Find the cookie when it is asked for (receptive)
Select a cookie if asked:
What do you eat? (function)
What has chocolate chips? (feature)
Find the food (class)
Tell me what you eat.
What has chocolate chips?
What’s crunchy?
| ABA/VB | Traditional ABA | |||
| Language acquisition | Faster language acquisition through early emphasis on functional language. By teaching language for obtaining reinforcers (i.e. mands), this approach encourages faster language acquisition; the child would learn that using language is valuable for obtaining their favorite items or activities. | Language training is more limited. Children are taught receptive (comprehension) and expressive language. | ||
| Reinforcement & Motivation | Ongoing emphasis on capturing motivation. We recognize that a child’s desire for certain items or activities change over time. A simple example would be a child losing interest in obtaining cookies once they are full. Thus, constant monitoring is required to sustain child’s motivation for learning. | Insensitive to changes in child’s motivation to obtain a particular reinforcer. | ||
| Mode of instructional delivery | Natural environment teaching Varied instructions Natural modes of teaching are utilized so that children would find it easier to respond in different situations. | Distraction-free environment Short & rigid instructions | ||
| Teaching procedures | Discrete trial & natural environment teaching Interspersed trials Fluency training Error-less mode of teaching Correction procedures | Intensive, discrete trial teaching No-no-prompt sequence Model-prompt-switch-repeat |