Below is a general skill sequence for helping learners approach others when they asked to go to them.
Teaching a learner to approach others upon request is a foundational element in both social and classroom development. Socially, it equips learners for gross motor game play, where heeding the directives of others becomes vital. Academically, it represents the initial stage of remote instruction, where the learner must respond to directions given from a distance. Moreover, mastering this skill has significant safety implications. When learners can reliably respond to an instruction to approach a caregiver, it enables that caregiver to verbally redirect the learner from potentially hazardous situations, even from afar.
How this skill area relates to your assessments!
This skill area aligns with various assessments and their respective domains, with milestone and domain codes provided for reference. Additionally, DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for Autism are included to help clinicians identify how this skill area potentially supports medical necessity in relation to the diagnosis.
VB-MAPP (Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program)
Listener Responding, LR 1-M, Attends to a speaker’s voice by making eye contact with the speaker 5 times
Listener Responding, LR 2-M, Responds to hearing his own name 5 times
AFLS (Assessment of Functional Living Skills)
Basic Communication, BC1, Follows instructions
Basic Mobility, MB8, Comes back to caregiver when called
A2, Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, ranging, for example, from poorly integrated verbal and nonverbal communication; to abnormalities in eye contact and body language or deficits in understanding and use of gestures; to a total lack of facial expressions and nonverbal communication.
CDC’s Developmental Milestones
9 months, Social/Emotional Milestones, Looks when you call their name
15 months, Language/Communication Milestones, Follows directions given with both a gesture and words. For example, they give you a toy when you hold out your hand and say, “Give me the toy.”
18 months, Language/Communication Milestones, Follows one-step directions without any gestures, like giving you the toy when you say, “Give it to me.”
Treatment Plan Goal Ideas
This is a list of treatment plan goals. These are different from the goals you will find in the skill sequence below. Your treatment plan goals encompass any number of goals from the skill sequence. Sometime they will include multiple goals from the sequence (”Learner will label 5 toys”) and sometimes the treatment plan goal will be simply consist of a really important goal from the skill sequence (”Will label caregiver”). An analogy I like to use goes as follows: Each skill sequence goal (commonly known as a “target”) represent each stair in a flight of stairs. The treatment plan goal is the flight itself.
Treatment plan goal ideas for this particular skill area are as follows:
Learner will approach a therapist when asked to do so from a distance of 10 feet for social reinforcement.
Learner will approach a peer when asked to do so from a distance of 10 feet for social reinforcement.
Component Skills
Your learner may need to be fluent in these component skills first before introducing this goal/skill area. Component skills for this skill sequence may include skill areas that are fundamental to other areas. Fluency in the skill areas listed below may increase the likelihood that your learner will succeed in this skill sequence and those afterward.
Below is a possible skill sequence for working on increasing your learner’s ability toapproach others when asked. Note that every learner is different and that you likely will need to tweak and vary some programming to their needs. Click the triangle icon to view the full description for each skill in the sequence/area.
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#1 Comes to Therapist for High-Value SR+
How to Run
Note when a learner is engaged in a moderate/neutral/low value activity
At a distance of 3-5 feet, say their name.
They should orient toward you.
Ask them to “Come here!” extend your hand or arms and make the “come here” gesture.
Learner should walk over to you.
Immediately reinforce the learner with a high value item/activity contingent on them coming over to you.
Additional Notes
Physical prompts may be necessary in the beginning stages of this program.
Initially, you may need to “show” the learner the high value item to gain their motivation. However, once they understand the contingency, you can fade the item out of sight, bringing it out only after they’ve come over to you.
Materials
Research/Resources
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#2 Comes to Therapist for High-Value SR+ (10 feet)
How to Run
Note when a learner is engaged in a moderate/neutral/low value activity
At a distance of 10 feet, say their name.
They should orient toward you.
Ask them to “Come here!” extend your hand or arms and make the “come here” gesture.
Learner should walk over to you.
Immediately reinforce the learner with a high value item/activity contingent on them coming over to you.
Additional Notes
Physical prompts may be necessary in the beginning stages of this program.
Initially, you may need to “show” the learner the high value item to gain their motivation. However, once they understand the contingency, you can fade the item out of sight, bringing it out only after they’ve come over to you.
Materials
Research/Resources
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#3 Comes to Therapist for Mod-Value SR+ (10 feet)
How to Run
Note when a learner is engaged in a neutral/low value activity.
At a distance of 10 feet, say their name.
They should orient toward you.
Ask them to “Come here!” extend your hand or arms and make the “come here” gesture.
Learner should walk over to you.
Immediately reinforce the learner with a moderate value item/activity contingent on them coming over to you.
Additional Notes
Physical prompts may be necessary in the beginning stages of this program.
Materials
Research/Resources
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#4 Comes to Therapist for Continuation of High-Value SR+ (10 feet)
How to Run
Note when a learner is engaged in a high value activity.
At a distance of 10 feet, say their name.
They should orient toward you.
Ask them to “Come here!” extend your hand or arms and make the “come here” gesture.
Learner should stop what they are doing and walk over to you.
Immediately reinforce the learner and allow them to return to their high value item/activity contingent on them coming over to you.
Additional Notes
Physical prompts may be necessary in the beginning stages of this program.
Materials
Research/Resources
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#5 Comes to Therapist for Social Praise (10 feet)
How to Run
Note when a learner is engaged in a neutral or low value activity.
At a distance of 10 feet, say their name.
They should orient toward you.
Ask them to “Come here!” extend your hand or arms and make the “come here” gesture.
Learner should stop what they are doing and walk over to you.
Immediately reinforce the learner with their preferred social praise contingent upon their walking over.
Additional Notes
Physical prompts may be necessary in the beginning stages of this program.
Not all social praise needs to be loud and wild! Make sure you recognize the different kinds of praise your learner prefers. Sometimes gentler is better!
Materials
Research/Resources
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#6 Comes to Peer for High-Value SR+
How to Run
Note when a learner is engaged in a moderate/neutral/low value activity
Have a peer stand at a distance of 3-5 feet and say the learner’s name.
They should orient toward the peer.
The peer should then ask them to “Come here!”, extending their hands or arms and make the “come here” gesture.
Learner should walk over to you.
The peer should immediately reinforce the learner with a high value item/activity contingent on them coming over to you.
Additional Notes
Physical prompts may be necessary in the beginning stages of this program.
Materials
Research/Resources
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#7 Comes to Peer for High-Value SR+ (10+ feet)
How to Run
Note when a learner is engaged in a moderate/neutral/low value activity
Have a peer stand at a distance of 10+ feet and say the learner’s name.
They should orient toward the peer.
The peer should then ask them to “Come here!”, extending their hands or arms and making the “come here” gesture.
Learner should walk over to the peer.
The peer should immediately reinforce the learner with a high value item/activity contingent on them coming over to you.
Additional Notes
Physical prompts may be necessary in the beginning stages of this program.
Materials
Research/Resources
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#8 Comes to Peer for Mod-Value SR+ (10 feet)
How to Run
Note when a learner is engaged in a neutral/low value activity.
Have a peer stand at a distance of 10 feet and say the learner’s name name.
They should orient toward them.
Peer should ask them to “Come here!”, extending their hand or arms and make the “come here” gesture.
Learner should walk over to the peer.
The peer should immediately reinforce the learner with a moderate value item/activity contingent on them coming over to you.
Additional Notes
Physical prompts may be necessary in the beginning stages of this program.
Materials
Research/Resources
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#9 Comes to Peer for Continuation of High-Value SR+ (10 feet)
How to Run
Note when a learner is engaged in a high value activity.
Have a peer stand at a distance of 10 feet.
Peer should say the learner’s name.
They should orient toward you.
Peer should ask them to “Come here!” extending their hands or arms and making the “come here” gesture.
Learner should stop what they are doing and walk over to the peer
Therapist should immediately return the learner to their high value item/activity contingent on them coming over to the peer.
Additional Notes
Physical prompts may be necessary in the beginning stages of this program.
Materials
Research/Resources
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#10 Comes to Peer for Social Praise (10 feet)
How to Run
Note when a learner is engaged in a neutral or low value activity.
Have a peer stand at a distance of 10 feet.
Have the peer say the learner’s name.
They should orient toward the peer.
Peer should ask the learner to “Come here!” extending their hands/arms and making the “come here” gesture.
Learner should stop what they are doing and walk over to the peer.
Therapist and peer should immediately reinforce the learner with their preferred social praise contingent upon their walking over to the peer.
Additional Notes
Physical prompts may be necessary in the beginning stages of this program.
Not all social praise needs to be loud and wild! Make sure you recognize the different kinds of praise your learner prefers. Sometimes gentler is better!
Materials
Research/Resources
Concurrent Skills
Working on these skills at the same time could help with goal mastery. Maybe your learner has mastered these skills already. Perhaps they are already listed as component skills above. That’s okay! Targeting other learning channels might help your learner.
These are the possible next steps for learners who have mastered, or are mastering, the skills listed above. Note that new skill areas may require fluency in other component skills not listed above. Also, you can introduce composite skill sequences prematurely to keep your learner progressing, as generativity may occur earlier than expected.
Follow the link below to better understand component-composite analysis.
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Research and Resources
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Disclaimer
Consistent with ethical obligations outlined by the Behavior Analysis Certification Board (BACB), users acknowledge that goal selection/direction is the responsibility of the BCBA. Users understand that goals should be tailored to the learner while ultimately involving the input of clients/stakeholders. Users understand their ethical obligations to the client/stakeholder concerning the selection, implementation, design, and minimization of risk regarding behavior change interventions as outlined in BACB Code. As such, this skill sequence serves as a general framework for generating ideas around this particular skill area and not as an assessment or curriculum.
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Intro to Reinforcer/Preference Expansion
Performs Preferred Action with Preferred Item (LR)
Performs Action During Familiar Routines (LR)
Intro to Sitting 
Performs Actions with Uni-Functional Toys (LR)
Intro to Handholding
Intro to Peers
Greetings (Non-Verbal) 
Transitioning With Others
Intro to Waiting
Following Instructions at a Distance