Below is a general skill sequence for helping learners label basic shapes.
As learners develop the ability to match and receptively identify shapes as well as label colors, letters, and numbers, the clinician may choose to work on having the learner label common shapes. This skill area provides a potential basis for starting your learner off in tacting common shapes. As they gain fluency, the clinician may choose to introduce more complex shapes or they may look teach the learner to identify common shapes in common items.
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)
Tact, T 6-M, Tacts 25 items when asked “what’s that?”
Tact, T 11-M, Tact color, shape, and function of 5 items.
A1, Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, ranging, for example, from abnormal social approach and failure of normal back-and-forth conversation; to reduced sharing of interests, emotions, or affect; to failure to initiate or respond to social interactions.
CDC’s Developmental Milestones
30 months, Language/Communication Milestones, Names things in a book when you point and ask, “What is this?”
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 label five different basic shapes when presented with a shape card and asked to do so.
Learner will label ten different basic shapes when presented with a shape card and asked to do so.
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 label basic shapes. 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 Labels Square
How to Run
Gain the attention and motivation of the learner.
Present a card with a square on it.
Ask the learner “What shape is it/this?”
Learner should vocalize the correct response “It’s/that’s a square!”
Reinforce the learner contingent on desired response.
Additional Notes
Every opportunity should be taken to ask the learner to identify square items in the natural environment.
As the learner becomes more fluent at labeling things, consider having the learner label basic shapes in flashcard style (as opposed to mixing and varying programs from other domains).
Learner should vocalize the correct response “It’s/that’s a circle!”
Reinforce the learner contingent on desired response.
Additional Notes
Every opportunity should be taken to ask the learner to identify circle items in the natural environment.
As the learner becomes more fluent at labeling things, consider having the learner label basic shapes in flashcard style (as opposed to mixing and varying programs from other domains).
Learner should vocalize the correct response “It’s/that’s a triangle!”
Reinforce the learner contingent on desired response.
Additional Notes
Every opportunity should be taken to ask the learner to identify triangle items in the natural environment.
As the learner becomes more fluent at labeling things, consider having the learner label basic shapes in flashcard style (as opposed to mixing and varying programs from other domains).
Learner should vocalize the correct response “It’s/that’s a star!”
Reinforce the learner contingent on desired response.
Additional Notes
Every opportunity should be taken to ask the learner to identify star items in the natural environment.
As the learner becomes more fluent at labeling things, consider having the learner label basic shapes in flashcard style (as opposed to mixing and varying programs from other domains).
Learner should vocalize the correct response “It’s/that’s a heart!”
Reinforce the learner contingent on desired response.
Additional Notes
Every opportunity should be taken to ask the learner to identify heart items in the natural environment.
As the learner becomes more fluent at labeling things, consider having the learner label basic shapes in flashcard style (as opposed to mixing and varying programs from other domains).
Learner should vocalize the correct response “It’s/that’s a rectangle!”
Reinforce the learner contingent on desired response.
Additional Notes
Every opportunity should be taken to ask the learner to identify rectangle items in the natural environment.
As the learner becomes more fluent at labeling things, consider having the learner label basic shapes in flashcard style (as opposed to mixing and varying programs from other domains).
Learner should vocalize the correct response “It’s/that’s a pentagon!”
Reinforce the learner contingent on desired response.
Additional Notes
Every opportunity should be taken to ask the learner to identify pentagon items in the natural environment.
As the learner becomes more fluent at labeling things, consider having the learner label basic shapes in flashcard style (as opposed to mixing and varying programs from other domains).
Learner should vocalize the correct response “It’s/that’s a trapezoid!”
Reinforce the learner contingent on desired response.
Additional Notes
Every opportunity should be taken to ask the learner to identify trapezoid items in the natural environment.
As the learner becomes more fluent at labeling things, consider having the learner label basic shapes in flashcard style (as opposed to mixing and varying programs from other domains).
Learner should vocalize the correct response “It’s/that’s a diamond!”
Reinforce the learner contingent on desired response.
Additional Notes
Every opportunity should be taken to ask the learner to identify diamond items in the natural environment.
As the learner becomes more fluent at labeling things, consider having the learner label basic shapes in flashcard style (as opposed to mixing and varying programs from other domains).
Learner should vocalize the correct response “It’s/that’s an oval!”
Reinforce the learner contingent on desired response.
Additional Notes
Every opportunity should be taken to ask the learner to identify oval items in the natural environment.
As the learner becomes more fluent at labeling things, consider having the learner label basic shapes in flashcard style (as opposed to mixing and varying programs from other domains).
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.
Labels Shape of Common Items (Coming Soon!)
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 Scanning 
Intro to Matching (Visual Perception) 
Following Gestures
Matches Common Items in 2D Array 1.0 (Identical)
Receptively IDs Common Items in 2D Array
Labels Common Items 1.0
Labels Common Actions 1.0
Matches Basic Shapes in 2D Array (Identical)
Receptively IDs Basic Shapes in 2D Array
Labels Common Items 2.0