An evaluation of parent preference for prompting procedures
Parents reliably prefer least-to-most prompting after mastering three common prompting strategies.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Halbur et al. (2020) taught parents three ways to prompt their kids. The choices were least-to-most, most-to-least, and progressive prompt delay.
After training, parents tried each method at home. Then they picked the one they liked best and rated how easy and helpful it felt.
What they found
Every parent mastered all three prompting styles. When it was time to choose, every parent picked least-to-most prompting.
Their acceptability scores matched their choice. The method they liked best also got the top rating on the questionnaire.
How this fits with other research
Durand et al. (1990) looked at the same two prompting systems, but focused on child learning speed. They found constant time delay (a form of most-to-least) taught preschoolers sight words faster and with fewer errors than least-to-most.
That result seems to clash with Halbur's parent preference data. The gap makes sense: M et al. counted trials and errors, while Halbur asked parents what felt easiest to use after dinner or at the park.
Gorgan et al. (2019) also compared prompting fixes and saw kids respond differently. Their mixed results line up with Halbur's takeaway—there is no single best prompt; fit depends on who is doing the teaching and what feels sustainable.
Why it matters
If parents like least-to-most prompting, they are more likely to stick with it. High acceptability can mean more practice opportunities for the child and less parent burnout. When you train caregivers, let them sample each method, then honor their choice. A procedure that feels good to the adult beats a “faster” one that sits on the shelf.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Parent participation in intervention can enhance intervention efficacy and promote generalization of skills across settings. Thus, parents should be trained to implement behavioral interventions. The purpose of the current investigation was to evaluate parent preference for and acceptability of 3 commonly used prompting procedures. We trained parents of children with disabilities to use 3 empirically validated prompting strategies (i.e., least-to-most, most-to-least, and a progressive-prompt delay). Once the parent reached the mastery criteria with each prompting procedure, we evaluated his/her preference for each of the procedures using a concurrent-chains arrangement. We also measured treatment acceptability of all procedures throughout the study. All participants met the mastery criteria for each of the prompting procedures and showed a preference for least-to-most prompting. Results suggest parents' acceptability of procedures prior to training were different than posttraining/post-child practice. In addition, acceptability rating scores obtained at the end of the investigation corresponded to preference of intervention during the concurrent-chains arrangement. The results demonstrate the benefits of objective measures for studying preference for behavioral, skill-acquisition procedures.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 2020 · doi:10.1002/jaba.616