Where is the student now? Where do you want him to be? Given the sub-skill you selected within your task analysis (your starting point for instruction), how can you shape this behavior into a practical skill for the future?
Some students have such difficulty with managing frustration and interacting with authority that this topic becomes a high priority in preparation for adult environments. Other students have such difficulty with perspective-taking that they say what comes to mind and do not consider roles and social expectations. Both of these patterns present risks in integration in adult environments.
Start with simple and achievable goals for these students. In either case, start with what the student CAN do. Practicing concrete positive tone and alternative statements to state disagreement or confusion are often starting points for the student who fights authority. Practice concrete rules initially in controlled environments and heavily reinforce expected behaviors. Practice the concrete skill in multiple controlled environments with ‘friendly’ staff.
Simply, learning to apply varied roles in different settings requires starting with very specific targets and expanding the contexts and people with whom the student will demonstrate the skill. Creating a constantly expanding list of behaviors expected in different roles can serve as a reminder of what the student can do or has learned in this broad skill.
What visual supports (scripts, instructions, reminder cues, etc.) will you use to help the student rehearse the expected behavior or skill?
Visual reminders, instructions and scripts can play a major role in building these skills. Manners to use, what to say in certain situations, non-verbal communication behaviors, and coping statements may all come in handy with different students.
The graphic organizer will be crucial in helping the student to see how he fits into the larger scheme, the “hierarchy” within a school and workplace. You would develop and introduce the graphic organizer in initial stages of teaching, but revisit it with the student repeatedly to review concepts and to build upon concepts.
What type of prompting might you need to provide in the initial learning phase?
Models of what to do in a concrete situation will be necessary. The student may reject the model’s behavior but you can engage the student around what he can say or how he can say it. It was noted earlier that in priming, we are trying to get agreement on why the student needs to use these rules. You can continue this priming by getting the student involved in determining what is acceptable.
Beyond modeling, the instructor needs to label the expected behavior and design the visual support so that the student can use it in practice and in labeling what he sees in others’ practice. Again, systematic fading of modeling, labeling and eventually even gestural prompts to the visual support can lead to independent use of the support for interaction.
What is your plan for systematically and quickly fading out your prompting? How do you time and fade the prompt to support the student in initiating the target behavior?
Can the student discriminate between the more versus less appropriate response in a given role-play scenario? Are you arranging opportunities for the student to make such discriminations and to label when the instructor or someone else performs the behavior incorrectly?
Caution in your use of discrimination training is encouraged. Very likely, the student already has issues with inappropriate responses to authority, peers, etc. You want to focus heavily on what to do. Present many opportunities to practice appropriate responses and to label appropriate responses. The ‘mistakes’ will happen enough in practice that you have opportunities to naturally talk about what not to do. Emphasize the positive in this work.
Are you arranging frequent practice opportunities to build fluency through repetition?
What steps do you need to take to ensure that everyone targeting that skill applies the same level of prompting and fades it out at the same rate to support initiation by the student?
Sometimes the graphic organizer or list of skills being learned is not only for the student. Sometimes making this available to all staff and personnel interacting with the student is a means to getting better consistency in training.