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For behavior technician supervisors

Discuss prompts and fading with a supervisor

Use a fictional choice activity to distinguish a planned prompt from an independent response.

A short, fictional exercise for a supervisor and new technician to discuss together. This does not replace required training, supervision, assessment or an individualized plan.

Read the scenario

In a fictional training activity, a learner is invited to choose between two pictures. The supervisor’s written practice plan says to wait briefly for a response and, if needed, give the specified verbal reminder. It also says how to record the response and when to ask for help. The learner can decline or pause.

Questions for the trainee

  1. What would count as the learner responding before the reminder?
  2. What would you record if the reminder was used?
  3. Who decides whether, when and how the reminder should be faded?
Discuss the answers

A response before the reminder is independent of that reminder; a response after it is prompted in this example. Record it according to the plan. The supervisor makes and revises the prompting and fading plan. If the learner declines or the plan is unclear, pause and follow the supervisor’s directions.

Practice with a fictional scenario. Do not invent or change a clinical procedure from this exercise.

Build an ABA foundation

Intro to ABA: Level 1 is introductory training for new staff: $199 paid once, with a free seven-day trial of the first two sessions. After activation, the published course gives 10 weeks to complete it. Complete the course and pass the final exam to earn a certificate of completion.

It is not a professional credential, a CE certificate, or the BACB 40-hour RBT training. Check the learner’s license dates and the requirements for their intended role.

See Intro to ABA: Level 1

Return to the supervisor onboarding guide

Reference for the broader technician knowledge areas: BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.), checked November 3, 2026. This practice is not a BACB assessment or an official preparation resource.