Effective Demands & Transitions

The way teachers deliver noninstructional demands significantly influences student compliance. Transitions involve multiple steps and are particularly challenging for students. Because students spend up to 25% of their time in transition, there are ample opportunities for off-task and disruptive behavior to occur.

Goal:

Increased demand compliance and decreased duration of transition time

Tools:

• Precision Requests:

  • Demands should be specific and stated clearly.

  • Use “do” requests rather than “don’t.”

  • Use statements, not questions.

  • For example, the instruction “Sit in your chair” is preferable to “Would you please sit down?” or “Don’t run around the room.”

• Modeling:

  • Use live or video models to demonstrate tasks and expected behaviors.

  • "I do, we do, you do" can be used to demonstrate and practice the expectation.

• Predictable Transitions:

  • Clear Beginning and End: Define the start and end of transitions clearly.

  • Signals: Use consistent visual and/or auditory cues to indicate transitions.

• Reinforce Compliance and Avoid Reinforcing Noncompliance:

  • Do not provide reinforcement for noncompliant behavior during transitions.

  • Provide positive reinforcement (e.g., verbal praise, tokens) for students who comply with transition signals.

  • Transitions from preferred to non-preferred activities can be particularly challenging. Try to ensure that access to the preferred item or activity is not maintained when the student is refusing to comply with a transition instruction.

Note about transition warnings: Some students and populations may respond better with advanced warning (e.g., setting a visual timer for 2 minutes prior to the transitions). However, some students do not respond positively. This strategy is certainly worth trialing but may not always be appropriate for all students.