Extra prompts versus no extra prompts in self-care training of autistic children and adolescents.
Color-coded laces slow down shoe-tying generalization for autistic kids—stick with plain materials.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers split autistic kids into two groups. Both groups got the same shoe-tying lessons. One group also got bright color-coded laces. The other group used plain laces.
Kids practiced until they could tie shoes with the training laces. Then researchers tested them with regular, untrained shoes.
What they found
The kids who learned with color laces failed when the colors disappeared. They could not tie regular shoes.
Kids who learned without the extra colors tied regular shoes just fine. The helpful-looking cues actually blocked learning.
How this fits with other research
Latham et al. (2014) seems to disagree. They added hands-on guidance and tactile prompts. Their autistic learners scored higher on every task. The difference: O used touch, not extra visual clutter. Touch helps; extra pictures hurt.
Cihon et al. (2020) backs up the 1980 warning. They compared three big prompting systems for teaching tacts. No system beat the others. More prompts did not create more learning.
Cohen et al. (1990) shows the upside of smart prompting. They bundled modeling, praise, and edible rewards with prompts. All four kids mastered dressing and tooth-brushing. Prompts work when they are part of a full package, not just shiny laces.
Why it matters
Before you add cute visuals, ask if the real world has them. If it does not, skip them. Teach the skill with the same materials the child will meet at home and school. You will see faster generalization and fewer frustrated tears on Monday morning.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Remove decorative cues from teaching materials and practice with the exact items used at home.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
A color-coded "extra prompt" procedure was compared to a "no extra prompt" procedure in teaching autistic children and adolescents how to lace shoes. One randomly assigned group of 10 autistic subjects first learned to lace shoes whose laces and eyelets were color-coded red and white, and then encountered the no extra prompt condition in which color codes could no longer be depended upon to solve the position discriminations required to lace properly. In a counterbalanced fashion, the other group of 10 autistic subjects reached criterion on the non-color-coded, naturalistic shoe before experiencing the extra prompt condition. Analysis of variance and post-hoc analyses suggest that subjects who first learned under the color-coded, extra prompt condition encountered significant difficulty in transferring their newly acquired skill to the naturalistic, non-color-coded condition, whereas subjects who learned initially without the extra prompts had little difficulty with the subsequent color-coded condition. A follow-up procedure requiring all subjects to choose between the color prompt and the position cue revealed that 11 of 20 subjects consistently chose the color cue, even though it resulted in improper lacing. It is recommended that clinicians avoid the use of highly salient, non-criterion-related prompts in teaching certain types of adaptive skills to autistic children.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 1980 · doi:10.1007/BF02408290