By Matt Harrington, BCBA · Behaviorist Book Club · Research-backed answers for behavior analysts
Before teaching turn-taking, practitioners should confirm that the learner can tolerate brief delays in reinforcement without engaging in problem behavior, can attend to a partner's actions for at least a few seconds, and has some form of functional communication to indicate wants and needs. Basic waiting skills, response to simple instructions, and a history of reinforcement for attending to others are also important. If these prerequisites are absent, instruction should focus on building them first, as premature turn-taking programs can produce escape-motivated challenging behavior that complicates subsequent intervention.
Motivating operations (MOs) directly influence the value of taking a turn. When a learner has had unlimited free access to an activity, the motivation to wait and take turns with it is weak. Behavior analysts can establish a stronger MO by controlling access to preferred activities — presenting them only in structured turn-taking contexts. This makes the turn itself more reinforcing and the waiting interval more tolerable. Conversely, if a session begins when the learner is already satiated on the target activity, instructional effectiveness will be reduced and problem behavior during waiting may increase.
Initial turn duration should be brief enough that the learner can succeed with minimal prompting — often just three to five seconds for early learners. As the learner demonstrates consistent performance, duration is increased systematically using a shaping procedure. Decision rules for increasing duration (e.g., three consecutive sessions above 80% accuracy) should be specified in the program before instruction begins. Similarly, the partner's turn duration can be gradually extended to build the learner's tolerance for longer waiting intervals, always guided by data rather than clinician intuition.
Least-to-most and graduated guidance prompting hierarchies are commonly used for turn-taking instruction. Gestural prompts (pointing to the partner, then to the learner) are often sufficient for learners who have some turn-taking history. Physical prompting may be needed for learners who require more support to release an item or wait. Time-delay procedures, in which the prompt is delivered after a brief pause to allow independent responding, are particularly useful once initial acquisition has occurred. All prompting strategies should be paired with a plan for systematic fading to prevent prompt dependency.
Grabbing before the partner finishes indicates that the learner has not yet acquired stimulus control over the 'your turn' cue or lacks adequate self-management skills for the waiting interval. Intervention begins with shortening the partner's turn duration so the wait is brief and manageable, then gradually extending it. Physical barriers (placing the item slightly out of reach) can reduce grabbing during early instruction. Differential reinforcement of waiting — providing a small reinforcer for each second of appropriate waiting before the cue — can also establish the waiting response. Data on grabbing frequency across sessions tracks progress.
Multiple exemplar training is the most evidence-supported method for producing generalized turn-taking. From early in instruction, practitioners should vary the partners (parents, peers, different therapists), the activities (manipulatives, games, social routines), and the cue forms (verbal, gestural, visual). Training across multiple exemplars from the beginning, rather than waiting until mastery with one arrangement, produces more robust generalization. Caregivers should also be trained to prompt and reinforce turn-taking at home, and brief generalization probes in natural settings should be conducted throughout the program.
Peer-mediated interventions have strong support in the social skills literature for learners with autism. In these arrangements, typically developing peers are trained to initiate, prompt, and reinforce turn-taking with target learners. Studies published in journals such as JABA have demonstrated that peer-mediated approaches produce social skills that generalize more readily to natural settings compared to therapist-only training. Implementation requires training the peer mediators on specific prompting strategies, monitoring fidelity, and building in reinforcement for the peer's efforts. Behavior analysts should ensure consent and assent from all parties involved.
Problem behavior during waiting typically serves an escape or access function. A functional behavior assessment (FBA) should be conducted before implementing any consequence-based procedure. If the FBA indicates that behavior is maintained by access to the item (learner grabs it), treatment focuses on differential reinforcement of waiting combined with extinction of grabbing and adjusting the MO through access control. If behavior is escape-maintained (learner leaves the activity), the practitioner should evaluate whether the program demands are appropriate and whether reinforcer quality is sufficient to maintain engagement. Response interruption and redirection may be appropriate contingent on FBA results.
Mastery criteria for turn-taking should specify accuracy across multiple sessions, multiple partners, and multiple activities to ensure that the skill has generalized rather than merely meeting criterion with one arrangement. A common format is 80-90% accuracy across three consecutive sessions with at least two different partners and two different activities. Some programs also include a generalization probe in a novel setting (e.g., home or classroom) as a component of mastery. Maintenance probes at 30 and 60 days post-mastery confirm that the skill has been retained without ongoing instruction.
Step-level data collected on each component of the turn-taking task analysis is far more clinically useful than global session data. It identifies precisely which links in the chain are acquired, emerging, or absent, allowing practitioners to target instruction efficiently. Data should also capture prompt level, partner, activity, and the occurrence of problem behavior during waiting. Graphing these data in real time allows practitioners to identify plateaus, prompt dependency, or regression quickly. Regular data review meetings that include caregivers and supervising behavior analysts are a best practice for ensuring program quality and maintaining accountability.
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ on-demand CEUs including ethics, supervision, and clinical topics like this one. Plus a new live CEU every Wednesday.
Ready to go deeper? This course covers this topic with structured learning objectives and CEU credit.
Turn-taking — ABA Courses · 1 BACB General CEUs · $0
Take This Course →1 BACB General CEUs · $0 · ABA Courses
Research-backed educational guide with practice recommendations
Side-by-side comparison with clinical decision framework
All behavior-analytic intervention is individualized. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice. Treatment decisions should be informed by the best available published research, individualized assessment, and obtained with the informed consent of the client or their legal guardian. Behavior analysts are responsible for practicing within the boundaries of their competence and adhering to the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.