Every child understands at their own pace and in their own way. At GreenLight ABA, we believe in meeting your child exactly where they are and providing the right amount of support at exactly the right time through our personalized ABA therapy. Prompting and fading are two essential techniques we use to help children with autism spectrum disorder master new skills while building their independence and confidence with joy in learning.
What Are Prompts?
Prompts are extra help we provide to guide your child toward success. Like training wheels on a bicycle, they offer temporary support while learning something new and ensure children practice skills correctly from the start. This prevents them from repeating mistakes that can turn into hard to break habits.
Starting Small: Least to Most Prompting
We tailor our prompting strategies to match your child’s unique strengths, interests, and preferences. We start with minimal help and only add more support if your child needs it. This respects what your child already knows and gives them opportunities to show us their abilities.
This method builds your child’s confidence by letting them demonstrate what they know. It encourages independence from the very start and celebrates their existing skills.
Starting Strong: Most to Least Prompting
Sometimes, especially while training a completely new skill, we begin with maximum support to ensure your child experiences success right away. Then we gradually reduce the help as their skills and confidence grow.
This approach is particularly helpful for children who have struggled with learning in the past or when introducing complex new abilities. Starting with full support creates those important early wins, which builds positive feelings about learning and trying new things. Once your child is comfortable and successful, we slowly and systematically reduce the assistance.
Fading: Building True Independence
Fading is how we gradually remove prompts so your child can perform skills on their own. This is a critical part of our approach. We never want your child to become dependent on our support. We want them to experience the pride and confidence that comes with doing things independently.
We fade prompts carefully and systematically, always tracking your child’s progress to know exactly when to reduce support. The key is moving slowly enough to keep them successful but quickly enough to build genuine independence.
Our Commitment to Meaningful Progress
At GreenLight ABA, we are committed to helping your child reach meaningful milestones through a client centered approach focused on their unique strengths, goals, and values.
We never want your child to become dependent on our support. That’s why we carefully monitor progress and systematically reduce prompts based on data. We keep detailed notes on what works and how your child responds, allowing us to make informed decisions about when to step back and let them shine.
Our approach includes fostering joy in learning and building compassionate, respectful relationships not just with your child, but with your entire family. We involve you as an active partner in the therapy process, providing training and support so you can reinforce these strategies at home.
Coordinated Care
At GreenLight ABA, we provide more than therapy. As a close-knit local agency, we build personal and supportive relationships with our clients and their families. We coordinate with other healthcare providers, teachers, and caregivers to ensure your child receives comprehensive, consistent support across all environments.
Our systematic use of prompting and fading techniques helps us teach essential skills including communication, social interaction, play and leisure, flexibility, cooperation, and self-help skills, all while reducing challenging behaviors and promoting social inclusion.
Partner With Us for a Brighter Future
Every child deserves the chance to do things independently to feel capable, confident, and proud of their accomplishments. Through thoughtful, individualized use of prompting and fading techniques, we illuminate the path to a brighter, more independent future for your child.
If you would like to learn more about how we use these evidence-based techniques to support your child’s growth and help your family experience calmer days with a happier child, reach out to GreenLight ABA today.