Response Prompting Hierarchy Training

Systematic Instruction involves using a specific procedure to teach a skill. Doing this
has shown to be especially successful when working with students with the most
significant disabilities. Some of these procedures include:

- Constant Time Delay
- Progressive Time Delay
- System of Least Prompts (Least-to-Most)
- Most-to-Least Prompting
- Simultaneous Prompting


System of Least Prompts

What it Is:

- Method of systematic instruction that involves using the least intrusive prompt
that is necessary to elicit a correct response from a student

- Least-to-Most (specific prompts and hierarchy will depend on the student):

Independent (no assistance)

Indirect Verbal Prompt (ex: Whats next? or Where should you be?)

Gesture Prompt (ex: pointing)

Direct Verbal Prompt (ex: giving a direction)

Partial Physical Prompt (ex: guiding students hand)

Full Physical Prompt (ex: hand-over-hand)

- Following a specific prompt hierarchy makes instruction cleaner because it should
eliminate the teacher sounding like a broken record, or giving the same verbal
direction over and over when it is clearly not effective (ex: Check your schedule
Kyle Kyle check your schedule Did you check your schedule Kyle?)

- Must know a students control prompt: the prompt that guarantees a correct
response

- In a Least-to-Most prompt hierarchy, we ideally aim for [Independent] + [at least
one in-between] + [control prompt]

- Assessment of a skill is naturally embedded within instruction because students
always have the chance to show what they can do before assistance is given
What It Looks Like:

1. Present the Discriminative Stimulus/Sd: stimulus or cue in the presence of
which should elicit a response
a. Ex: Verbal direction check your schedule (Sd) should cue the
student to check their schedule (response)
b. Ex: Teacher holding up a flashcard with a sight word (Sd) should cue
the student to say the word (response)
c. Ex: A person feels hungry (Sd) should cue that person to go get
something to eat (response)
2. Wait for student to respond (amount of time will depend on students wait
response, generally around 2-5 seconds)
3. If student has not responded, give the first (least intrusive) prompt
4. Wait for student to respond
5. If student does not respond, give the next (least intrusive) prompt
6. Continue the hierarchy until the student responds or the control prompt is used


Things to Consider:

- Student must have a wait response: be able to wait for assistance without
immediately making an error, getting distracted, etc.

- If student does not have wait response, SLP may not be an appropriate strategy to
use for that student (aim for errorless learning)

- Can be embedded throughout the day in naturally occurring activities
o Ex: Checking schedule, using PECS to indicate breakfast preference,
washing hands


Example in Our Classroom:

Greeting peers during Morning Circle:
- Target response: stand up, wave to peers, say hello
- Sd (their cue to respond): hearing their name sung during the greeting song
(Selva, Selva, what do you say) OR the verbal direction (Selvas turn, stand
up)
- If Selva stands up right away, mark I for Independent
- If Selva does not respond, wait 3 seconds (time should be consistent for each
student but may be different between students), repeat the direction AND give a
gesture prompt
- If Selva responds, mark G for Gesture
- If Selva does not respond, wait 3 seconds and repeat the direction AND take her
hand (Physical prompt/her control prompt, mark P)