Concepts
What is a mand (in layman's terms)?
A request / Asking something
A boy was feeling really hungry. He pointed to the cookie jar and looked at his mom. She said he could have 1 cookie since it was almost dinner time. What was the mand?
Point to the jar + eye contact
How would you set up a trial for a patient to practice manding for an item? (3 main steps)
1. Capture or contrive motivation for the item
2. Prompt by providing the name of the item
3. Provide the item + descriptive praise
Learner: Demonstrate interest in item (determine communication modality)
Therapist: Demonstrate how you'd prompt the learner to mand
1. Capture the MO
2. Prompt as needed
3. Reinforce the mand
Name at least 3 ways a non-vocal verbal patient could mand?
1. Eye contact
2. Hand lead
3. Point
4. with PECS
5. with AAC device
6. ASL
A mand is 1 of the 4 main ___ _____s
Verbal operants
Your patient is responding to instructions but suddenly becomes frustrated and turns away. How should you respond?
1. Capture MO for escape before maladaptive behaviors occur
2. Prompt mand for break
3. Provide break (Bonus: how can you incorporate differential reinforcement)?
How would you set up a trial for a patient to mand using "yes"? How would you set it up for the patient to mand using "no"?
Yes = Ensure motivation for the item, ask if they want the item
No = Ensure NO motivation for the item, then ask if they want the item
Learner: Demonstrate stimming behavior (determine communication modality)
Therapist: Demonstrate how you'd contrive the learner's MO to mand for a known preferred item
1. Make the item look fun
2. Capture the contrived MO
3. Prompt as needed
4. Reinforce the mand
Why is it important to provide access to what the learner pulled a picture card for?
It helps them establish the reinforcement contingencies for each picture card which in turn helps them discriminate between the picture cards/icons
What MUST be present before prompting a mand?
Motivating operation (MO)*
- Could be an MO for access or attention (EO)
- OR an MO for removal (AO)
Your patient is in HRE, playing and smiling and responding to NET instructions. A couple peers come in and your patient hides and demonstrates negative affect. What MO might be present?
MO for escape / avoidance (of the peers)
Bonus: What kind of mand could you prompt the patient to emit?
How would you set up a trial for a patient to mand for any missing item?
1. Present task that the patient will be *motivated* to complete
2. Wait until the patient has noticed it's not present
3. Prompt if needed (bonus: how?) OR reinforce mand
Learner: Pull incorrect picture card on PECS (pull pic but show motivation for something else)
Therapist: Demonstrate how you would conduct error correction
1. Give learner access to what they pulled
2. When they set it down or reach for the other thing, provide immediate gesture prompt to correct card
3. Provide access using differential reinforcement
What are the other 3 verbal operants (in addition to mands)?
1. Echoics
2. Tacts
3. Intraverbals
Name at least 3 types of mands (think: broad categories of mands)
1. Mand for item / activity
2. Mand for attention
3. Mand for missing items
4. Mand for attention
5. Mand for escape / removal
While doing DTT, the patient started getting restless but independently pressed his icon for a break. How should the technician respond?
1. Remove the work materials and provide a short break.
2. Praise for asking for a break.
3. Access to a low preferred item could be provided during the break period but highly preferred items should be withheld.
How would you set up a trial for a patient to mand for any type of information?
2. Prompt or reinforce by providing information
Learner: Demonstrate interest in activity (determine communication modality)
Therapist: Demonstrate how you'd set up a mand for missing item trial
1. Remove item needed for task/activity
2. Allow learner to tact absence of item
3. Capture contrived MO for the item
4. Prompt as needed
5. Reinforce the mand
When teaching mands with PECS, how can you ensure discrimination is occurring? (You conduct a...)
A correspondence check
What is another term for mands for self-advocacy / mands for removal or escape?
Functional communication response (FCR)
Your patient is working on a craft and is missing an item to complete it (glue). You prompt your patient to mand for information using "where" (i.e., "where is the glue"?). How should the technician reinforce that mand?
Provide the information (not the item); patient should then USE that information
How would you set up a trial for a patient to mand for self-advocacy OR escape / removal of an aversive stimulus?
1. Ensure MO is present for removal / escape (i.e., something bothering them/aversive is present)
2. Prompt OR reinforce by removing the stimulus
SKILL UP ACTIVITY! EVERYONE ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS:
-2 people volunteer to conduct a 2min mand training session (1 learner, 1 therapist) (determine communication modality)
-Everyone else: Collect frequency data on independent versus prompted mands
-IOA
(Bonus: What is IOA?)
Why are mands typically the first verbal operant that is taught?
They directly benefit the learner which strengthens communication