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*Recommended Post: Teaching
Loosely
I have talked about the need for teaching with intentional generalization
on my blog before, but as a refresher here is a definition for Generalization:
The act or
process whereby a learned response is made to a stimulus similar to but not
identical with the conditioned stimulus
I see the pitfalls and learning errors from a
failure to teach to generalization all the time, so this is something that’s definitely
need-to-know information for ABA therapists/instructors. This post is
specifically about generalization across environments---home to school, school
to work, and especially self-contained classroom to inclusion classroom.
If you
have a client or student who can only perform a specific skill this way, in this room, with those flashcards,
then can they really perform the skill? The answer would be: No….they cannot.
I think about this issue a lot when I’m
traveling. I travel often for work, and find myself in unfamiliar airports.
Inevitably, at some point I have to do some problem solving to locate a
bathroom, or to find my luggage, or to get to my gate. Fun fact: I don’t like
to stop people and ask them for help. So how do I problem solve in an
unfamiliar setting? Well, I combine what I know with cues from my environment.
If everyone gets off the plane and starts veering to the left, I should probably
veer to the left too. If I see a blue sign with a suitcase symbol on it, then I
can reasonably expect that we are all walking towards baggage claim.
So I am
able to build upon existing knowledge of airports I am familiar with, and
transfer those skills appropriately based on the new setting. I often wonder, “Could
any of my clients do that? If they were dropped off in a new setting, and
unable/unwilling to communicate with others, could they find their way?”
There are SO many different ways inability to transfer skills can
exhibit itself in learning situations. A big one I see often is learners who
have spent months or years only receiving 1:1 intervention (either early
intervention, ABA therapy, or maybe a school shadow in a special education
classroom), and then must transition to a general education classroom. What happens
to the kid who has been in the “Autism” classroom for 2 years, once he is plopped
into a typical classroom?
Planning for generalization is really about planning for Transition.
There is always a next step, a next goal, and a next challenge in
the lives of the individuals you serve as an ABA professional. To fail to plan
for generalization is almost like saying “This individuals life won’t change,
vary, or improve at any point so I don’t need to prepare him/her for that”.
For most ABA professionals, we know to ask ourselves “can the
learner perform this skill to fluency”, “can the learner perform this skill
with me and with mom/dad”, and “can the learner perform this skill when I vary
the materials”. Go beyond these questions, to ask yourself if the learner could
perform the same matching task they do at the DTT table, inside of a Wendy’s
restaurant. Or if they are learning to brush their teeth at home, can they
brush their teeth inside a school restroom? If they are learning to follow a
bedtime routine at home, can they also follow that routine at a hotel when the
family goes on vacation?
There are many ways to help ensure that the individuals you serve don’t
just learn skills, but that they can transfer those skills from familiar to
non-familiar environments. Successful teaching doesn’t occur in a bubble; it
spreads and pops up spontaneously in new settings.
Tips for Promoting Generalization
1. Plan for it – Well, this seems like an
obvious tip. Do you intentionally plan for generalization when selecting skills
to teach? How? There should be a clear and measurable system for ensuring
generalization is embedded into teaching, and all the staff who work with the
learner need to know what the system is. There are no specific rules here, just
think about the scenarios in which the learner may need to perform the skill.
Let that guide you. For example, if you are teaching labeling colors what about
labeling colors of objects? Labeling colors of animals? Labeling colors outside
at the park? Labeling colors when the stimuli varies (knowing that “pink” can
be light or dark)? Labeling colors while standing in the checkout line at the
grocery store? If you have taught a few colors during DTT using some
flashcards, you definitely are not done until generalization has been planned
for.
2. Vary where you teach- Sometimes
providing ABA in the home environment can cause a disadvantage in this area
because often you are teaching skills the learner needs to perform in their
home. Working in school and center environments automatically helps promote
generalization because teaching can occur outside of the setting where the
skill must be exhibited. As much as possible, vary where you teach. Run trials outside,
in different rooms, at public settings, and plan trips into the community.
I regularly plan “Fun Days” with my clients where we go out and do things, and
on the surface I’m sure it can seem leisure motivated and just about a good
time. But in reality, when we ride in a car, cross a public street, walk
through a store, or enter a Burger King, multiple skills are being targeted and
generalized to new settings.
3. Talk to the parents/caregivers- In order
to successfully embed generalization, you need to know where your learner is
going. Are they transitioning into a new school? Transitioning out of
intensive, in home ABA? Transitioning out of the use of a school shadow?
Each transition can benefit from intentional generalization. I mainly work with
early intervention kiddos, and before they start school I talk to the parents
about helping the learner adjust to learning in a typical classroom environment.
My instruction needs to mirror classroom instruction more and more, as that
learner gets closer and closer to their transition into school. Otherwise, the HUGE
differences between 1:1 ABA and learning in a classroom could trip my learner
up and cause him/her to regress.
4. Think about the Experience each setting offers- This is similar to point #3,
but the generalization lightlbulb came on for me when I started putting myself
in my clients shoes, by thinking about how the experience of setting A differs
from the experience of setting B. Let’s compare learning play skills at an ABA
clinic environment to learning play skills at a park. At a clinic, most likely staff
won’t exceed 5-10 people, reinforcement is immediate and visible, there’s air
conditioning, the space is relatively quiet, and the children sit and play on carpeted
floors. Now let’s look at a typical park/playground: there are multiple adults and
multiple kids present, reinforcement may be discreetly tucked away/hidden or
even back at home (“You can have ____ after we leave the park”), its hot
outside, there’s planes flying overhead and cars driving by, and the children
sit on sand or dirt. Just examining the environmental changes, gives so many
clues as to why all of a sudden the learner cannot perform a skill at the park
that they readily perform during ABA therapy. Add to this possible issues with
sensory processing, and it makes even more sense.
For example if the learner is learning to wash hands, can they perform this skill at home, at school, and inside the bathroom at Red Lobster? Are they readily able to use a towel, automatic air dryer, and paper towels to dry their hands (as the materials in the bathroom usually vary from location to location)?
If not, then that’s an error in teaching, and not to be blamed on the learner.
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