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Putting On Pants
Putting On Pants
Putting On Pants

Putting On Pants

Below is a general skill sequence for helping learners put on their own pants.

As your learner develops the ability to perform basic 1-2 step tasks, you may choose to begin teaching behaviors related to dressing. And, as the learner masters these basic behaviors, it may be time to teach the learner to engage in task sequences for dressing for particular clothing items (socks, shoes, t-shirts, and pants). This skill area targets helping learners practice and master the art of putting on their own pants. Note that the targets below are sequences (like a TA). Ensure that you offer adequate reinforcement after each step (if your learner is new to multi-step tasks). As the learner masters this skill area, you can set your sights on buttons, zippers, and snaps!

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 11-M, Spontaneously engages in pretend or imaginary play on 5 occasions (e.g., dressing up, a pretend party with stuffed animals, pretends to cook).
  • Independent Play, IP 14-M, Independently engages in sustained play activites for 10 minutes without adult prompts or reinforcement (e.g., playing with a Etch-a-sketch, playing dress up).
  • Social Behavior and Social Play, SBSP 14-M, Engages in pretend social play activities with peers for 5 minutes without adult prompts (e.g., dress up play, acting out videos, playing house).

AFLS (Assessment of Functional Living Skills)

  • Dressing, DR1, Pants up and down.
  • Dressing, DR2, Pants on and off.
  • Dressing, DR29, Selects own clothes and dresses self.
  • Shopping, SH34, Selects pants based on standard sizes (s, m, l, xl).
  • Shopping, SH35, Selects pants based on measurements.
  • Shopping, SH39, Uses dressing room.

DSM-V Diagnostic Criteria for Autism

  • A3, Deficits in developing maintaining, and understanding relationships, ranging, for example, from difficulties adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts; to difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends; to absence of interest in peers.

CDC’s Developmental Milestones

  • 3 Years, Movement/Physical Development, Puts on some clothes by himself, like loose pants or a jacket.

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 put on their own pants with minimal prompting across three different pairs of pants.
  • Learner will independently put on their own pants across three different pairs of pants.

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 ExpansionIntro to Reinforcer/Preference ExpansionSingle Actions with Common ToysSingle Actions with Common ToysPerforms Preferred Action with Preferred Item (LR)Performs Preferred Action with Preferred Item (LR)Performs Action During Familiar Routines (LR)Performs Action During Familiar Routines (LR)Intro to DressingIntro to Dressing

Skill Possibilities

Below is a possible skill sequence for working on increasing your learner’s ability to follow instructions for putting on pants. 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 Lays our pants while seated

How to Run

  1. Gain the attention and motivation of the learner.
  2. Hand them a pair of pants and have them sit down.
  3. Instruct the learner to put their pants on. “Put your pants on!”
  4. Learner should perform the first step of this sequence:
    1. While seated the learner should lay the pants out at their feet so the waist—end of the pants is at their feet.
    2. The front side of that pants (where the zipper would be if they were blue jeans) should be facing up.
  5. Once the learner lays out the pants correctly, prompt them through the remaining steps and/or reinforce accordingly.

Additional Notes

  • Starting with jeans/khakis may be more ideal as the zipper can indicate which side is the front of the pants.
  • Starting with shorts that are slightly larger is also an option in the beginning stages.

Materials

  • Practice this on a variety of pants.

Research/Resources

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#2 Grabs pants at waist while seated

How to Run

  1. Gain the attention and motivation of the learner.
  2. Hand them a pair of pants and have them sit down.
  3. Instruct the learner to put their pants on. “Put your pants on!”
  4. Learner should perform the first TWO steps of this sequence:
    1. First, they should lay the pants out at their feet while seated (see #1 above).
    2. Then they lean over and should grab the pants at either side of the waist (without getting out of the seat).
  5. Once the learner grabs the pants at the waist, prompt them through the remaining steps and/or reinforce accordingly.

Additional Notes

  • Starting with jeans/khakis may be more ideal as the zipper can indicate which side is the front of the pants.
  • Starting with shorts that are slightly larger is also an option in the beginning stages.

Materials

  • Practice this on a variety of pants.

Research/Resources

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#3 Puts left leg in while seated

How to Run

  1. Gain the attention and motivation of the learner.
  2. Hand them a pair of pants and have them sit down.
  3. Instruct the learner to put their pants on. “Put your pants on!”
  4. Learner should perform the first THREE steps of this sequence:
    1. First, they should lay the pants out at their feet while seated (see #1 above).
    2. Then they lean over and should grab the pants at either side of the waist (without getting out of the seat).
    3. At this point, they should lift their LEFT leg and put it into the proper leg of the pants.
  5. Once the learner puts the left leg in, prompt them through the remaining steps and/or reinforce accordingly.

Additional Notes

  • Starting with jeans/khakis may be more ideal as the zipper can indicate which side is the front of the pants.
  • Starting with shorts that are slightly larger is also an option in the beginning stages.

Materials

  • Practice this on a variety of pants.

Research/Resources

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#4 Pulls cuff over left foot while seated

How to Run

  1. Gain the attention and motivation of the learner.
  2. Hand them a pair of pants and have them sit down.
  3. Instruct the learner to put their pants on. “Put your pants on!”
  4. Learner should perform the first FOUR steps of this sequence:
    1. They should lay the pants out at their feet while seated (see #1 above).
    2. They should lean over and should grab the pants at either side of the waist (without getting out of the seat).
    3. They should lift their LEFT leg and put it into the proper leg of the pants.
    4. Then, they should lean over and pull the cuff from the left leg towards up/towards them so that it goes over their left foot as they push the left foot through (while remaining seated).
  5. Once the learner pulls the cuff over the left foot, prompt them through the remaining steps and/or reinforce accordingly.

Additional Notes

  • Starting with jeans/khakis may be more ideal as the zipper can indicate which side is the front of the pants.
  • Starting with shorts that are slightly larger is also an option in the beginning stages.

Materials

  • Practice this on a variety of pants.

Research/Resources

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#5 Lifts right leg while seated

How to Run

  1. Gain the attention and motivation of the learner.
  2. Hand them a pair of pants and have them sit down.
  3. Instruct the learner to put their pants on. “Put your pants on!”
  4. Learner should perform the first FOUR steps of this sequence:
    1. They should lay the pants out at their feet while seated (see #1 above).
    2. They should lean over and should grab the pants at either side of the waist (without getting out of the seat).
    3. They should lift their LEFT leg and put it into the proper leg of the pants.
    4. They should lean over and pull the cuff from the left leg towards up/towards them so that it goes over their left foot as they push the left foot through (while remaining seated).
    5. They should lift their RIGHT leg and put it into the right leg of the pants.
  5. Once the learner puts right leg in, prompt them through the remaining steps and/or reinforce accordingly.

Additional Notes

  • Starting with jeans/khakis may be more ideal as the zipper can indicate which side is the front of the pants.
  • Starting with shorts that are slightly larger is also an option in the beginning stages.

Materials

  • Practice this on a variety of pants.

Research/Resources

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#6 Pulls cuff over right foot while seated

How to Run

  1. Gain the attention and motivation of the learner.
  2. Hand them a pair of pants and have them sit down.
  3. Instruct the learner to put their pants on. “Put your pants on!”
  4. Learner should perform the first FOUR steps of this sequence:
    1. They should lay the pants out at their feet while seated (see #1 above).
    2. They should lean over and should grab the pants at either side of the waist (without getting out of the seat).
    3. They should lift their LEFT leg and put it into the proper leg of the pants.
    4. They should lean over and pull the cuff from the left leg towards up/towards them so that it goes over their left foot as they push the left foot through (while remaining seated).
    5. They should lift their RIGHT leg and put it into the right leg of the pants.
    6. They should lean over and pull the cuff from the RIGHT leg towards up/towards them so that it goes over their left foot as they push the RIGHT foot through (while remaining seated).
  5. Once the learner pulls right foot/ankle, prompt them through the remaining steps and/or reinforce accordingly.

Additional Notes

  • Starting with jeans/khakis may be more ideal as the zipper can indicate which side is the front of the pants.
  • Starting with shorts that are slightly larger is also an option in the beginning stages.

Materials

  • Practice this on a variety of pants.

Research/Resources

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#7 Stands up and pulls up pants

How to Run

  1. Gain the attention and motivation of the learner.
  2. Hand them a pair of pants and have them sit down.
  3. Instruct the learner to put their pants on. “Put your pants on!”
  4. Learner should perform the first FOUR steps of this sequence:
    1. They should lay the pants out at their feet while seated (see #1 above).
    2. They should lean over and should grab the pants at either side of the waist (without getting out of the seat).
    3. They should lift their LEFT leg and put it into the proper leg of the pants.
    4. They should lean over and pull the cuff from the left leg towards up/towards them so that it goes over their left foot as they push the left foot through (while remaining seated).
    5. They should lift their RIGHT leg and put it into the right leg of the pants.
    6. They should lean over and pull the cuff from the RIGHT leg towards up/towards them so that it goes over their left foot as they push the RIGHT foot through (while remaining seated).
    7. Then, they should stand up, reach down and grab the pants on the waist with both hands, and pull them up.
  5. Once the learner pulls pants up, prompt them through the zipping/buttoning steps (if applicable) and/or reinforce accordingly.

Additional Notes

  • Starting with jeans/khakis may be more ideal as the zipper can indicate which side is the front of the pants.
  • Starting with shorts that are slightly larger is also an option in the beginning stages.

Materials

  • Practice this on a variety of pants.

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.

Intro to DressingIntro to DressingPutting On SocksPutting On SocksPutting On ShoesPutting On ShoesPutting On T-Shirts Putting On T-Shirts

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.

Dressing Self (Simple TA)Dressing Self (Simple TA)Intro to Zippers, Buttons, & SnapsIntro to Zippers, Buttons, & Snaps

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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