tunci când vorbim despre autism, ABA este de multe ori văzută ca fiind sinonimă cu Discrete Trial Training – situația în care terapeutul întreabă, copilul răspunde și terapeutul recompensează, iar sarcina se repetă adesea până la de 10 ori consecutiv. Astfel, printre reproșurile care se aduc terapiei ABA se numără acela că învățarea este mecanică și că în afara mediului instrucțional copilul nu este funcțional, nu răspunde la fel de bine ca la oră și nu inițiază. În cazul aplicării incorecte a terapiei ABA, există aceste riscuri. Însă dacă terapia este continuată cu aceeași echipă, coordonatorul se va asigura că generalizarea este planificată și că se face treptat trecerea la mediul natural, astfel încât să se producă adaptarea la mediile sociale precum grădinița, școala, intracțiunea cu alți copii sau adulți în medii informale.ABA este o știință care studiază comportamentele semnificative social în raport cu mediului, care are un rol important în învățarea și menținerea acestor comportamente. Principiile ABA se aplică la orice persoană, nu doar la persoanele cu autism. Însă ABA este foarte cunoscută în domeniul autismului întrucât are cele mai bune rezultate dovedite, până în prezent.Învățarea incidentală este o practică bazată pe dovezi științifice care aparține terapiei ABA și în care ocaziile de învățare sunt inițiate de copil. În cazul intervenției precoce, Discrete Trial Training este foarte important inițial pentru dobândirea unor abilități pivot precum: rostirea primelor cuvinte, dezvoltarea limbajului receptiv, dezvoltarea abilităților de imitare și a celor de autoservire. În paralel, după ce comportamentele neadecvate ale copilului au fost scăzute folosind principiile ABA, iar copilul a devenit mai cooperat, se trece la învățarea incidentală.Inițierea contactului social este un comportament dificil pentru copiii cu autism, de aceea orice ocazie de învățare care se soldează cu succes în învățarea incidentală este o bătălie câștigată în lupta cu autismul.Pașii de urmat:

1. 1.       Listă cu preferințele copiluluiPrimul pas este acela de a observa care sunt obiectele, jocurile, activitățile de care copilul este atras și a scrie lucrurile respective. În ABA observația directă și notarea sunt baza oricărei intervenții.

1. 2.       Organizarea unui mediu motivantÎnvățarea incidentală are loc în general în mediul natural sau în medii cât mai asemănătoare cu cel natural. Dar, cum copiii cu autism au tendința de a-și lua singuri un obiect preferat dacă pot ajunge la el, se pierd ocazii de comunicare. De aceea, obiectele preferate sunt puse undeva la vedere, însă nu sunt accesibile copilului. Astfel, va fi nevoie ca el să inițieze comunicarea.

1. 3.       Așteptarea inițiativei copiluluiPasul trei este poate cel mai dificil, deoarece specialistul și părintele sunt obișnuiți să interacționeze cu copilul punând întrebări. Ei vor fi nevoiți să aștepte inițierea copilului, altfel nu poate fi vorba de învățare incidentală. Odată ce copilul a întins mâna către obiectul dorit, ocazia de învățare este prezentă.

1. 4.       Oferirea unui promptÎnvățarea incidentală este mai mult decât mand-training (a învăța copilul să ceară ceva spontan), obiectivele sale sunt atât creșterea spontaneității copilului, cât și construirea unor noi abilități de comunicare. De aceea, în momentul în care copilul a spus ”mașina” putem să îl întrebăm, înainte de a i-o da: ”Ce culoare are mașina?”, ”Și mașina de lângă ce culoare

e?”, ”Care este mai mică?”, ”Unde se află mașina?”, ”Ce facem cu mașina?”. În funcție de nivelul copilului și de gradul său de toleranță la amânarea recompensei, putem pune una sau mai multe astfel de întrebări. După cum se poate observa, în învățarea incidentală putem lucra atribute, prepoziții, verbe, dezvoltând abilitatea de a comunica a copilului.

1. 5.       Recompensarea directăDacă în situația inițială de învățare, în Discrete Trial Training, recompensa este ceva ce nu are legătură cu lecția (Copilul potrivește imaginile și primește mașina), dar care este preferat de copil, în învățarea incidentală recompensa este acel obiect sau acea activitate care a determinat ocazia de învățare. Dacă mașina a fost obiectul spre care s-a întins copilul și pe care l-a cerut, atunci mașina va fi ceea ce va primi după ce va comunica adecvat legat de mașină. De aceea spunem că recompensa este directă.Pentru părinți, învățarea incidentală este o bună ocazie de a se afla în contact cu copiii lor, contribuind semnificativ la progresele pe care copiii le fac.Surse de informare:http://dddc.rutgers.edu/pdf/incidental_teaching.pdfhttp://www.autismconnectmd.org/education/methods/incidental.htmlhttp://www.lovaas.com/blog/archives/40-Effective,-Individualized-Behavioral-Treatment-4.-Incidental-Teaching.htmlhttp://www.lovaas.com/meetingpoint-2007-04-article-02.phphttp://www.special-learning.com/article/incidental_teaching

alte surse in engleza

http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/Incidental_learning

What is Incidental Learning?It is learning set in the natural environment as opposed to learning in the classroom setting.  For example,  instead of discrete trial training at the table where we repeatedly ask the child when showing her a picture "what is the boy doing? ", we bring the child to the playground and let her sit on the swing and teach her about the action verb "swinging". Of course incidental teaching can also be done at the table.  For example when the child completes a task we may teach her to say "finish" representing the end of an activity.  Hence incidental teaching is spontaneous and has an explicit meaning attached to it.  Not that other forms of teaching

have no meaning but that such meaning is usually more concrete and obvious and thus motivating to children with autism. Incidental Learning is usually attached to a situation (incident) that attaches meaning to the lesson learnt.

What are the benefits of incidental learning to children with autism?1) It is more concrete as the child is able to relate the concept to an event which makes for easier retaining of information. This is also the case for non-autistic individuals. Take for example the comparison between two pieces of information.  The first set of details are a result of a very vivid incident while the second set of details involve just someone speaking to you about it in a mundane, monotonous voice.  Which set of details do you think will stock with you better?

2) Incidental Learning is usually more interesting and fun as compared to traditional method of table top learning. All children regardless of special needs are more ready to learn when their interests are peaked and their attention engaged. Compare a

child's level of attention when watching a favourite cartoon show as compared to watching a same length documentary which she regarded as boring. Many of my students actually retain knowledge learnt through play better than conventional rote memorization if materials.

Related Article – Using Play in Therapy for Children with Autism3) Incidental learning is opportunity for natural interaction. As opposed to table top style learning with more receptive instruction communication, incidental learning provides more opportunity for you and your child to share common experiences and enjoy each other’s company.  For example, your child will most probably enjoy going to the playground with you and learn about the swing than sit at the table and look at pictures of swings. She may also be more spontaneous in her interaction as she seeks you out to request for her favourite activity around the playground.

4) Incidental Learning provides real world learning experiences. Pictures are great teaching tools but there are times when resources used to produce teaching materials can be exhaustive.  Furthermore, handmade and printed resources may also limit your children's exposure to things you might not be able to experience fully through print. For example, touching a glass of cold water proves to be a better learning experience than looking at the picture of a glass of water.

5) Incidental learning facilitates teaching of social emotional skills.  While some children may find learning of social emotional rules and skills easy through verbal instructions, children on the spectrum may find the information too hard to process. Furthermore, verbal instructions about social situations lack meaning to children on the spectrum as they have not experienced what is being told to them

to make it a reality for them. For example, the child may not understand why he has to take turns until he is playing with a friend and personally experience the sharing of a toy. Another example is the expression and understanding of emotion. The child may know what being angry looks like on picture.  But unless he has felt this way, displayed a tantrum and then being informed of that’s what being angry is like; he most probably will have difficulty relating his emotion.

There are numerous benefits that accompany incidental learning. Share with us why you love the concept of incidental learning!

ncidental Teaching Techniques

The Lovaas Model of Applied Behavior Analysis, and ABA therapy in general, is often associated with one method of teaching: discrete trial teaching. While discrete trial teaching often plays a critical role in helping children with autism learn, it is only part of a comprehensive program. Even the 1987 research by Dr. Lovaas mentions other important components of treatment including: 1) generalization of skills in school through systematic prompting and fading by a 1:1 aide and 2) facilitating socialization through peer play dates. A third component of treatment, incidental teaching, is also an evidenced-based practice frequently used at the Lovaas Institute. In incidental teaching, "the instructor assesses the child's ongoing interests, follows the child's lead, restricts access to high interest items, and constructs a lesson within the natural context, with a presumably more motivated child." (Anderson and Romanczyk, 1999) Below are some strategies for implementation and examples of how this powerful teaching technique can help children with autism learn new behaviors.Learning New BehaviorsIncidental teaching can be used to teach new language as well as expand upon the language a child already uses. A few examples from the research include teaching children to:

1. Learn the names of highly preferred objects and actions by requesting for them2. Learn to read words3. Use prepositions to describe where highly preferred objects are located4. Use a more detailed sentence to request a specific highly preferred object (e.g., ask for the blue

train or the red train).5. Use a compound sentence to request a toy and say how the toy will be used (e.g., say, "I want

the blue train and I want to make a train track).

Capturing Initiations

One way of setting up incidental teaching opportunities is to capture initiations that occur in the natural environment. When someone captures an initiation, they take advantage of opportunities that arise in the natural environment. For example,

1. Set out a child's favorite toys before therapy and see which one he gravitates toward. Block his access to the toy and prompt him to call it by name (Bob the Builder) before he can play with it.

2. Wait for a child to go into the kitchen or cupboard area around snack or dinnertime. When he indicates he wants a specific food, prompt him to say the name of it. If the child is nonverbal, prompt him to point to the object he is requesting (or use some other form of augmentative communication). If he already can say the name of the food, prompt him to use a full sentence to request it or to use the person's name he is talking to when requesting.

By creating a rich environment, allowing a child time to explore, and being mindful of typical objects and activities in which that child demonstrates interest, one is able to capitalize on a child's motivation to learn new skills.Contriving SituationsRealistically, some children with autism allow for more opportunities to capture initiations than others. Another way of setting up incidental teaching opportunities is to contrive situations that do not already occur in the natural environment. For example,

1. If a child frequently plays with only a few toys, an instructor may prompt the child over to a new toy and attempt to make that toy interesting. Initially, the instructor may only prompt the child to play with the toy for a few seconds and then allow them to keep playing on their own or return to another activity. The ultimate test is for the instructor to move the toy approximately three feet away from the child while he is playing with it. If the child approaches the toy to keep playing, the instructor can use the opportunity for incidental teaching (e.g., to name the toy, ask "Can I play," etc.).

2. If a child prefers specific task completion activities, some of the pieces can be removed from the set so that the child must ask, "Where's the..." in order for the instructor to go find the missing piece. Hiding objects that a child needs throughout the day is an extension of this (e.g., hiding a child's shoes or coat when it's time to go outside, hiding silverware when it's time to eat, etc.).

3. Wait for a child to request an object or play activity. When he does, get it for him, but then stop walking or run away on the way back to him. Use the opportunity to teach him to repair the situation by repeating his request or to learn new phrases such as "hurry up," "come back," etc.

4. Instructors can purposefully mess up while interacting with a child during a familiar activity or while responding to a child's initiations. For example, change the lyrics to a familiar song or if a child asks for juice, hand him a banana. A child can learn to repair these situations by explaining what an instructor did incorrectly (e.g., for Ring Around the Rosie, "no, it's 'We all fall down,' or "no, this is a banana) and/or by reminding her what he really wants to happen.

Because contrived situations do not occur in a child's everyday life, one must be careful to determine the extent to which these situations will need to continue to be set up in order for the child to maintain a new behavior. Regardless, by contriving situations that build upon a child's interests, research has shown that children can not only learn a wide variety of new skills, but will often more easily generalize these skills.

Incidental TeachingThe most distinctive feature of incidental teaching — characteristic that separates it from all other forms of applied behavior analysis-based therapies for autistic children — is that all interactions must be initiated by the child.  This may seem difficult given that children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, or

ASD, are known for their unwillingness to initiate social dialogue as well as their lack of motivation to learn or interact with others.However, those two common behaviors of autistic children are precisely why incidental teaching was designed as a child-initiated therapy. The initial concept of incidental teaching was originally developed by Risley and Hart in the 1970s (Risley & Risley, 1978) and then expanded as part of the Walden Project under the supervision of Dr. Gail McGee and her colleagues at Emory University in the 1990s (McGee, Morrier, & Daly, 1999).  If a teacher takes advantage of opportunities to encourage self-initiation and overcome poor motivation in the process, the child will develop two of the most critical skills necessary to further his or her progress in the future.But in order to do this, the teacher needs to create an environment that presents plenty of those opportunities, or “teachable moments” to the child.  To start, the teacher, parent or therapist will find it necessary to observe the child in his or her natural environment. It is important to notice what things the child likes to do and what objects within the environment the child enjoys most.  It is also advisable to pay attention to what the child’s typical behaviors are. Take the time to observe which inappropriate behaviors most need to be reduced or eliminated, and the child’s strengths and how they can be used to help her feel good about her abilities whenever she becomes discouraged.After taking note of what things in the environment most interest the child, prepare the working space for incidental teaching exercises by putting as many of those items as possible in the area, but just out of reach of the child (For example, on a shelf or table that is slightly higher than the child can reach).  Make sure they are easily visible to the child.The next step is simple. Wait. If you’ve done the job up to now well, it shouldn’t be long before the child tries to reach for something that has caught her interest. This is it: your first “teachable moment” under the incidental teaching method. It is time for your first prompt, known as a Level 1 Prompt. Here’s what you do: Place your hand over the child’s and, yes, wait again. Remember, the goal is child self-initiation.  The child started the exercise or “teachable moment” by reaching for the item in the manner typical of an autistic child, instead of asking for it. Now you want the child to initiate dialogue if at all possible. Just hold your hand over the child’s and look expectantly for as long as 30 seconds.If the child has not responded by that time, use a Level 2 Prompt. One of the great things about incidental teaching is the number of scripts you need to learn. Here is the standard Level 2 Prompt, which can be used in almost every case: “What do you want?” Once you’ve issued your Level 2 Prompt, wait again, looking expectantly. Hopefully, the child will answer with a verbalization: “Ball” or “Doll,” for example. Now your goal is for the child to elaborate. “What color ball?” or “What kind of doll?” What you want is to have the child interact with you verbally at a slightly higher level than the child would have naturally.If the child answers with any elaboration at all, such as “Red ball” or “Baby,” say, “That’s right, red ball,” and let the child have the item. You have just had a very successful incidental teaching exchange.If, on the other hand, the child still will not verbalize, you need to go to a Level 3 Prompt. Look at the object for a moment, then look back at the child and ask: “What is this?” Wait an ample but appropriate amount of time, and if the child still will not answer, pull out the heaviest weapon in your incidental teaching arsenal: a Level 4 Prompt.Look at the child and enunciate slowly and clearly, and say what you want the child to say: “Red ball.” You have just modeled the behavior you are expecting from the child. At this point, the child is likely to mimic you, something many autistic children are very good at, and say, “Red ball.” Now you can say, “That’s right, red ball,” and let the child have the ball. Your first exchange was still successful.But if the first exchange does not end in verbal elaboration, do not worry about it and DO NOT let the exchange go on too long. Incidental teaching is by design very brief, and it must be enjoyable for both you and the child. If the exchange is taking too much time or if it is becoming unpleasant for either of you, STOP and redirect the child to another activity. Wait for your next opportunity for a “teachable moment.”If the exchange was successful and the child elaborated verbally about what she wanted, you have accomplished a lot; probably more than you realize.  You were able to get the autistic child you are working with to feel motivation and initiate an interaction with you, something most autistic children do not do easily, and you did it in a way that will further motivate the child to repeat this kind of exchange again. Research has shown that motivation and self-initiation are two of the biggest deficits in children with ASD, and they hinder the ability to develop necessary learning, functioning and social skills. You just started the child on the road to overcoming these major hurdles. That’s something to rave about.The verbal elaboration was another key achievement of the exercise. Learning to elaborate is a critical part of the learning process for any child and a major challenge for most autistic children. As you do more

of these exercises, following almost exactly the same formula, you will be able to hold dialogues of perhaps 30 seconds to a minute in which you ask questions about the object of the exercise and the child will answer them. As a result, the child will begin to generalize the concept of elaboration and do it more easily in a wider variety of circumstances.Another benefit of the exercise is that it is performed in a natural setting or environment, and the exchange occurs as the child goes about her normal daily routine.  Concepts taught in the child’s natural environment are easier to generalize into other settings such as school or work. The ability to teach in this manner is easier and more enjoyable for both the child and the teacher.That is incidental teaching in a nutshell. Although we have made it sound simple and easy — and for the most part it is — when you are actually in a “teachable moment” it is not always easy to remember how to take proper advantage of it. That’s where careful planning plays a crucial role. Before each opportunity to use incidental teaching in a particular setting, think carefully about what “teachable moments” might present themselves, what you can do to encourage as many of those moments as possible, and what things you can say as Level 3 Prompts that will generate interesting elaboration from the child. Try to find opportunities for incidental teaching in as many settings as possible, such as picnics, parties and visits to the local grocer.Although you will achieve the greatest verbal elaboration with Level 3 Prompts (“Yes, that’s right, blue ball.  What color is the other ball?” “Yes, very good, red. What color is Jenny’s ball?”), it is important to always use the lowest level prompt necessary to get the desired response. Never start an exercise with a Level 3 Prompt.This is merely an introduction to incidental teaching and is not intended to be a full guide to using the technique.  If you intend to use incidental teaching with your child, you will find there is a lot more to learn, especially when applying incidental teaching professionally as part of applied behavior analysis therapy. For a trained therapist, extensive data collection and reporting are essential parts of the ABA process, since they create feedback that helps gauge progress and establish goals.Whole textbooks have been written about incidental teaching and there are plenty of resources to help you learn more right here at Special Learning. If you find that incidental teaching is effective with your child, you will probably want to study it further; but for now, try the exercise we have shown to you here and see what happens. If your child responds well and finds the technique enjoyable, you may want to make incidental teaching an integral part of your child’s treatment.