3 System of Least Prompts
Definition: A structured approach of providing prompts in the order of least to most invasive in direct relation to student response and needed support, and to encourage student independence in a skill.
Rationale: Prompting (e.g., helping a student who is stuck or unable to complete a step or an activity) can be helpful in supporting student success. Prompts, however, are not equal. They can range from minimally intrusive (such as a gesture or verbal reminder) to more intrusive like physical prompting (e.g., holding the student’s hand as they write the letter “a”). This strategy can be useful when it is unclear how much support a student may need, if a student may rely on prompting, or when a student is becoming increasingly successful and just needs a bit of extra guidance.
Ways to Support Students:
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- It can be helpful for educators to practice the prompting hierarchy and possibly leave out a note of the steps from least to most prompts: verbal, gesture, modeling, partial physical, full physical.
- Come ready with a plan of how long to wait until moving to the next level of prompting depending on the student’s typical speed.
- Share the hierarchy and the student’s progress on specific target skills with their family, other teachers, and related service providers to encourage consistency in support.
- Pairing the system of least prompts with a task analysis and visual supports can often be helpful when teaching multi-step tasks.
Case Study
Student: Grade 9 student
Content: Opening their locker
Problem: The student is having trouble opening their school locker
Solution: Using the task analysis and a data sheet the educational assistant watches the student and silently counts to 10 in their head. If the student has difficulty performing the next step, the assistant uses verbal prompting (e.g., “turn the dial to 44”). If after 10 seconds, the student is still having trouble, the assistant uses a gesture prompt (e.g., point to the number 44 on the dial and the matching arrow). This is followed by each successive prompt only as needed: modeling (e.g., the assistant turns the dial to 44 and shows how the number lines up with the arrow), partial physical prompting (e.g., the assistant places the students hand on the dial), and full physical (e.g., the assistant places the students hand on the dial and helps them turn it to 44).
Professional Resources:
- Description of the system of least prompts with examples from the Nevada Dual Sensory Impairment Project: https://www.unr.edu/ndsip/english/resources/tips/using-the-system-of-least-to-most-prompts
- Detailed description and stepwise instructions for setting up the system of least prompts from the NPDC: https://autismpdc.fpg.unc.edu/sites/autismpdc.fpg.unc.edu/files/Prompting_Steps-Least.pdf
- Research based summary and evidence on the system of least prompts from the What Works Clearinghouse: https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/Docs/InterventionReports/wwc_slp_101818.pdf
- Video illustration and description of the system of least prompts from Kinark autism services: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr65FnMs5xk
