Preschool Language and Skills/3

Elementary Curriculum and Training » Preschool Language and Skills

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Perspective: Direct Instruction. Its authors are committed to maintaining a high level of scholarly ethics.

Created: 2011 03 07 | Percent completed:

Pairing

Pairing is a simple term to describe making something non preferred (such as a person, puzzle, flashcard, table and chair) into something that is preferred or reinforcing. You do this in a variety of steps. Pairing allows the expansion of interests and reinforcer list. It is important to understand how to pair and how to include pairing in each moment of teaching. When starting therapy, all therapists, teachers, and especially parents should use these techniques to pair themselves with reinforcers. The setting (#1) must be in place first in order to start the pairing process (#2). The pairing process can take days to many months, depending on previous teaching environments.

1. Setting
   • Area (perferably whole house) is sanitized so that child does not have access to toys and activities without adult help
   • Materials needed are organized and ready
   • Variety of reinforcers are available
2. Pairing Process
   • Good to pick pairing activities that require a person for it to be fun
   • Gradually fade in proximity, eye contact, voice, touch, etc.
   • Entice student by creating fun activity
   • Join student during reinforcing activities
   • Deliver item without arbitrary demands
   • Deliver item while saying item’s name
   • Ensure there are no competing reinforcers
   • Does not chase/corner/force student
   • Offers a variety of reinforcers
   • Avoid satiation (making the child full or tired of a toy)
   • Attempt to make ongoing activity more fun (change it up)
   • Do not interrupt reinforcing activities
   • Do not take away reinforcers
   • Do not use escape as a reinforcer
   • Reinforce all appropriate interactions
3. Fading in Demands
   • First demand is requiring student to mand
   • Prompt student, if necessary, to keep response effort low
   • Demands are presented while student is still motivated
   • Student’s response is immediately followed with reinforcement
   • Number of demands is gradually increased
   • Difficulty of demands is gradually increased
4. Morphing to ITT (generally table work, Intensive Teaching)
   • Placing unrelated demands while playing
   • Pair chair and/or table with reinforcement
   • Place demand to sit at table
   • Require student to mand at table
   • Fade in the number of instructional demands
   • Fade in the difficulty of instructional demands
5. Behaviors
   • Only reinforce appropriate behaviors
   • Use extinction procedures appropriately
   • Use differential reinforcement