Visual prompt
A prompt that uses something the learner sees, such as a picture, written word, checklist, color cue or arrow, to help them make the correct response.
Visual prompts give information through sight. Common forms include picture cards showing the steps of a routine, a written checklist, a photo on a drawer showing what goes inside, a colored outline showing where to stand, and a label added to an item. Visual schedules and activity schedules are built from visual prompts.
Visual prompts have useful features. They stay in place after they are given, so the learner can refer to them when needed; they can be used without another person present; and many people, not only clients, use them in daily life, such as calendars and shopping lists. Some visual supports are meant to be faded, while others, like a written list for a complex task, may stay as a lasting support if the plan says so.
Many visual prompts work like stimulus prompts because they are added to the materials or environment. Where they are placed and how they are faded is set by the supervisor.
The RBT keeps visual prompts in the right place and condition, uses them exactly as the plan states, and records whether the learner needed them.
Example and non-example
| Example | A picture sequence above the sink shows wet hands, soap, scrub, rinse and dry. The client looks at each picture to complete handwashing. |
|---|---|
| Non-example | The RBT points to the soap when the client forgets that step. A point is a gestural prompt, even though the client sees it. |
Don't confuse it with
| Gestural prompt | A gestural prompt is a movement by the RBT; a visual prompt is a picture, word or cue that stays in the materials or environment. |
|---|---|
| Visual schedule | A visual schedule is a specific support showing the order of activities; visual prompts include any visual cue used to help a response. |
Test yourself
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Question 1At a vocational site, an adult client follows a row of photos showing each step of a packaging task: fold the box, insert the item, seal and label. What role do the photos play?
Show answer
A: A visual prompt for each step. Photos of each step are visual prompts that help the client perform the chain in order. The supervisor may plan to fade them.
- B: The terminal reinforcer comes after the last step; the photos are cues before each step.
- C: Tokens are earned and exchanged; the photos are not earned.
- D: The permanent product is the packaged box, not the photos.
Task C.5 · 40-hour curriculum section E
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Question 2At a group home, an adult client makes coffee by following a written checklist of the steps taped inside a cabinet door. The checklist is an example of which kind of prompt?
Show answer
C: Visual prompt. Visual prompts include pictures, written words, checklists and other displays that cue a response. They can often stay in place or be faded, depending on the plan.
- A: A model prompt is a demonstration of the response; the checklist shows written steps.
- B: A gestural prompt is a movement such as pointing.
- D: A verbal prompt is spoken help from another person.
Task C.7 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Answer every question to see your score.
On the RBT exam
This term belongs to task C.7 Prompting and prompt fading in content area C, Behavior Acquisition, which is 19 of the 75 scored questions.