The Effects of Alternating Prompt Strategies on the Acquisition of Independent Responding

Behavior analysts use a variety of strategies to help clients acquire meaningful skills, including stimulus prompting. Stimulus prompting is a strategy that increases the likelihood of correct responding by adding supplementary stimuli to a target stimulus that must eventually be removed to enable independent responding. However, traditional stimulus prompt fading methods may not always efficiently transfer stimulus control of supplementary stimuli to the target stimulus. This study evaluated the effects of alternating stimulus prompts on the acquisition of independent consonant–vowel–consonant (CVC) word identification during prompt fading with a participant diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The alternating prompt condition facilitated the acquisition of independent responding in fewer sessions than the single prompt and control conditions. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.