Incidental Teaching

Incidental Teaching
What is it? How do I do it? Do you take data on that?
Erin Hanlon, M.S. CCC-SLP

Lindsey Larson, M.S. CCC-SLP
Beth Bellone, M.S. CCC-SLP, BCBA
Erin Hanlon, M.S. CCC-SLP
Sima Hansalia, M.S. CCC-SLP
Laura Hutt, M.S. CCC-SLP, BCBA
©2005 The New England Center for Children, Inc. (NECC); All Rights Reserved; No portion of this work is to be reproduced or distributed without the express written permission of NECC.
The New England Center for Children
• NECC – day and

residential school
• Serves 240 students
• Ages range from 1-22
years
• Population:
– Autism Spectrum
Disorders
– MR
– Challenging Behavior
ASHA Supports
the Consultative Model
• 2006 Guidelines for Speech-Language

Pathologists in Diagnosis, Assessment,
and Treatment of Autism Spectrum
Disorder Across the Life Span
Why The Consultative Model?
• Treatment should match needs
• Children with autism and severe
developmental disabilities need
– intensive instruction
– many learning opportunities
– to generalize skills across people &
settings
– to maintain learned skills
Why the Consultative Model?
• Consultative S&L services afford
– Consistent and continuous instruction
throughout the child’s day
– Skill generalization across people and
settings in child’s natural environment
– Skill maintenance through practice in
naturally occurring and programmed
opportunities
Training Goals
Learner Outcomes:
– Describe components of Incidental Teaching
– State differences between Discrete Trial and
Incidental Teaching procedures
– State importance of each instructional procedure
– Identify Incidental Teaching opportunities
– State how to arrange the learning environment…
and WAIT for student’s response
– State how to prompt next level of response
– State how to reinforce response
A Few Words from the Experts…
…“Incidental Teaching is when the natural
environment is arranged to attract the
child to desired materials and activities,
the teacher is available to provide
attention, praise, and instruction when the
child initiates interaction with materials.”
(Hart & Risley, 1982)
“You should hear more student
voices than teacher voices”
- Patricia Krantz
4 features of Incidental Teaching
1. Environment is arranged to set the occasion
for a student response
2. Teacher WAITS for student to initiate a
response (observe closely-it may be subtle)
3. Higher level response is prompted
4. Teacher reinforces the student’s response
(naturally occurring consequence-student gets
what she asked for)
Environmental Arrangement
Discrete Trial: Incidental Teaching:
Environment & stimuli Environment & stimuli are
are chosen by the arranged to occasion
teacher to teach a target skill
specific skill
Teacher Behavior

Teacher provides Environmental
Instruction or asks arrangement evokes
question (e.g., “do a student response.
this” or “what do you Teacher waits for
want?” child to initiate a
response.
Prompting

Teacher prompts Teacher prompts a
according to more sophisticated
prescribed prompt version of the student’s
steps initial response
Reinforcement
Teacher provides The reinforcer IS the
reinforcer that may or edible, activity, teacher
may not be related to interaction that the child
the task or activity requested (e.g., T is
(e.g.,T holds up juice; pouring juice just out of
asks “what’s this?”; T reach of child and WAITS;
prompts “ju…”; child child reaches for juice; T
says “juice” prompts “ju…”; child says
R+ = T gives token “juice”
R+ = T gives child juice
Discrete Trial Teaching is important
because…
• Complex skills are broken down into
smaller elements
• Many learning opportunities are provided
to the student to practice the skill (mass
trials).
Incidental Teaching is important
because…
• It provides opportunities for the student to

initiate a response within the activity
• It allows skills to be learned and practiced
within naturally occurring activities
• It provides opportunities for generalization
of skills learned during discrete trials
Both are effective
• Both discrete trial and incidental teaching
are effective in increasing language skills
in children with autism
(Reichle & Keogh, 1985; Sundberg & Partington, 1999)
Discrete trial teaching is Incidental Teaching is effective

effective in teaching skills in teaching skills such as
such as tacting (labeling). manding (requesting).
“Tickle me”
“Fix it”
“Can I see it?”
Discrete trial – Indicate named actions
Planning Teaching Opportunities
• Incidental Teaching begins with the child’s
initiation, but planning is the key to successful
teaching
• Observe & record the child’s initiations-they may
be non-verbal and very subtle
• looking at
• moving toward
• pointing to
• grabbing
• taking a hand and manipulating it to the desired object or
action
• Plan target language to teach.
Planning Teaching Opportunities
• An opportunity begins when the student

comes into contact with something in
the environment that requires a
response.
• An opportunity ends when the response
is given.
Environmental Arrangement
Set the occasion for the student to respond by
sabotaging the environment
Examples on how to increase initiations

• Control access to materials
• Use items of special interest to student
• Set up repetitive routines (play or functional)
• Withhold materials needed for task
• Display pictures of preferred activities
• Start a favorite activity then stop
• Look at materials, look at student, pause
• Move materials closer to student
Prompting
• Students should be prompted to
produce a slightly more complex level of
language than current language skills
– If student initiates pointing: model initial
sound of item, single word approximation,
or 1 PECS symbol
– If student says single word or hands 1
PECS symbol: model 2-words or handing
over PECS sentence
Prompting
If student uses 2-3 word sentence (verbal
or PECS), prompt for:
• Longer, more complete and complex
sentences
• adjectives: color, size, shape, number
• adverbs: fast, slow, loud, quiet
• prepositions: in, on, under, next to, in
front of, behind
Prompt more elaborate language
Target Language: manding hug
Early: “hug”
Intermediate: “I want hug”
Advanced: “Can I have a hug?”
Example: Request Missing Items
Contexts: Mealtime, Leisure activity

How would you arrange the environment?
What student does: looks at teacher, starts looking for

item
Target language:
Early: “Item name”
Intermediate: “I want X” or “I want (verb)
X”
Advanced: “Where is X?”
Example: Requesting Help
Contexts:
What student does:
Looks at teacher and whines, points, hands object to
teacher
Target Language
Early: “Help”
Intermediate: “I need help”
Advanced: “I need help with X”
Waiting…a difficult step
Using verbal prompts such as “What do you
want?” changes the activity to teacher directed
responding for the student (a discrete trial)
• WAIT for the student to respond.

– Wait 3-5 seconds between the programmed event
and the student response
– Wait another 3-5 seconds between prompts using a
least to most prompt hierarchy
Reinforcement
The student obtains the food, toy, needed
items, action, or social interaction for
which he has initiated.
Excuse me & eye contact prompts
Data Collection
• Data is collected per opportunity across
settings, people, activities, or
responses.
• The percent correct is calculated by the
number of correct responses divided by
the total number of opportunities
Incidental Teaching Training and
Competency Components
• Powerpoint Presentation
• Quiz
• Role Plays
• On Shift Observations by SLP
Need for Training at NECC
• Number of curriculum using incidental
teaching format
– 142 curricula
• Number of curriculum with data

– 67 curricula
QUESTIONS?

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Incidental Teaching

What is it? How do I do it? Do you take data on that?

Erin Hanlon, M.S. CCC-SLP

• NECC – day and

• 2006 Guidelines for Speech-Language

Discrete Trial: Incidental Teaching:

Discrete Trial: Incidental Teaching:

• It provides opportunities for the student to

Discrete trial teaching is Incidental Teaching is effective

• An opportunity begins when the student

Examples on how to increase initiations

Target Language: manding hug

Contexts: Mealtime, Leisure activity

What student does: looks at teacher, starts looking for

• WAIT for the student to respond.

• Number of curriculum with data

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