Teachers of severely handicapped pupils frequently employ various types of assistance antecedent to pupil responses in order to increase the likelihood that behaviors will be performed. This assistance, which may be auditory, visual, or physical, has been referred to as response priming or prompting. When response prompts are provided, they represent an addition to the natural stimulus complex within which the pupil must eventually respond. Because they are additions, response prompts must be faded in a manner that ensures the desired behavior will come under the control of naturally occurring stimuli.
Although several methods have evolved for fading response prompts, few investigations related to the relative efficacy of those methods, or of method variations, have appeared in the literature. This article discusses the nature of, and research related to, existing procedures and suggests a conceptual framework for future research.
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