Teams can move DTT to natural settings through planned transfer rather than assuming structured performance will generalize. Define the meaningful natural cue, response, ordinary supports, people, materials, setting authority, and client preference. Begin with direct probes, add only the teaching support needed, and keep DTT, coached natural-setting practice, and independent natural-setting data separate. Use advancement, hold, rollback, and stop rules for each version.
Plan how to move DTT to natural settings
Identify what should stay the same and what changes: cue, materials, response form, response effort, timing, partner, consequence, noise, privacy, safety, and access. Verify permission and professional authority in the new setting before scheduling teaching.
Probe before adding many prompts
Present a relevant opportunity under ordinary supports when safe and acceptable. Record independent response, requested help, prompt, error, no response, withdrawal, and invalid conditions. Sample more than one relevant person or example across days when the goal requires that variation. One successful probe is exposure evidence rather than proof of broad generalization.
Preserve useful supports
AAC, visual checklists, mobility devices, sensory tools, maps, calculators, and other self-directed aids may be part of independent performance. Transfer should remove unnecessary teaching prompts, not tools the person uses in daily life.
Use current guidance carefully
The CDC page distinguishes structured and natural-setting teaching at a high level. The BACB outline covers generalization, maintenance, prompts, and evaluation. The Ethics Code addresses competence, collaboration, client involvement, risk, and ongoing review.
A practical example
Tari learns three transit symbols in arranged trials. At a station, Tari identifies two independently and asks for a map cue on the third. The team reports 2/3 independent and 1/3 requested support, then tests a different station before changing the plan.
Questions families can use
Which natural cue matters? What ordinary support stays? Who authorizes teaching here? Which probe comes first? What result advances, holds, or reverses the transfer plan?
Sources
- Association for Behavior Analysis International, Basic Principles in Behavior Analysis
- Behavior Analyst Certification Board, BCBA Test Content Outline, 6th edition
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Treatment and Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder
- LeBlanc and colleagues, Naturalistic Language Strategies for Children With Autism
- Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Augmentative and Alternative Communication
Finni resources
