– Jessica Sylvia, MA, BCBA

Here at Connecting the Pieces, we are constantly striving to improve the ways that we support our students.  We research evidenced based teaching practices and continually look to increase our effectiveness in the classroom.  As always, the core mission for all employees is to: Connect students to endless possibilities.

When teaching students, using ABA techniques, one of the main focuses of the ABA practitioner is tailoring teaching techniques based upon each student’s strengths and their areas for growth.  Specifically, when teaching students who have Executive Functioning deficits, we first determine what areas need growth and support.  These areas could be: Organization, Goal-Directed Persistence, Emotional Control, Task Initiation, and/or Planning/Prioritization, just to name a few.

One way to teach students who need support in ‘Planning/Prioritization’ is to teach using a technique called ‘Backward Chaining’.  Backward chaining is a teaching technique in which the trainer creates a complete list of steps to complete a task and then helps the student complete all steps but the very last step.  Once the student completes the last step in the chain, independently, for several days, the trainer steps up the chain and helps the student with all steps in the task except for the last 2.  This process continues until the student is able to complete all steps in the task independently.

Backward chaining is a great teaching technique because, first, it defines what all steps in a task look like, for the student.  Next, it is helpful because the trainer teaches the steps alongside the student, giving them many examples of how to complete the steps correctly.  Lastly, it supports independence (and confidence) by allowing the student to independently demonstrate success in the process while slowly fading out the trainer’s support.

A good example of backward chaining, within the area of  ‘Planning/Prioritization’, can be explained using the example of nightly homework completion.  The steps to the chain may look something like this:

• Open up list of assignments due
• Create a list of all supplies/tools needed to complete the assignments
• Collect the supplies/tools needed
• List how long each assignment is anticipated to complete
• Write the order in which to complete each assignment, based upon how long it will take and when it is due
• Set a date that each assignment will be completed
• Complete assignments in order
  1. Assignment 1
  2. Assignment 2
  3. Assignment 3

In this scenario, the trainer supports the student in all areas of this chain, up until Step 7c (Assignment 3).  Then, overtime, the trainer slowly fades out of the chain, giving the student more independence.  Over time, the student learns how to plan/prioritize by having been taught and supported through several, (sometimes 100s) trials.  Eventually the student is able to complete all steps of the chain independently. This is always an exciting success for all involved!