Power point about ELOs

1. EXTRA LEARNING
OPPORTUNITIES
(ELO’S)
PSY 3570: Practicum with Special Populations
1

2. ELO
 ELOs are any unscheduled trial with your child
 No formal procedure may exist
 Only considered an ELO if “true trial”
 An SD
 A response: correct or incorrect
 A consequence: reinforcement or corrective
procedure
 ELOs can be a variety of behaviors
 ELOs can take place in various settings
2

3. A variety of behaviors
3
 Use previously mastered procedures for ELOs
 Star stacker
 Puzzles
 Trace line
 Various forms of imitation
 Mastered procedures sans materials are most
efficient (i.e. verbal directions)
 Be creative and teach your child new skills, even if
it isn’t something they are currently working on in
their procedures
 Attempt to make ELOs as functional as possible

4. Various settings
4
 ELOs in the booth
 “Quiet hands”
 “Sit in chair”
 ELOs in the playroom
 Structured play
 Cleaning up
 ELOs in the common area
 Structured Play
 “Stop” and “Go”

5. Some thoughts
5
 Provide variety with different ELOs
 Refrain from incessant hand clapping and nose
touching
 Generalize mastered procedures to novel
stimuli/contexts
 Use ELOs to build and maintain behavioral
momentum
 Use ELOs during transitions between
procedures and inter-trial intervals
 While replacing stimuli and materials

6. Some more thoughts
6
 Use ELOs to gain compliance
 When procedure trials are going poorly
 Use ELOs during down time
 Keep your child engaged constantly
 Reinforce behavior at least every 3 seconds

7. Reinforcement or Correction
7
 Only use social reinforcers for ELOs
 No tangibles
 No edibles (where applicable)
 Full physically prompt incorrect responses
 Follow up prompted response with social
reinforcement