DISCRETE TRAIL TRAINING

Discrete Trial Training (DTT) is one of several types of teaching strategies that fall under the umbrella of ABA.

ABA applies the science of “behaviorism,” to bring about meaningful change in an individual’s actions. It looks at behavior as a three step process: the antecedent (a cue or instruction), the behavior and the consequence.

DTT is a structured ABA technique that breaks down skills into small, “discrete” components. Systematically, the trainer teaches these skills one by one. Along the way, trainers use tangible reinforcements for desired behavior. For a child, this might include a candy or small toy.

Discrete Trial Training (DTT) is a method of teaching in simplified and structured steps. Instead of teaching an entire skill in one go, the skill is broken down and “built-up” using discrete trials that teach each step one at a time.

Parts to a Discrete Trial Training (DTT):
• Antecedent
• Prompt
• Response
• Consequence for a correct response
• Consequence for an incorrect response
• Inter-trial interval

At Sparsh Special School we use DTT for a learner with Autism involves the following steps.
• Step 1. Deciding What to Teach: Assessment and Summarizing Results
• Step 2. Breaking the Skill Down into Teachable Steps
• Step 3. Setting-up the Data Collection System
• Step 4. Designating Locations
• Step 5. Gathering Materials
• Step 6. Delivering the Trials
• Step 7. Massed Trial Teaching
• Step 8. Conducting Discrimination Training
• Step 9. Review and Modify