Introduction to Verbal
Behavior
By
Tracy Vail,MS,CCC/SLP
Speech/Language Pathologist
Let’s Talk Speech and Language
Services, Inc.
Contingencies
Antecedent/Stimulus
Response
(Function Alt.) Evocative
Consequence
Function Altering
Reinforcement
Soc. Med +
Soc. Med –
Auto +
R
(s-delta)
CSS
Auto –
Extinction
MO SD
Punishment
Positive Punishment
Negative Punishment
Self-Stimulatory Behavior
Build Motivation (MO)
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Establish Reinforcers- everyone wants something!
Start with non-verbal connection then add verbal
How does the child respond to the environment?
Be playful- play as children play
Build anticipation
Do the unexpected
Create routines
Gradually change the routines
Stay connected to find reinforcers
Be animated
Pair yourself and talking with reinforcement
BE the Reinforcer!
DO
• Teach errorlessly
• Fade in demands
• Teach to Fluency
• Prompt Quickly
• Fade prompts
Don’t
• follow negative behavior with
reinforcement
• Remove a child from a reinforcing
activity to begin teaching
• Give directions to do things you
can’t prompt
• Make sure all questions have
answers
• Give directions without getting
compliance
• Find numerous reinforcers
• Kill reinforcers by placing too many
demands
• Correct errors
• Have fun!
Pair Sounds/Talking with Fun!
Pairing Sounds with Fun!
Imitate All Sounds Produced
Reinforce all vocal attempts
Pairing with favorite activities
Transfer Procedures/Prompting
• Teach a new behavior by starting with a
behavior that you know the child can
already do.
• The child is more likely to repeat the same
behavior under a different condition
• Once the behavior is taught under the
new condition, gradually fade the prompt
• New learning is build on old learning
• The learning remains “errorless”
Teaching Procedure for Transfers
• Transfer trial- Use the mastered skill to
evoke the desired behavior then present
the new SD to get the same behavior.
• Disractor trial(s)- Present a mastered task
or two
• Independent trial- Re-present the new SD
to evoke the behavior and reinforce
correct response heavily
Correction Procedure
• Use whenever the child responds
incorrectly
• Give the SD + the response
• Wait for the echoic
• Repeat the SD
• Wait for the response
• Run a distractor trial (something the child
can do easily)
• Repeat the SD
Verbal Operants
What purpose does the communication serve
to the speaker and listener?
• Mands- “I talk, I get”
• Tacts- I can label things in the environment
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under a variety of conditions
Receptives- I can follow directions, do what
others tell me to do
Imitation/Echoics- I can do/say what others
do/say
Intraverbal- What I say is dependent upon what
others say but is not the same
Manding
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The basis of all other verbal behavior
Teach by transferring from echoics or “fill-ins”
Giving up the things we want
With and without items present
With and without someone asking “What do you
want?
Teach a variety of sentence forms
Manding from peers
Expand sentence length and teach concepts
through mands
Teach manding for information
Manding for attention
Choosing Response Forms
• If child is non-vocal, must use an
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alternative/augmentative system
Augmentative communication encourages rather
than discourages vocal productions
Experiment to determine how the child responds
to various forms
Picture/object exchange
Signs
Communication Boards
Vocal
Voice output devices
Manding with PECS
Manding with Signs
Be sure not to fade signs too
quickly
Watch for Sign/Vocal
Inconsistencies
Shaping Vocals through Mands
Gradually Build Syllables
NET Manding/Mands for Info
Begin Teaching in “scripted” play
Generalize in less structured format
Teaching Concepts through Mands
Imitation
• Teach through physical prompting or
anticipating actions
• Important for independent learning and
play
• Teach child to do multiple actions in
response to “Do this”
• Gradually increase difficulty and
complexity
Mix NVI’s with other Operants
Echoics- Vocal Imitation
• Teach by transferring from mand, motor
imitation, songs, “sound play” and pairing
with reinforcement
• Use visual and/or physical prompting as
necessary
• Gradually increase length and complexity
• Shape through the mand
Teaching Isolated Sounds
Receptive
• Teach by transferring from imitation or
with physical prompts
• Teach the child to respond to a variety of
SDs (touch, find, show, where’s the etc.)
• Start with items the child can mand for as
well as simple instructions (i.e. come, sit,
clap)
• Gradually increase complexity. Closely
monitor conditional discriminations
Add receptives to reinforcing
activities
Tacts
• Teach by transferring from receptive (if
child tacts), mand, fill-in, intraverbal or
echoic.
• Labeling objects, actions, parts, features,
classes, functions
• Be sure to vary SD’s
• Verbal modules- teach the child to
discriminate between question forms
• Build them up and break them down
Receptive Objects
Fill-in to Tact Transfers
Intraverbal
• Talking about things not present
• Transfer from fill-in, tact, or echoic
• Create “intraverbal links”
• Begin with songs, rhymes, stories and
daily activities
• Gradually increase complexity
• Teach reversal fill-ins early
• Mands for information + intraverbals =
conversation
Fill-ins with Books
Fill-ins with Songs
Intensive Teaching
• Use to practice skills taught in the natural
environment
• Make sure instructors have mastered
transfer and correction procedures to
fluency
• Mix and vary to make sure the child is
responding to the correct SD
Intraverbal FFC’s/Categories in
Intensive Teaching
Use Available Reinforcers
Dealing with Negative Behaviors
• New Behavior (talking) won’t be used if the old behavior
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(hitting) still works
Must determine function of the behavior before
determining how to respond
Look at what happened right before and right after the
behavior
Put time between negative behavior and prompting
appropriate communication
The child never gets anything for negative behavior
Don’t live your life trying to avoid negative behaviors
Get a functional analysis by a behavior analyst if
problems persist
Suggested Readings
• Educate Towards Recovery by Robert Schramm
• The Assessment of Basic Language and Learning
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Skills (The ABLLS) by Partington and Sundberg
The Mariposa School Training Manual by Tracy
Vail
Handouts available at letstalksls.com (Answers
Database)
Thanks for who you are for
children!