Fading

Fading is the process for reducing and removing stimulus or response prompts during instruction. Prompting and fading are companion procedures in instruction. Prompting involves adding antecedent stimuli (i.e., prompts) to the natural cues present during instruction to encourage or assist student responding and to facilitate acquisition of new responses and discriminations. The use of prompts can facilitate learning by assisting the student in the acquisition of stimulus control. However, learned responses ultimately must be controlled by natural cues (antecedent stimuli) rather than by added or artificial cues, such as stimulus or response prompts. Therefore, as instruction continues, prompts added to facilitate acquisition of stimulus control must be removed, or “faded out” of instruction. At the completion of the fading process, only natural cues remain ...