Below is a general skill sequence for teaching learners how to engage with a ring stacker.

The Intro to Ring Stackers skill sequence provides a general skill sequence for teaching learners to engage with a ring stacker. While playing with a ring stacker may not be a key skill in itself, it can be an effective way to increase a learner's preferences and introduce them to new things. Additionally, it can help to develop a learner's play skills more broadly. The Intro to Ring Stackers sequence includes treatment plan goal ideas as well as component skills, skills to work on concurrently while targeting this area, and possible next steps

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)

• Independent Play, IP 1-M, Manipulates and explores objects for 1 minute (e.g., looks at a toy, turns it over, presses buttons) (timed observation 30 minutes)
• Visual Perceptual/Match to Sample, VP-MTS 4-M, Places 3 items in a container, stacks 3 blocks or places 3 rings on a peg for 2 of these or similar activities.

AFLS (Assessment of Functional Living Skills)

• Retail, RT4, Stacks boxes
• Leisure, LS14, Participates in independent INDOOR activities at least 30 min
• Self Management, SM17, Remains calm when having trouble performing difficult or multiple step tasks

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, Cognitive Milestones, Stacks at least two small objects, like blocks
• 18 months, Cognitive Milestones, Plays with toys in a simple way, like pushing a toy car

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: Each skill sequence goal (commonly known as a “target”) represent each stair on a stair case. The treatment plan goal is the staircase itself.

Treatment plan goal ideas for this particular skill area are as follows:

Learner will put one ring on a ring stacker.

Learner will put all rings on a ring stacker in any order.

Learner will put all rings on a ring stacker in the correct order

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.

Intro to Reinforcer/Preference Expansion

Intro to Scanning

Following Gestures

Single Actions with Common Toys

Intro to Matching (Visual Perception)

Imitation with Uni-Functional Toys

Skill Possibilities

Below is a possible skill sequence for working on increasing your learner’s ability to stack rings. 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.

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.

Intro to Reinforcer/Preference Expansion

Single Actions with Common Toys

Performs Actions with Uni-Functional Toys (LR)

Composite Skills

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.

Intro to Shape Sorter (Coming Soon!)

Intro to Blocks/Building

Follow the link below to better understand component-composite analysis.

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Research and Resources

How a component analysis can reshape the way you introduce skills to your learners

The difficulties in coming up with the right programs for your learner can be endless. Very few BCBAs know about or understand the utility in using a little thing called component analysis and how it can help them out in their goal writing. A component what?

flatrockweekly.substack.com

Full Circle: A Strategy to Keep Learner Programs Moving

Here is the important, second half of my first post on component analysis. A composite is a larger skill that is produced from two or more smaller component skills. Basically, a skill made up of other skills. It's a blending of all the mastered, component skills before it.

flatrockweekly.substack.com

• 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.
• Jung, S., & Sainato, D. M. (2013). Teaching play skills to young children with autism. Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, 38(1), 74-90. doi: 10.3109/13668250.2012.732220
• 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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