Below is a general skill sequence for helping learners match personal safety information.
As learners develop an ability to match pictures of similar items and pictures of similar symbols, it may open the door for working on matching more complex safety words, signage, and common sight words. Additionally, targeting the matching of personal safety words and information may the tone in helping the learner receptively identify and intraverbally respond to basic personal questions in emergency situations. This skill area seeks to target matching personal information like names and addresses to hopefully pave a smooth path for the learner to access and communicate this information in crucial health and safety situations.
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)
Visual Perception/Match to Sample, VP-MTS 6-M, Matches identical objects or pictures in a messy array of 6 for 25 items.
Visual Perception/Match to Sample, VP-MTS 8-M, Matches identical objects or pictures in a messy array of 8 containing 3 similar stimuli, for 25 items (e.g., matches a dog to a dog in an array that also contains a cat, pig, and pony)
AFLS (Assessment of Functional Living Skills)
Basic Communication, BC20, Functional community words, universal symbols, and safety signs (e.g. learner can identify functional words (exit, push, pull, open/closed). Safety signs (no crossing, slippery floor, danger)
Community Knowledge, CK11, States name
Community Knowledge, CK13, States address
Community Knowledge, CK14, States parent/caregiver name
DSM-V Diagnostic Criteria for Autism
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, Cognitive Milestones, Shows simple problem-solving skills, like standing on a small stool to reach something
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 match their full written name to a non-identical version of their full, written name in an array of 15 pictures of common signs, symbols, and personal safety information.
Learner will match elements of their personal information (name, birthdate, address, etc.) to a non-identical version of their full, written name in an array of 15 pictures of common signs, symbols, and personal safety information.
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 match basic personal information. 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 Matches First Name (Ao15)
How to Run
Gain the attention and motivation of the learner.
Present an array of 15 cards with one of them being the learner’s first name.
Give the learner an identical card of the learner’s first name.
Instruct the learner to match: “Match your name!”
Learner should match to the identical card.
Reinforce the learner accordingly.
Additional Notes
Ensure that therapist is not engaging in prompting that they might not be aware of.
Ensure to continually label the information when they match correctly (”Good job matching your name!”) AND when they match incorrectly (”Oops, that’s your birthday. Try again!”).
Materials
14 cards of information with two being identical cards of the learner’s name.
Research/Resources
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#2 Matches Full Name (Ao15)
How to Run
Gain the attention and motivation of the learner.
Present an array of 15 cards with one of them being the learner’s FULL name.
Give the learner an identical card of the learner’s full name.
Instruct the learner to match: “Match your name!”
Learner should match to the identical card.
Reinforce the learner accordingly.
Additional Notes
Ensure that therapist is not engaging in prompting that they might not be aware of.
Ensure to continually label the information when they match correctly (”Good job matching your name!”) AND when they match incorrectly (”Oops, that’s your birthday. Try again!”).
Materials
14 cards of information with two being identical cards of the learner’s name.
Research/Resources
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#3 Matches Birthday (Ao15)
How to Run
Gain the attention and motivation of the learner.
Present an array of 15 cards with one of them being the learner’s birthday.
Give the learner an identical card of the learner’s birthday.
Instruct the learner to match: “Match your birthday!”
Learner should match to the identical card.
Reinforce the learner accordingly.
Additional Notes
Ensure that therapist is not engaging in prompting that they might not be aware of.
Ensure to continually label the information when they match correctly (”Good job matching your birthday!”) AND when they match incorrectly (”Oops, that’s your address. Try again!”).
Materials
14 cards of information with two being identical cards of the learner’s birthday.
Research/Resources
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#4 Matches Address (Ao15)
How to Run
Gain the attention and motivation of the learner.
Present an array of 15 cards with one of them being the learner’s address.
Give the learner an identical card of the learner’s address.
Instruct the learner to match: “Match your address!”
Learner should match to the identical card.
Reinforce the learner accordingly.
Additional Notes
Ensure that therapist is not engaging in prompting that they might not be aware of.
Ensure to continually label the information when they match correctly (”Good job matching your address!”) AND when they match incorrectly (”Oops, that’s your birthday. Try again!”).
Materials
14 cards of information with two being identical cards of the learner’s address.
Research/Resources
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#5 Matches Caregiver A’s Name (Ao15)
How to Run
Gain the attention and motivation of the learner.
Present an array of 15 cards with one of them being the name of the learner’s caregiver.
Give the learner an identical card of the learner’s caregiver.
Instruct the learner to match: “Match your caregiver/mom/dad/grandma/etc.!”
Learner should match to the identical card.
Reinforce the learner accordingly.
Additional Notes
Ensure that therapist is not engaging in prompting that they might not be aware of.
Ensure to continually label the information when they match correctly (”Good job matching your caregiver/mom/dad/etc!”) AND when they match incorrectly (”Oops, that’s your address. Try again!”).
Materials
14 cards of information with two being identical cards with the name of the learner’s caregiver.
Research/Resources
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#6 Matches Caregiver B’s Name (Ao15)
How to Run
Gain the attention and motivation of the learner.
Present an array of 15 cards with one of them being the name of the learner’s caregiver.
Give the learner an identical card of the learner’s caregiver.
Instruct the learner to match: “Match your caregiver/mom/dad/grandma/etc.!”
Learner should match to the identical card.
Reinforce the learner accordingly.
Additional Notes
Ensure that therapist is not engaging in prompting that they might not be aware of.
Ensure to continually label the information when they match correctly (”Good job matching your caregiver/mom/dad/etc!”) AND when they match incorrectly (”Oops, that’s your address. Try again!”).
Materials
14 cards of information with two being identical cards with the name of the learner’s caregiver.
Research/Resources
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#7 Matches Home/Caregiver’s Phone Number (Ao15)
How to Run
Gain the attention and motivation of the learner.
Present an array of 15 cards with one of them being the learner’s home/caregiver phone number.
Give the learner an identical card of the learner’s caregiver.
Instruct the learner to match: “Match your home/caregiver’s phone number!”
Learner should match to the identical card.
Reinforce the learner accordingly.
Additional Notes
Ensure that therapist is not engaging in prompting that they might not be aware of.
Ensure to continually label the information when they match correctly (”Good job matching your home/caregiver’s phone number!”) AND when they match incorrectly (”Oops, that’s your address. Try again!”).
Materials
14 cards of information with two being identical cards of the learner’s home/caregiver’s phone number.
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.
Receptively IDs Personal/Safety Info in 2D Array (Coming Soon!)
Matching Advanced Personal/Safety Information in 2D Array (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)
Matches Common Actions in 2D Array 1.0 (Identical)
Matches Uppercase Letters in 2D Array (Identical)
Matches Basic Safety Signage in 2D Array