MODULE: Time Delay

Introduction to Time Delay

Time delay is a particularly effective practice because it is easy to implement and often results in rapid learning of key skills, including academic, play/leisure, language/communication, and social. With time delay, team members set up the environment or deliver an instruction, which signals learners to use target skills. Team members then wait, usually 3 to 5 seconds, for learners with ASD to respond. If there is no response, team members then prompt learners to use target skills. As learners become more independent in using target skills, prompts are gradually faded so that learners respond to naturally occurring cues within the activity or environment rather than the prompt itself.