MAND TRAINING

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ESTABLISHING REINFORCERS TO INCREASE MAND
REPERTOIRE
Rosa C. Martinez, Ph.D., BCBA
2007
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• DEFINITIONS
• Instructional Control
• Natural Environment Teaching
• Verbal Behavior
• Echoic
• Mand
• Motivation Operations

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Create a Positive Environment GENERAL
INSTRUCTIONAL APPROACH Inductive type of
reasoning Interact using the principles of
behavior and decide from there what to do next.
What is the childs history of reinforcement?
Goal- teach the child to tolerate
instruction Instead of extinction and heavy
physical prompting Examine environment and make
it a better place to be. Reflexive MOs
(Motivating Operations) so the child wants to be
there!
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Skinner Box reflexive motivation worsening
set of circumstances i.e., - the tone prior to
the electric shock Instructors become Reflexive
MOs- the tone coming on suggesting that a
painful stimulation is about to occur.
Demands are a reflexive MO - Your mere presence
is like the tone and the demand is like the
electric shock! You should reduce the value of
escape rather than use physical force to try and
engage the child. Find an off-setting reinforcer
to motivate the child ( i.e., - toy). Pair
yourself with good things! The Point You DO
NOT want to be a Reflexive MO!
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Oh NO! Here comes Rosa again!
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Dont interrupt the childs fun to do an activity
which is less reinforcing.
When the child is playing with a toy or engaging
in an activity, do things that make that activity
more fun.
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• Give Examples..

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Sanitize the environment

• If there are many items scattered about, the
  child may move from item to item as you approach
  him/her.
• Consequently you never become paired with
  providing the reinforcer.
• Instead you wind up chasing the child from toy to
  toy.
• By limiting the availability of reinforcers,
  every time a fun item appears, it is because YOU
  made it available, thus YOU are more fun.

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However after being paired

• The instructor will be able to
• Place demands on the child w/o causing problem
  behavior
• Regardless of how long it takes
• Pairing w/ rfmt is a necessary first step to
  building rapport w/a child

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This is what you want to achieve!
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Use Multiple Operants DO NOT use a special
voice (i.e. sing songy voice) when presenting
antecedents. For example Do this touch nose
stressing certain syllables or sounds, etc. You
may want to limit the length of your statements
but they should be normalized speech. It is
important to mix verbal operants. Use multiple
operants. Not only all mands or only all tacts,
etc. There is nothing wrong with saying Give me
the ball. Avoid using give ball or even just
give me. DO Name the item - TACT it.so the
learner can MAND IT!
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• Multiple controls
• Refers to varying the antecedents so that the
  child learns to respond within a variety of
  contexts. For example if you were teaching dog
  you would use many different types of dog
  pictures). This teaches the child to respond to
  auditory stimuli under multiple control.
• Using Intraverbals
• An intraverbal has many levels. At this early
  stage it is okay to use the following level
  
• Fill-in words from songs
• Fill-in blanks for fun activities
• Say animal sounds

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VB TACTICS RESPONSE EFFORT (must be factored
in) How much effort from the child is required
for the desired response? And is the
reinforcement worth it? When using pictures the
child is required to scan for correct pic, select
correct picture, remove pic, deliver picture,
echo picture name - That is a lot of work and
the child may NOT have all these skills! Early
on you WANT the correct response! (use errorless
learning)
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• Overall approach to improve speech production
• Increase opportunities to engage
• in movements necessary.
• Provide as many opportunities to engage
• in the desired behavior/response
• as possible!

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How do you build NEW reinforcers?

• Use physical play and label it
• Use interactive books
• Use novelty items
• Use cause-effect toys
• Use music, videos
• Gradually expand interests
• add a sensory element to toy or activity

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FOR MANDS DO NOT use just 1 PICTURE This is
NOT making a choice, all the child learns is to
pick up a picture, it doesnt matter what the
picture is. You need to have a conditional
discrimination. You can use 2 pictures and
PROMPT the correct response. When the child
selects the incorrect picture, DO NOT give him
the selected item (when you know it was the wrong
choice!) Base your decisions on what appears to
be the childs motivation.
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Discuss the complexity levels of each bus picture

• Sequence in terms of difficulty level

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DO NOT run ECHOIC training w/ a child who
cannot echo Need MANDS! First words and
communication should be useful (not labels
labels are not useful) ECHOIC Training
LABELING Should NOT be first. MAND first! Sound
production must be reinforcing to the speaker
(i.e.,- good to hear my own voice) The child will
learn that speaking/using his voice results in
getting ____ (the reinforcer, the manded item,
what he wants, good times, etc) and thereby
result in an increase of vocalization.
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NO AVERSIVES VB should never be trained under
conditions of duress- If done aversively the
situation becomes correlated w/punishment instead
of SR (reinforcement). You should introduce
more than 1 item when training MANDS (otherwise
every request becomes that 1 item. Teach
across domains simultaneously, reinforce, make it
easy, use natural occurring contexts, teach
multiple topographies for everything (i.e., -DO
NOT teach more it will become the default
mand)
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You want the child to be happy and relaxed!
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AVOID teaching YES and/or head nod as first
mand This is only effective as a response to
the speaker and limits mand repertoire (requires
question to be asked) blocks spontaneity. YES
should NOT be taught until spontaneous manding,
with large mand repertoire occurs. When teaching
MANDS it is NOT recommended to teach point
repertoire (i.e., picture)
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Correlate sounds w/reinforcer the acoustic
stimulus acts as a reinforcer (stimulus-stimulus
pairing) Stimulus-Stimulus Pairing aka in
speech field as auditory bombardment (i.e., -
stimulus sign language) say sound plus
SR use sounds heard in vocal play Give
examples..
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Once speech sounds are produced you now have the
necessary building blocks When using SIGN
LANGUAGE If the child mands using sign use
time delay (withhold the item manded) and you may
get a vocal response even if it is an
approximation (childs best attempt at the
word) However only use this tactic w/well
established mastered signs signs the child
consistently uses appropriately!) Use a time
delay and a prompting procedure (echoic prompt),
and deliver the reinforcer (manded item) anyway
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EYE CONTACT Running eye contact programs not
recommended! (eye contact will eventually
develop from running other programs or it can be
shaped later after instructional control and
mand behavior is gained. Requiring eye-contact
can displace the response effort) it is not
necessary! Eye contact may develop as a side
effect of MAND training MAND training
establishes person (instructor) as a conditioned
reinforcer If eye contact is not developed after
mands are mastered, put on extinction by NOT
delivering the item when the child mands, and may
result in student looking at you and repeating
MAND DELIVER ITEM.
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TANTRUM BEHAVIORS SIB Are usually
inappropriate mand repertoires, with a
communication function that the child has learned
will result in making his environment better,
getting what he wants, or getting out of what
he doesnt want! Regardless of other hypothesis
(i.e. diet, sensory, exorcism prism glasses
etc.!) Under tantrum circumstances DO NOT
provide any SR (reinforcement) DO NOT DO THIS
Would you like___, or ____? DO THIS Ignore
(regard safety) and continue immediately when
tantrum behavior stops engage and reinforce!
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• EXTINCTION
• Important NOT to pair the inappropriate tantrum
  behavior with SR (reinforcement)
• DO NOT pick up and carry
• DO block access to reinforcer items (try to
  remove them)
• DO ALLOW problem behavior to occur (regard
  safety)
• Problem behavior must be allowed to occur in
  order to be able to extinguish it. The child will
  learn the consequences of the inappropriate
  behavior (ignored-no reinforcing value) and
  contact extinction.

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THE END!