Applied Behavior Analysis is a psychological treatment method used to treat autism and other conditions, and chaining is one component of the treatment process. Although ABA is used to treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety and other disorders, autism is the area where it utilized most frequently. There is a dramatic rise in the number of cases of autism reported. Whether this is due to changes in the criteria for diagnosis or whether there is an environmental cause for more cases, no one argues that more children are being diagnosed with autism.
Related resource: Top 20 Online Applied Behavior Analysis Bachelor’s Degree and BCaBA Coursework Programs
Applied Behavioral Analysis
Applied Behavioral Analysis is a psychological treatment method that focuses on isolating a behavior, noting the environment where the behavior occurs [and the “triggers” for it] and then manipulating that environment to change the behaviors. ABA therapists use many methods to achieve positive changes including self-awareness and control education. For autistic children, however, self-awareness may not be immediately attainable. Education, and especially chaining, seems to be a better alternative.
Define Chaining
Chains, in this context, are commonly defined as sequences of individual behaviors that when linked together form a terminal behavior. In simple language, they are small steps that must be taken sequentially to complete a task. For instance, in learning to brush his teeth, a child must take the toothpaste from the cabinet, open the lid, squeeze it onto his brush and so forth.
Why Used With Autism
The American Psychological Association says that autism is the most “severe developmental disorder.” It usually is diagnosed first in children by the time they are three years old. At this time, they are learning many social tasks, things that are difficult for people with autism. Autistic children may have few interests and be obsessive about the ones they do have. They may have strange eating or sleeping behaviors and they may act out. Therapists use ABA, including chaining, to teach these rudimentary behaviors.
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You may have heard murmurings about the benefits of forward and backward chaining in occupational therapy or education in general.
Forward chaining and backward chaining are teaching techniques to help kids learn multi-step tasks, mastering one step at a time and “chaining” them together until all steps are mastered. While they can be used for complex tasks, they are usually used for daily tasks, like tying shoes, brushing teeth, washing hands, etc.
For certain kids, chaining can be extremely effective, so it’s worth a try. In this post, I’ll explain what chaining is, how forward and backward chaining are different, and how to incorporate both techniques into your routine.
What is Chaining in General?
Think about all of the steps we take to complete a task. Let’s use hand washing, for example.
See how many steps there were in such a mundane task?! It’s no wonder it takes kids so long to learn how to wash their hands independently.
You can also see that the steps in this task link together like a chain. One leads to the next and to the next and to the next until you have a completed task. You can start the chain at the top and work forward or you can start the chain at the bottom and work backwards.
And that’s how we get forward and backward chaining. It’s far too much to teach a child all seven steps of hand washing at once. Not only would they get overwhelmed, they would also struggle to remember any of the steps.
Chaining is a great way to gradually give a child independence in a task, while also ensuring that the task gets completed each time.
You can’t simply let your child go without washed hands until they learn how to do it independently. Chaining gives adults a great way to assist children in essential tasks, and children a great way to learn. It’s a win-win!
Forward chaining is a little more intuitive, so we’ll start there and talk about backward chaining later.
Forward Chaining
With forward chaining, we want to start by focusing on mastery of the first step of the process. We will then move “forward” to the next steps of the process.
Continuing to use the hand washing example, we will first help the child master the skill of turning on the sink. After the sink is on, we will help the child complete the remaining 7 steps necessary for hand washing.
After practicing for a while, the child will be prompted to wash their hands and they’ll know how to turn on the sink. Once they’ve demonstrated this mastery, it’s time for step 2.
When prompted to wash their hands, the child will turn on the sink and we’ll prompt them to wet their hands. Our goal now is for them to master wetting their hands after they have turned on the faucet. We will then offer assistance for the remaining 7 steps of hand washing.
With practice, the child will independently complete both steps 1 and 2 when prompted to wash their hands. Once this happens, it’s time to focus on the 3rd step.
When teaching the 3rd step of putting soap on the hands, not only do we focus on the physical skill of pushing the soap dispense, we also focus on the cognitive skill of understanding that this step comes after turning on the faucet and wetting the hands. The child needs to do them in the right order.
Continue teaching the child how to wash their hands, step-by-step, until they get to step 7. With each consequent step you teach them, be sure you’re teaching them the physical components, as well as the cognitive components. The more steps they master, the harder the cognitive piece will be. It’s easier to remember the order of two steps than it is seven steps.
Given the cognitive complexity that comes with multi-step tasks, expect it to take longer and longer to achieve mastery with each step you add. When the child was at step 2, all they needed to remember was how to complete step 1. By the time they’re at step 7, they not only need to know how to complete step 7, but also how to do steps 1-6 in the correct order.
The farther along kids get in a chain, the more likely they are to accidentally rearrange the steps. This will take patience. Your child may be able to complete the steps in the correct order one day but will mix them up the next. If this is happening consistently, it’s a sign that you need to take a step back and decrease the number of steps the child is doing independently until they are more consistently achieving mastery again.
Backward Chaining
Backward chaining is like forward chaining but…backward.
Let’s use our hand washing example again. Instead of starting to teach the child independence starting with step 1, we start with step 7. This means that we will give them assistance for steps 1-6. Once we reach step 6, we strive for independent mastery of step 7, drying the hands.
After success with step 7, we help the child aim for independent mastery of step 6, turning off the faucet.
We continue teaching all of the proceeding steps until the child can do steps 1-7 with full success and independence.
Our strategy doesn’t change in that we want to make sure the previous step is mastered before moving on to the next one.
The child must be independent in step 6 before learning step 5, for example.
Similar to forward chaining, it’s important that the child is properly remembering the order of the tasks. If you’ve achieved mastery of step 2, but it’s a struggle for the child to independently complete steps 3-7, it’s time to go back a few steps.
Backward chaining is a popular strategy to help kiddos with apraxia. Read more and get an ideational apraxia example to learn why backward chaining can be so great.
Forward Chaining vs. Backward Chaining: Which is Better?
There isn’t a clear answer to this question. Looking at this study, the method you choose depends largely on the child, if it makes a difference at all. I know this is frustratingly unhelpful so, to make it easier to determine the best fit, I’ve broken down some of the pros and cons of each technique.
There’s no absolute right answer when it comes to forward and backward chaining. Instead, there’s a right choice for your child for a certain task. Always talk with your child’s OT or teacher before teaching new tasks with new strategies.
Diana
Diana is a registered occupational therapist who specializes in sensory processing disorders and autism.