Discrete trial training (DTT)

Discrete trial training (DTT) is one teaching style used in applied behavior analysis (ABA). It breaks a skill into its simplest parts and teaches them one at a time. Each trial has a clear start and end: an instruction, your child's response, a planned consequence and a short pause. Correct answers earn praise or a reward, and the team usually records data on every trial.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says wrong answers in DTT are ignored, while a large autism report lists prompting and time delay as part of it. Many programs now mix DTT with more natural teaching styles, and DTT is only one part of ABA.

At a small table, a behavior technician might hold up a cup and ask your child to touch it. Your child touches the cup and gets a high five, then there's a short pause before the next trial. The technician marks each response on a data sheet. The same skill may come up several times in a row, which the report calls massed trials.

• How errors are handled: Ask your Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) what happens when your child gives a wrong answer or doesn't respond.
• How skills carry over: Ask how skills learned at the table will carry over to home and play.
• What the data shows: Ask to see how the trial data tracks your child's progress over time.