Errorless Learning
Errorless learning is an therapy strategy that ensures children always respond correctly. As each skill is taught, children are provided with a prompt or cue immediately following an instruction. The immediate prompt prevents any chance for incorrect responses. Unlike other teaching procedures where opportunities for initial mistakes are allowed and then corrected through prompting, errorless learning’s immediate prompting ensures that a child may only respond correctly. Prompts are systematically removed until children are able to respond correctly on their own. The theory behind errorless learning is that children with autism do not learn as successfully from their mistakes as typical children may, but instead continue to repeat them. Research suggests that frustration following incorrect responses associated with trial and error learning can actually provoke problem behavior such as tantrums, aggression, and self-injury. Using an initial prompt, before the child has an opportunity to respond incorrectly, avoids any chance of teaching a chain of errors and bypasses the discouragement that may come from incorrect responding.
The Role of Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is providing something after a behavior that increases the likelihood of the behavior occurring again in the future. Errorless learning uses positive reinforcement combined with prompting strategies to teach new skills. Instructions are immediately followed by a prompted correct response which is then followed positive reinforcement.
Example:
Therapist gives instruction, “clap hands.”
Therapist immediately prompts child by manipulating the child’s hands to make a clapping motion.
Therapist praises the child, “nice job clapping your hands!” and gives the child a reinforcer.
To promote independence the immediate prompts, or amount of help provided, are systematically decreased, or faded, to allow children the opportunity to provide correct responses on their own. Errorless learning strategies used to decrease prompting and encourage independence may include time delay prompting and most-to-least prompting.
Time Delay Prompting
Time delay is a prompt fading strategy that systematically increases the amount of time between the instruction and the prompt. This delaying of prompts gives children a brief window of opportunity to give a correct response on their own. As the child begins to respond independently before a prompt is given, the delay is continuously increased until it is faded out completely. Responses provided independently, before any assistance is given, are immediately followed by positive reinforcement.
Example:
(2 second delay)
Therapist gives instruction, “clap hands.”
Therapist waits 2 seconds and then manipulates the child’s hands to make a clapping motion.
Therapist praises the child, “nice job clapping your hands!” and gives a reinforcer.
(3 second delay)
Therapist gives instruction, “clap hands.”
Therapist waits 3 seconds for the child to respond independently.
If the child does not respond independently, the therapist manipulates the child’s hands to make a clapping motion.
Therapist praises the child, “nice job clapping your hands!” and gives a reinforcer.
Most-to-Least Prompting
In most to least prompting, decreasing the intrusiveness of assistance provided to promote independence in responding systematically fades prompts.
Example:
(light physical prompt)
Therapist gives instruction, “clap hands”
Therapist immediately prompts child by providing a light physical prompt at the child’s elbows to make a clapping motion.
Therapist praises the child, “nice job clapping your hands!” and gives a reinforcer.
(Gesture)
Therapist gives instruction, “clap hands”
Therapist immediately prompts child by raising hands slightly to gesture clapping without touching the child.
Child begins clapping hands.
Therapist praises the child, “nice job clapping your hands!” and gives a reinforcer.
Promoting Independence
It is important to collect data on how often children require prompts as well as how often they give independent responses. This information is used to determine when to decrease prompt levels. An example of decreasing prompt levels using time delay may be delaying prompts 2 seconds, then 3 seconds, and then 5 seconds. An example of decreasing prompts in most-to-least prompting may be lessening the intrusiveness from hand over hand, to a light physical touch, to shadowing the response without any physical contact. For more information on prompting see the Prompting Fact Sheet.
Errors
Even with errorless learning, errors may still occur. If a child makes an error, the teacher may withhold reinforcement and present a new instruction or withhold reinforcement and present the same instruction again providing an immediate full prompt of the correct answer. Errors should never be followed by negative comments, reinforcement, or presentation of a reward.
Suggested Readings
Touchette, P., & Howard, J. (1984). Errorless Learning: Reinforcement Contingencies and Stimulus Control Transfer in Delayed Prompting. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 17(2), 175–188.
Heflin, L. J. & Alberto, P. A. (2001). Establishing a behavioral context for learning for students with autism. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 16, 93-10