Errorless teaching client supports can include a chosen checklist, timer, adapted tool, sensory support, mobility aid, reminder app, or communication system. A useful ordinary support does not have to disappear for performance to count as independent. The team should distinguish self-directed tool use from clinician-delivered prompts, document who maintains the support, and ask the client which tools improve access, comfort, and everyday participation.
Define errorless teaching client supports
Name the tool, purpose, location, setup owner, backup, and independence rule. A client opening a chosen checklist can be independent; an adult saying open the checklist may be a prompt. Missing or broken supports belong in environmental data when provision is the partner's responsibility.
Fade adult control rather than access
The aim may be fewer adult cues, not fewer tools. Review whether a visual, timer, seating option, headphones, or mobility aid remains useful in ordinary life. Removing it to test independence can create an inaccessible condition that has little relevance outside the probe.
Use professional sources in scope
The BACB outline covers contextual fit, prompts, fading, and evaluation as examination content. The prompting review discusses task and learner variables. The Ethics Code addresses preferences, client involvement, risk, and continual evaluation.
Preserve communication
The ASHA AAC portal says AAC users should always have access to their tools or devices. Treat AAC as communication access and an ordinary support, not a reward or prompt that must be removed.
A practical example
Miles chooses a vibrating timer and picture list for a morning routine. Staff fade verbal reminders while both tools remain. Data distinguish self-initiated list use, adult cues, unavailable-tool events, and complete routines.
Questions families can use
Who chose the support? Is it an ordinary tool or staff prompt? Who maintains it? What is the backup? Which adult cue should fade? How will data avoid calling missing access a learner error?
Sources
- Association for Behavior Analysis International, Basic Principles in Behavior Analysis
- Behavior Analyst Certification Board, BCBA Test Content Outline, 6th edition
- Leaf and colleagues, Comparing Error Correction to Errorless Learning: A Randomized Clinical Trial
- A Decision-Making Tool for Evaluating and Selecting Prompting Strategies
- Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Augmentative and Alternative Communication
Finni resources
