A simultaneous prompting probe schedule states when unprompted performance will be tested. Daily probes provide frequent feedback before teaching, while less frequent probes reduce assessment exposure and burden but delay decisions. The best schedule depends on the target, risk, learning pace, valid opportunity frequency, client experience, and mastery rule. Teams should define the schedule in advance and report every probe due, completed, invalid, or declined.
Define the probe schedule
State whether probes occur every teaching day, every set number of days, after a teaching dose, or at another event. Name the target set, opportunity count, response window, mastery rule, and action after a missed probe.
Use the four-child comparison
A 2009 study compared everyday and every-fourth-day probes with four preschool children. Three acquired assigned targets under both schedules, and one acquired only in the every-fourth-day condition. The small study does not establish one universal interval.
Balance information and burden
Frequent probes can detect change quickly and can also add time, repeated exposure, and frustration. Longer intervals reduce probe frequency while allowing more teaching before a decision. Track both learning and the person's response to assessment.
Anchor the decision
The BACB outline covers measurement and data-based decisions. The Ethics Code addresses client involvement, assent when applicable, risk, and evaluation. ASHA supports AAC access on every scheduled probe.
A practical example
A team compares two four-week phases. Daily probes yield 14/16 completed sessions and six minutes of weekly probe time. Every-third-day probes yield 5/6 completed and two minutes weekly. Accuracy is reported by phase without treating unequal opportunity counts as equal exposure.
Questions families can use
What triggers a probe? How many are due? How quickly can the team detect learning or a problem? Does probing add burden? Are mastery and stopping decisions possible with the planned interval?
Sources
- Behavior Analyst Certification Board, BCBA Test Content Outline, 6th edition
- Mengi and colleagues, Simultaneous Prompting Delivered by Telehealth to Teach Young Children with Autism
- Leaf and colleagues, Comparison of Simultaneous Prompting and No-No Prompting in Two-Choice Discrimination Learning with Children with Autism
- Reichow and Wolery, Comparison of Everyday and Every-Fourth-Day Probe Sessions with the Simultaneous Prompting Procedure
- Akmanoglu and colleagues, Comparison of Simultaneous Prompting and Constant Time Delay Procedures in Teaching Children with Autism
- Tekin-Iftar and Olcay-Gul, Increasing Instructional Efficiency When Using Simultaneous Prompting Procedure in Teaching Academic Skills to Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Augmentative and Alternative Communication
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