Episode 059: Verbal Operants with Shira and Shayna

Today, we’re talking all about verbal operants. They’re one of the most important parts of ABA and are often quite confusing. We’ll show you what verbal operants are as well as how to teach them and in what order. They can be tough to understand, especially when you’re new. There are so many components to language, above and beyond the words we’re saying. How we use and understand words play a huge role as well as actions, images, and how we absorb information and teach it to our students.

We’ll take you through verbal operant examples and what they mean. Conceptual understanding of these operants is key. When we’re teaching these operants, especially at the intraverbal level, you want to make sure the student fully understands to avoid getting simple scrolling responses. They’ll typically need to master some of the simpler operants first, like receptive or tacting. It’s not enough to teach all of the operants in isolation, so keep this in mind when developing a program.

We wrap up by sharing our thoughts on the best way to teach verbal operants ABA so your instruction can be as effective as possible. We also touch on what to do if a student isn’t making progress.

Don’t forget to check out our free verbal operants guide by clicking the link below!