Tyler’s goals and final project Hards 1

The following report is designed to create behavior, academic, and social goals for a

student named Tyler. Tyler is a 4-year-old (4 years and 8 months) who enjoys matching colors,

participating in routine-based games, and stacking blocks. Concerns noted throughout this

assessment include minimal response to directions, small amounts of social interactions with

peers, and not currently identifying all numbers or writing his name. Tyler also engaged in

avoidant behaviors when asked to do something he did not want to do and did not maintain

attention for long periods of time. He has emerging skills which include imitating basic motor

actions from a teacher, producing 2-word phrases, naming some basic household objects,

completing a 4-piece puzzle, and naming pictures of household items. All goals are designed to

be achieved in his natural environment with teachers in the classroom or parents in the home.

The goal written for behavior is: In the general classroom setting, Tyler will follow his

teacher’s one step directions with no more than 3 prompts or cues. We will know he can do this

when he needs less than one prompt, excluding physical, to follow a teacher’s one step direction.

The social goal written is Tyler will imitate gestures while looking at his peers during circle time

when presented with songs that include large gestural movements (i.e., the itsy-bitsy spider hand

gestures, patty cake clapping, and days of the weeklong vowel sounds). We will know he can do

this and is making progress when he imitates 3 vocalizations or gestures of any other student

during the 30-minute circle time. And the academic goal is Tyler will identify the numbers 1

through 10 expressively on flashcards in the classroom with his one to one teacher. We will

know he can do this when he correctly identifies all 10 numbers 80% of the time across three

sessions. These three goals would be monitored and maintained over the next 6 months until a

reevaluation or until mastery criteria is met.

Behavioral Goal
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Each goal that is written will have two strategies for the teacher or parent to utilize to

help meet and exceed this goal. To reach our behavior goal teachers will utilize a token economy

and positive reinforcement strategies to decrease the unwanted behaviors and increase the

desired behaviors. A token economy is a system which in this case gives rewards for target

behaviors that can then be exchanged for larger rewards. For example, Tyler would get a token

for each direction that he followed the first time. After 3 tokens Tyler would get to play with a

preferred toy or get a break. When Tyler does not follow a direction and needs assistance, he will

not get a token and will need to try again. This creates a balance of working for what he wants

and shows him the value of following directions.

Research about Token economies allows us to show how useful and effective they are.

Carnett, Raulston, Lang, Tostanoski, Sigafoos, Lee, & Machalicek (2014) states that “The

results of this study replicate previous research demonstrating the utility of token economy

interventions for children with autism (Matson and Boisjoli 2009) because both token economy

interventions (i.e., with and without the perseverative interest) resulted in decreased challenging

behavior and increased on-task behavior.”. This study was completed with the hopes of

understanding how useful token boards are and if there is a difference in the child's motivation

when the token board is made of preferred items or pictures. The study, as previously mentioned,

says that token boards have a significant effect on increasing wanted behavior and are a good

tool to use in a classroom setting. While they both make a difference in the behavior children

benefit slightly more from a preservative token board due to increased motivation and interest in

the tokens themselves.

This is a good goal for Tyler because he is currently interacting with adults some of the

time and following directions some of the time. He is not currently following 2-step directions
Tyler’s goals and final project Hards 3

and the report states that it is an emerging goal to increase overall interactions with adults. This

is a good way to bridge the gap, make following directions more fun, and increase social

interactions. This can also be replicated in any setting and with any adult. When this goal is

mastered the token board can be utilized at his desk, in his home, or with more lengthy

instructions. Token boards are good starter tools that can grow with the child.

The second strategy goes hand in hand with the first. Using positive reinforcement

throughout the token board interactions can increase excitement and overall willingness to

comply with teacher instructions. Burnett & Mandel’s (2010) study shows that teachers should

use more positive reinforcement throughout the classroom to increase overall engagement and

motivation for their students. The study also noted a decrease in unwanted behavior when

students were given positive praise and interactions when they were exhibiting preferred

behavior. Tyler’s teachers should provide him with praise and encouragement when he is

following directions and earning his token. Small verbal praise can go a long way to encourage a

child and diminish unwanted behaviors. This is a great way to pair the token board with Tyler

and his teachers.

Academic goal

To reach our academic goal Tyler’s teachers will utilize discrete trial training and

stimulus control to teach Tyler the numbers 1 through 10 in a controlled environment. The

academic goal is: Tyler will identify the numbers 1 through 10 expressively on flashcards in the

classroom with his one to one teacher. We will know he can do this when he correctly identifies

all 10 numbers 80% of the time across three sessions. This is an important goal because receptive

IDs are not currently a strong area for Tyler. His teachers and staff would like to see him

identifying more items and using his words more often. Teaching the teachers these two
Tyler’s goals and final project Hards 4

strategies will allow for a more formal teaching environment that can be modified to any shape,

color, letter, or number in the future. These strategies can also be repeated as he ages and in his

home with his parents.

Green (2001), states that stimulus control allows the teacher to control the environment

and increases retention and learning of basic receptive skills. The part of Stimulus control that

these teachers will be using is relating to Discrete trial training. Stimulus control in this setting

allows the teacher to prime the student before learning, get a baseline for each number, and

control what distracting pictures are in the field. This is important when learning different

receptive ID’s and controlling the situation allows us to have an accurate reading of how well he

is retaining and maintaining information. When choosing cards to practice with Tyler the teacher

will choose the same cards each time to ensure that Tyler is retaining the information. Upon

mastery we will rotate the card to make the layout harder but still ensure that the number is being

identified. Likely the teacher will start out with abstract pictures like objects and toys with a

number mixed in and mastery will be met when all the pictures layed out are numbers and Tyler

can differentiate them when asked.

To further increase the understanding of these numbers or any other receptive ID target

the teacher will utilize discrete trial training. Smith (2001) states that discrete trial training is a

proven way of increasing children’s behavioral and academic skills. This is when the teacher

presents the material a total of 5 times to the student. 3 picture cards will be laid on the table and

one picture card will be the target number. The teacher will then ask to touch “the number” and

we would then expect Tyler to touch the correct picture card. We will use the previous technique

of stimulus control to monitor the distracting picture and how we utilize them. The pictures will

get harder as mastery continues introducing more numbers and similar pictures as time goes on.
Tyler’s goals and final project Hards 5

If Tyler answers incorrectly, we will then take the pictures away, reintroduce them and

immediately prompt the correct response. Upon another trial if he gets it correct, we will move

on and if not we would prompt two more tries. This is then scored out of the total 5 chances

noting any prompts needed. 80% across three sessions is needed to move on to another step or

more difficult distracters.

Social goal

The social goal written for Tyler is Tyler will imitate gestures while looking at his peers

during circle time when presented with songs that include large gestural movements (i.e. the itsy

bitsy spider hand gestures, patty cake clapping, and days of the week long vowel sounds). We

will know he can do this and is making progress when he imitates 3 vocalizations or gestures of

any other student during the 30-minute circle time. This is a good goal for Tyler because the

examiner mentioned that Tyler is not showing much interest in other students in the classroom,

and this is a good skill for any child to practice. Tyler is currently showing a little more interest

in adults but needs some help transitioning that to other kids. The teachers will utilize two

strategies to accomplish this goal. These strategies include teacher modeled joint attention and

parallel play techniques.

Parallel play is when two or more children are sitting near one another, playing with the

same type of toys but they are not playing directly together. Bakeman & Brownlee (1980) talk

about parallel play as a great way to bridge the gap when children are not initiating interactions

with other peers. This study talks about how much more likely children are to independently

initiate interactions with other peers when they are first taught and encouraged through parallel

play. This study shows how effective parallel play can be in young children experiencing social

delays. This would be a great start for Tyler since he is not currently initiating any kind of
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interaction with peers. Setting up him and another student with a box of Legos dumped on the

floor and facilitating this distance play is a good way to show him that play with other children

can be fun and that other kids like to do what he is doing. Taking it one step further would be

teaching the peer models to imitate some stacking motions that Tyler is doing to show him that

they can build and play together. This new interest in children will encourage Tyler to watch

other kids during groups and circle time allowing him to accomplish his written goal.

Teacher modeled joint attention talks about encouraging shared focus of two people on

one shared object. Teachers can do this many ways but some proposed ideas for this case include

stacking blocks together, taking turns singing a song during group while pointing to the words on

a board, or playing catch. These are just some of many ideas that could increase Tyler’s want to

interact with others. If Tyler’s joint attention increases, he is more likely to mimic other students

and participate in those circle time songs. The teacher will initiate communication and imitation

between peers by modeling imitation of one another and using positive reinforcement to

encourage these interactions. Staff will also mimic children’s sounds and gestures to encourage

turn taking.

Providing children with the extra guidance to complete successful social interactions and

turn taking with peer’s results in an increase of social interactions overall between

parents/teachers and children. Allowing children to see social interactions and gain guided

experience allows for more growth and a positive foundation for skills that may not have been

developing properly (Schertz & Odom, 2007). This is another great way to encourage this

interaction throughout the day.

In conclusion the best part of these goals and strategies related to these goals is that many

of the strategies can not only be used to accomplish the goal but throughout Tyler’s normal day
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to day schedule. Upon mastery of things like the token economy and discrete trial training Tyler

will be able to learn other goals and targets. All these strategies should be paired with lots of

positive reinforcement and plenty of rewards for working so hard. The token board is something

that can be eventually used for on task behavior not only in the school setting but at home as

well. All these strategies are great family and environmentally friendly ideas that are used

frequently and backed by many years of research. With successful use Tyler will accomplish

these goals and many others to come.

Tyler’s goals and final project Hards 8

Sources

Bakeman, R., & Brownlee, J. R. (1980). The strategic use of parallel play: A sequential analysis.

Child development, 873-878.

Burnett, P. C., & Mandel, V. (2010). Praise and Feedback in the Primary Classroom: Teachers'

and Students' Perspectives. Australian Journal of Educational & Developmental

Psychology, 10, 145-154.

Carnett, A., Raulston, T., Lang, R., Tostanoski, A., Lee, A., Sigafoos, J., & Machalicek, W.

(2014). Effects of a perseverative interest-based token economy on challenging and on-

task behavior in a child with autism. Journal of Behavioral Education, 23(3), 368-377.

Green, G. (2001). Behavior analytic instruction for learners with autism: Advances in stimulus

control technology. Focus on autism and other developmental disabilities, 16(2), 72-85.

Schertz, H. H., & Odom, S. L. (2007). Promoting joint attention in toddlers with autism: A

parent-mediated developmental model. Journal of autism and developmental disorders,

37(8), 1562-1575.

Smith, T. (2001). Discrete trial training in the treatment of autism. Focus on autism and other

developmental disabilities, 16(2), 86-92.