The ABA & OT Podcast #10: The Big 6

Teaching basic activities of daily living (ADL) to children with autism requires a more involved and understanding approach. This was the case with Sam whose progress in fluency was positively impacted by applying the Big 6 + 6. 

In the beginning, Sam exhibited many errors in component skills but instruction with the Big 6 quickly improved his ability to play and manipulate objects. Teaching these component skills enabled Sam to engage with his environment and practice higher-level skills used in ADL's. 

HIGHLIGHTS

02:09 Shoutout to Abigail B. Calkin

06:01 Sam's development: What didn't work and fluency targets

17:32 The Big 6 + 6: Improving fine and gross motor skills for ADL's 

28:05 Working with Johnny: Introducing awareness of his thumbs 

35:18 Training to fluency: Teaching component skills for higher-level skills 

GLOSSARY

Forward chaining - A data-driven technique that reaches a goal using the available data 

Backward chaining - A goal-driven technique that starts from the last component of the skill and reaches the initial state 

Bilateral integration - The ability to use both sides of the body at the same time which is important in performing ADL's 

The Big 6 + 6 - Six fine motor skills to assist in ADL's, (reach, touch, point, place, grasp, and release) with the plus six (push, pull, shape, squeeze, tap, and twist) which are gross motor skills to assist in manipulating larger objects.

Learning channels - Refers to what sensory input and output a skill is using   

RESOURCES

Join our The ABA and OT Podcast Facebook Group to get access to the following resources:

Facebook group link

EXTERNAL RESOURCES

Inner Behavior: Empirical Investigations of Private Events by Abigail B. Calkin

Abigail B. Calkin's website

The Effects of Fluent Levels of Big 6 + 6 Skill Elements on Functional Motor Skills with Children with Autism by Twarek, Cihon and Eshleman

Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise Book by Anders Ericsson

QUOTES

09:19 "We took baseline data on many of the component skills that look at hand strength and your ability to successfully engage in things like buttoning and shoe-tying and feeding yourself, etc."

18:53 "We started by teaching him the Big 6 and, all of a sudden, it was so exciting, he started manipulating objects and we were able to teach him cause and effect, which then reinforced him playing with things like pushing money into a money box."

27:49 "Pointing is obviously culturally a very important skill to be able to say, even if you can't talk, I see something that's of interest to me that I want to draw your attention to. So pointing is such an important skill within our culture."

31:50 "In free operant instruction, fluency-based instruction, the instruction is given once so the expectation is raised once, and then the learner engages freely in that and gives them a lot of opportunity for a lot of practice without any prompts."

36:16 "If you have identified that this is a component skill of a higher-level skill, you can train the lower-level skill but check the higher-level skill to see if your teaching is showing up in higher-level skills."