Below is a general skill sequence for helping learners increase their range in reinforcers.

Manding for Attention is a skill area that helps learners gain the attention of others appropriately. Unlike the first tier of manding for preferred items, learners in this skill area are motivated for the attention of others. This skill area builds on basic manding goals and sets the stage for a variety of other social interactions. It also pushes the therapist and the BCBA to find opportunities for the learner to engage with people, which can be challenging but ultimately rewarding.

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.

Important: Some of the more advanced skills are geared towards learners that can use vocalizations. Milestones for vocal learners are marked with an asterisk. If you learner is non-vocal, work through the first couple of treatment plan goals that require gestures for attention and ensure they are fluent in them You can move on to the next skill sequence once these goals have been met. For vocal learners, continue through the all of the targets in the sequence. learners may be non-verbal Milestones with asterisks denote treatment plan goals that can be used with vocal learners.

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

• When motivated for the attention of an adult, the learner will tolerate a physical prompt that prompts them to touch the hand of the adult they are motivated for.
• When motivated for the attention of an adult, the learner will touch or tap the shoulder of an adult to gain their attention.
• When motivated for an adult’s attention, learner will present the corresponding picture from a picture exchange that indicates that they want the adult that they want to engage.
• When motivated for the attention of an adult, the learner will use their name to gain their attention.*
• When motivated for the attention of an adult or peer, the learner will tap their shoulder and say “excuse me” to gain access to their attention.*

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.

Arguably, manding for attention is the second tier of manding. In the first tier, we teach manding for preferred items. In the second, we teach manding for people who might be in possession of our preferred items—and therefore these people become preferred themselves. A component sequence to manding for attention is manding for items. See below.

Intro to Reinforcer/Preference Expansion

Intro to Manding

Skill Possibilities

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

Mands for Escape

Manding for Actions

Mands for Missing Items

2-3 Word Mands

Echoic-to-Mand Transfers

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.

If you learner is non-vocal, work through the first couple of treatment plan goals that require gestures for attention and ensure they are fluent in them You can move on to the next skill sequence once these goals have been met. For vocal learners, continue through the all of the targets in the sequence.

2-3 Word Mands

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

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