Mand Training in ABA Therapy
ABA therapy at InBloom Autism Services involves a wide variety of teaching methods and therapy techniques, all geared toward helping your child learn and grow. One of these therapy methods is mand training.
What Is Mand Training?
Mand training, or mand teaching, is simply the process of teaching a child to make requests to get something they want. A therapist teaches a child a mand, a communication tool they can use to make a request. A mand could include a picture, gesture, word, phrase, or sentence.
How Mand Training Works in ABA Therapy
At InBloom, mand teaching is planned by your child’s Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA) and implemented by their Registered Behavior Technician (RBT). The overall goal is to help your child grow in essential communication skills. Let’s explore what this looks like in therapy.
Reinforcement Strategies for Effective Mand Training
Positive reinforcement is vital to any teaching, and ABA therapy is no different. Praising a child as they achieve victories on the way to their goals or rewarding them for practicing their skills can build motivation and confidence. For instance, a kiddo who successfully asks to play a favorite game using a mand they’ve been working on may be rewarded with an opportunity to play it.
Examples of Mand Teaching in Practice
Let’s look at an example of what mand training may look like in therapy as a therapist helps a child build their skills.
- The child is prompted to hold up a picture of a toy truck when they want to play with that truck. They’re given the opportunity to do so, reinforcing the mand.
- The child may be able to say “tru” to indicate their desire to play with the truck.
- A therapist works with the child to verbalize “truck.”
- With continued reinforcement and practice, the child progresses to saying “truck, please,” and, ultimately, asking in a complete sentence.
Teaching Requests Through Motivation
Initially, a kiddo may need a prompt to help them ask for an item. As mand teaching progresses, the child reaches the ultimate goal—asking for something independently, prompted by their internal motivation.
Benefits of Mand Teaching for Children with Autism
What are the benefits of mand training in ABA therapy? Let’s explore its impact on your child’s growth and development.
Improving Communication Skills
Children with autism often have difficulty communicating, making social interactions challenging. Mand teaching gradually builds effective communication skills, enabling your child to connect with peers, express their needs, and navigate many different social settings.
Reducing Frustration and Challenging Behaviors
Being unable to communicate their needs can be quite frustrating for children on the autism spectrum. It is for anyone! Mand teaching can relieve frustration in children and reduce the challenging behaviors that often stem from this frustration, like tantrums or aggression.
Encouraging Independence in Daily Life
Effective communication is essential in navigating daily life. As your child enters school, interacts with peers, and prepares for their future, expressing themselves effectively is crucial. Mand teaching helps them build communication skills that are essential for independence in so many real-world settings.
Mand Training vs. Other Communication Techniques
As adults, we often take for granted just how complex communication is. For a child with autism, mastering the building blocks of speech in a sequential way can be very effective.
Let’s explore some of these building blocks.
Differences Between Mands, Tacts, and Intraverbals
It may be helpful to discuss some other building blocks of communication that are used in ABA therapy and may be confused with mands.
- Tacts. Tacts are essentially labels that identify an object. For example, a child may be taught to identify a chair. A therapist might ask, “What is it?” while pointing to a chair. The child would name it using the correct word.
- Intraverbals. Intraverbals involve talking about things that aren’t physically present. For example, a therapist might ask, “What did you have for breakfast?” “I had toast,” the child might respond. Intraverbals are a bit more abstract than mands or tacts but make up much of what we regard as normal conversation.
When to Use Mand Training in an ABA Program
As part of ABA therapy, mand teaching is often used early on in the therapy process. Being able to ask for things and express needs or wants is foundational for communication. It can lay a foundation for more advanced communication components like tacts and intraverbals. Experiencing the joy of communication through mand teaching can set a child up for success in further conversation skills.
As they grow in communication skills through mand teaching, tacts and intraverbals can be introduced, expanding a child’s repertoire, and unlocking new conversation abilities.
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