Below is a general skill sequence for teaching the first stages of imitation
Imitating familiar routines is the next step in building essential skills for learners. Familiar routines are high probability task sequences that the child is likely to encounter on a daily basis, such as brushing their teeth or getting dressed. Building on the foundation established in the previous skill area of imitating preferred items and activities, the child will have a relatively solid pairing with imitation and be better prepared to move on to imitation during familiar routines. This skill is important because it lays the groundwork for the child to be able to respond to listener instructions during familiar routines, and it sets them up for success in imitating with objects in general.
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)
Motor Imitation, MI 5-M, Imitates 20 motor movements of any type (e.g., fine motor, gross motor, imitation with objects)
Motor Imitation, MI 6-M, Imitates 10 actions that require selecting a specific object from m
an array (e.g., selects a drumstick from an array also containing a horn and a bell, and imitates an adult’s drumming)
AFLS (Assessment of Functional Living Skills)
Dressing, DR1, Pants up and down
Dressing, DR2, Pants on and off
Dressing, DR3, Shoes on and off
Dressing, DR4, Boots on and off
Dressing, DR5, Socks on and off
Dressing, DR7, Pullover shirts on and off
Grooming, GR1, Turns on and off sink faucet
Grooming, GR2, Washes hands
Toileting, TL5, Raises and lowers seat before using toilet
Toileting, TL12, Flushes toilet
Meals at Home, MH4, Uses a fork
Meals at Home, MH8, Drinks from open cup
DSM-V Diagnostic Criteria for Autism
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
15 months, Language/Communication Milestones, Follows directions given with both a gesture and words. For example, he gives you a toy when you hold out your hand and say, “Give me the toy.”
18 months, Cognitive Milestones, Copies you doing chores, like sweeping with a broom
Treatment Plan Goal Ideas
When developing a treatment plan for imitation with familiar routines, it is important to carefully consider the number of routines the learner is already familiar with. This will help ensure that the treatment plan goals are realistic and achievable, and that the child is set up for success. It's important to remember that treatment plan goals are long-term objectives, typically reflected in the authorization, and consist of a series of short-term targets that build up towards the overall goal. By breaking down the goal into smaller, achievable steps, the child can focus on mastering each individual step and make steady progress towards the larger objective.
Treatment plan goal ideas for this particular skill area are as follows:
Learner will imitate one action during from a familiar routine when modeled by an adult in the context of the familiar routine.
Learner will imitate three actions during from three familiar routines when modeled by an adult in the context of the familiar routine.
Learner will imitate five actions during from five familiar routines when modeled by an adult in the context of the familiar routine.
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 to imitate actions during familiar routines. 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 Imitates Action During Arrival Routine
How to Run
Note when the learner is about to perform an action during an arrival routine.
Before they do, gain their attention.
Perform the action yourself and say “Do this!”
The learner should then perform that same action and proceed through the rest of the routine.
Additional Notes
These are actions they’ve demonstrated knowing how to perform (or have been verabally prompted through) in the past. Examples of actions you might perform during an arrival routine:
Have your coat on and model taking it off, they should then take theirs off
Model unzipping your coat, they should then unzip their coat
Model turning the door latch to the door into the center, they should turn it and open it
Model hanging up their book bag, give them the book bag, and then they should hang it up.
Materials
Any items from the familiar routine you are targeting.
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#2 Imitates Action During Toileting/Changing Routine
How to Run
Note when the learner is about to perform an action during a toileting/changing routine.
Before they do, gain their attention.
Perform the action yourself and say “Do this!”
The learner should then perform that same action and proceed through the rest of the routine.
Additional Notes
These are actions they’ve demonstrated knowing how to perform or have frequently performed in the past. This usually has to do with routines that are inherent to their day. Examples of actions you might perform during a toileting routine:
Model opening the door to the bathroom, they open it
Model flushing the toilet, they flush it
Model putting the seat down on the toilet, they put it down.
Model grabbing fresh diaper from box (before changing them), they grab the diaper
Materials
Any items from the familiar routine you are targeting.
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#3 Imitates Action During Hand-washing Routine
How to Run
Note when the learner is about to perform an action during a handwashing routine.
Before they do, gain their attention.
Perform the action yourself and say “Do this!”
The learner should then perform that same action and proceed through the rest of the routine.
Additional Notes
Run during all instances of washing hands.
These are actions they’ve demonstrated knowing how to perform or have frequently performed in the past. This usually has to do with routines that are inherent to their day. Examples of actions you might perform during a hand-washing routine:
Model turning on the water, they turn it on.
Model pumping the soap, they pump the soap.
Model throwing away paper towel, they throw it away.
Materials
Any items from the familiar routine you are targeting.
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#4 Imitates Action During Leaving Routine
How to Run
Note when the learner is about to perform a routine action when they are leaving.
Before they do, gain their attention.
Perform the action yourself and say “Do this!”
The learner should then perform that same action and proceed through the rest of the routine.
Additional Notes
Run during any instance where they are leaving the center/home.
These are actions they’ve demonstrated knowing how to perform or have frequently performed in the past. This usually has to do with routines that are inherent to their day. Examples of actions you might perform during a leaving routine:
Model putting on a shoe, they put their shoe on.
Model grabbing their lunchbox, they grab the lunch box.
Model zipping a coat, they zip their coat.
Materials
Any items from the familiar routine you are targeting.
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#5 Imitates Action During Eating Routine
How to Run
Note when the learner is about to perform a routine action during eating
Before they do, gain their attention.
Perform the action yourself and say “Do this!”
The learner should then perform that same action and proceed through the rest of the routine.
Additional Notes
Run during any instance where they are eating a meal/snack.
These are actions they’ve demonstrated knowing how to perform or have frequently performed in the past. This usually has to do with routines that are inherent eating. Examples of actions you might perform during a eating routine:
Model getting a plate, they get a plate.
Model opening the microwave, they open the microwave.
Model stabbing food with a fork, they stab food with their fork.
Model taking a drink, they take a drink.
Materials
Any items from the familiar routine you are targeting.
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#6 Imitates Action During Clean Up Routine
How to Run
Note when the learner is about to perform a routine action during cleaning up after eating.
Before they do, gain their attention.
Perform the action yourself and say “Do this!”
The learner should then perform that same action and proceed through the rest of the routine.
Additional Notes
Run during any instance where you are cleaning up after a meal or snack.
These are actions they’ve demonstrated knowing how to perform or have frequently performed in the past. This usually has to do with routines that are inherent to cleaning up after a meal. Examples of actions you might perform during a clean up routine:
Model dumping contents from a plate in a trash can, the learner imitates it with their own plate.
Model throwing away a paper towel, the learner imitates it.
Model wiping the table after you eat, the learner imitates.
Materials
Any items from the familiar routine you are targeting.
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#7 Imitates Action During Dressing Routine
How to Run
Note when the learner is about to perform a routine action during a dressing routine.
Before they do, gain their attention.
Perform the action yourself and say “Do this!”
The learner should then perform that same action and proceed through the rest of the routine.
Additional Notes
Run during any instance where you are helping the learner get dressed.
These are actions they’ve demonstrated knowing how to perform or have frequently performed in the past with prompts. This usually has to do with routines that are inherent to dressing. Examples of actions you might perform during a dressing routine:
Pull up their pants and say “do this”, then have them do it.
Put on one of their socks for them and say “do this”, then have them perform it.
Put a shirt over their head and say “do this” and then remove it and have them do it.
Materials
Any items from the familiar routine you are targeting.
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.
Elizabeth R. Lorah, Shawn P. Gilroy, Philip N. Hineline,
Acquisition of peer manding and listener responding in young children with autism,
Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, Volume 8, Issue 2, 2014, Pages 61-67,
ISSN 1750-9467,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2013.10.009.
Kaitlin G. Causin, Kristin M. Albert, Vincent J. Carbone, Emily J. Sweeney-Kerwin,
The role of joint control in teaching listener responding to children with autism and other developmental disabilities, Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, Volume 7, Issue 9, 2013, Pages 997-1011, ISSN 1750-9467,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2013.04.011.
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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
Imitates Actions with Preferred Items
Performs Action During Familiar Routines (LR)
Imitation with Uni-Functional Toys
