Chaining Functional Basketball Sequences (with Embedded Conditional Discriminations) in an Adolescent with Autism

Lambert et al. (2016) worked with a 13-year-old boy with autism. First they used short drills to teach nine basketball basics like dribbling and chest pass. Then they linked those pieces into full offense and defense plays with forward chaining.

The teen learned every basic skill in drill form. He then put the moves together and could run whole game sequences. He even chose the right play when the coach changed the defense.

Ding et al. (2017) used the same chaining idea to teach an adult with autism to cook from written recipes. The steps were clustered into mini-blocks, but the logic matched: teach small, then link.

Wang et al. (2025) stretched clustered forward chaining into the digital world. Three teens with IDD learned to buy items online and the skills stuck. It shows the method travels across tasks and diagnoses.

Matson et al. (2011) asked what happens if you skip untrained steps during chaining. Kids still learned the chain, sometimes faster. That backs Lambert’s choice to let the coach finish early steps while the player watched.

You can copy the two-step plan: run quick DTT drills until each piece is firm, then chain the pieces in order. It works for sports, cooking, or computer tasks. Try it next time you need a client to master a long real-world routine.