RBT · Behavior Acquisition · 6 min read
Maintenance Versus Acquisition
- Differentiate acquisition from maintenance by whether a skill is still being taught to meet mastery criteria or continues after mastery over time; prompting and reinforcement depend on the written plan.
- Describe proper implementation of maintenance procedures, including prompt fading, reinforcement thinning, interspersing tasks, and conducting maintenance probes.
- Identify the RBT's role when conducting maintenance checks, recording objective data, and responding to skill regression under supervisor guidance.
Understanding Acquisition and Maintenance
In behavioral intervention, skill acquisition is the process of teaching a new behavior or improving a skill that has not yet met the written mastery criteria. A skill is considered in acquisition when the client is actively being taught by the interventionist. During this phase, teaching trials usually involve explicit prompting and systematic prompt fading to help the client learn the correct response. Reinforcement is delivered frequently during acquisition. For example, a written plan may call for reinforcing each correct response when a skill is first being introduced to quickly establish the behavior.
Mastery criteria are measurable performance requirements set by the supervisor for deciding when a target is considered mastered. An example of a mastery criterion is 80 percent independent correct responses across three consecutive sessions with two different interventionists. The supervisor's written plan identifies acquisition targets and clearly specifies what performance is required before a target can move forward. The RBT records performance on targets when the written plan calls for those targets to be taught or checked.
Maintenance refers to the continued performance of a previously mastered skill over time; practice, prompts, or reinforcement may continue as specified in the written plan. While acquisition focuses on building a skill until it reaches its mastery criteria, maintenance focuses on whether the skill continues over time. For maintenance, the supervisor may plan less frequent reinforcement or rely on naturally occurring consequences that support the skill. Maintenance targets are assessed to determine whether the client retains the skill with minimal or no prompting. The RBT collects data as specified in the written plan and does not independently move a target to maintenance.
| Feature | Skill Acquisition | Skill Maintenance |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Focus | Building a new skill or improving a skill to meet mastery criteria | Preserving a previously mastered skill over time |
| Prompting Level | Explicit instructional prompting with systematic prompt fading | Minimal prompting or no prompting to assess skill retention |
| Reinforcement Level | Frequent reinforcement (such as reinforcing each correct response) | Less frequent reinforcement or naturally occurring consequences |
| Target Status | Actively taught; has not yet met written mastery criteria | Previously met mastery criteria; teaching procedures reduced or removed |
Common mistakes
- Moving a target to maintenance independently once a client appears to understand it, rather than waiting for the supervisor's direction after meeting written mastery criteria.
- Reintroducing acquisition-level prompting without supervisor guidance as soon as an error is observed on a maintenance check.
- Altering reinforcement thinning schedules or skipping thinning steps independently instead of following the written schedule prescribed by the supervisor.
- Removing a target from a client's program or modifying mastery criteria without supervisor evaluation and instruction.
Key points
- Skill acquisition focuses on actively teaching a skill until it reaches written mastery criteria (such as 80 percent independent correct responses across three consecutive sessions with two different interventionists), typically using frequent reinforcement and systematic prompt fading.
- Maintenance refers to the continued performance of a previously mastered skill over time; the RBT follows the written plan for any ongoing practice and reinforcement.
- Interspersing mastered tasks with new targets may support responding and reduce frustration when it is appropriate for the client and specified in the written plan.
- Systematic prompt fading supports the transfer of stimulus control to natural cues, while reinforcement thinning gradually decreases reinforcement frequency according to the written plan.
- Maintenance probes check performance of a previously mastered skill under conditions specified in the written plan, often by presenting the target cue without instructional prompts.
- Skill regression can occur due to fewer opportunities to use the skill, changes in motivating operations, or reinforcement thinned too quickly.
- RBTs must record objective data accurately, notify the supervisor promptly of performance declines, and implement teaching changes only under the direction of the supervising BCBA or BCaBA.
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