profile to identify targets that can be taught as mands (download from www.establishingoperationsinc.com )

7. Teach Mands Extensively Mand training should be taught extensively with early learners Manding many items for which motivation has been captured leads to improvement in vocalizations

8. Intensity Intensity of mand training is important to increase vocalizations Sign training sometimes fails to result in vocal responding when too few opportunities to mand are provided

9. Rules for Teaching Manding 1.�Teaching must occur in the natural and everyday environment where the motivation is typically strong 2.�Capture and contrive as many opportunities per day to teach mands. Set a goal of hundreds of mands per day across many reinforcers, teachers, and settings for early learners. 3.�Count the number of mands, prompted and unprompted, per day and graph your results.

10. Rules for Teaching Manding 4. Prompt the mands initially to teach the child that it is easy to get things with verbal behavior and so as to not turn the child off to communicating by requiring a difficult response at first. 5. Get the best quality response with the least amount of prompting. 6. Practice teaching mands so that you are skilled in how and when to reinforce, what approximations to accept, what level of prompt to provide and how to fade the prompts as quickly as possible.

11. Rules for Teaching Manding 7. Consistency in methods across trainers is essential and provides lots of opportunities for generalization. 8. An orderly and progressive curriculum must be in place. Always be a giver, not a taker!

12. Manding with Sign Language Teaching mands with sign: Establish MO (learner WANTS reinforcer) Model the sign Physically prompt sign (if necessary) Give the reinforcer Be sure to say the word at least 3x Gradually fade prompts with reinforcer present Fade the reinforcer from sight

13. Vocal Manding Teaching vocal mands: Establish MO (learner WANTS reinforcer) Model the vocal mand Learner repeats vocal mand Give the reinforcer Gradually fade prompts with reinforcer present (phonemic prompt) Fade the reinforcer from sight

14. Capturing Motivative Operations (MO�s) Motivative operations are conditions in the learning environment that transform activities, food items and objects into reinforcers for the learner Transforming activities, food items, and objects into valuable reinforcers Then, using these activities, food items, and objects as reinforcers to teach the learner to mand, or request, them

15. Deprivation Being deprived of a favorite reinforcer for a period of time increases the desire for that reinforcer

16. Satiation Satiation affects all reinforcers The level of motivation for favorite videos, toys, activities, etc., can and does change frequently Examples�

17. Transitive MO�s When a learner has a strong MO, use this to teach them to mand for other items or actions valuable to obtaining the reinforcer

18. Transitive MO�s Use motivation to increase the number and variety of mands Use Transitive MOs to teach mands for missing items Mand training should always be fun Contrive motivation by manipulating objects and activities Examples�

19. Target Mands: Probe Data

20. Graph: Mastered Mands

21. Total Mands Per Day

22. Graph: Mands Per Day

23. Data: Prompted, Unprompted & Spontaneous Mands

24. Graph: Unprompted, Prompted, Spontaneous

25. Challenges of Teaching Manding Establish, maintain, and expand motivation Control the environment Balance priorities Prevent �rote� responding Plan & teach fluently Consistency across staff/parents Learner initiation Data collection

26. Challenge:Establishing Motivation Contrive situations that will make stimuli more valuable (manipulate motivating operations) Deliver valuable stimuli non-contingently to boost motivation to ask for more

27. Challenge: Expanding Motivation Change some aspect of the activity to create novel opportunities Explore a wide range of activities Pair weak activities with additional reinforcement

28. Challenge:Maintaining Motivation Limit number of demands Present frequent choices End activity and switch to another activity before learner loses interest Recognize the signs that MO is dying: Volume Latency

29. Challenge:Limiting Demands Need to balance the value of the reinforcer with the number and difficulty of demands that you place For some learners, it may be helpful to set a ratio of non-contingent delivery vs. mands Example: give 2 �freebies� for every 1 mand you teach

30. Challenge:Preventing Rote Responses Vary the mands that you require from a learner in a given activity NEVER prompt a mand in the absence of an MO

31. Challenge:Balancing Priorities Trying to target too many additional goals at once may kill the value of manding and detract from verbal behavior development Limit the number of non-verbal skills that you are teaching until basic manding skills are adequately developed Motor skills Self-help skills Play skills

32. Challenge:Competing Reinforcement Have a wide variety of positive reinforcers available that are strong enough to compete with the value of automatic positive reinforcement (�stimming�) In some cases, it may be helpful to analyze the reinforcing properties of self-stimulatory behaviors to help identify powerful reinforcers

33. Challenge:Planning & Teaching Fluently Plan how you will teach target mands in advance Practice teaching procedures prior to working with learner

34. Challenge:Controlling the Environment Sanitize the environment so that you have control over delivery of reinforcers Prepare activities/materials in advance May need to clean up after the learner so that you are able to continuously deliver positive reinforcers

35. Challenge:Consistency Across Staff Ensure that all staff are consistent in the teaching procedures they use and the responses that they reinforce May be beneficial to create �cheat sheets�, posters, etc., as prompts to staff

36. Challenge:Learner Initiation Learner-initiated language is likely to develop through the mand repertoire Allow time for MO to build prior to prompting Differentially reinforce spontaneous mands

37. Challenge:Data Collection Take enough data to make programming decisions, but do not allow data collection to interfere with the quality of teaching Probe data Frequency data Use clicker frequency counters to help with frequency data

38. For more information� Visit www.poacofpa.net for: Information on POAC of PA and upcoming events and workshops Visit www.abahelpinghands.com for: Training information