Mand (manding)

In applied behavior analysis (ABA), a mand is a request. Your child communicates what they want right now, such as an item, an action, help or a break, and the payoff is getting that exact thing. The term comes from Skinner's 1957 work on language, which sorts what people say by why they say it rather than by how it sounds. So a spoken word, a sign, a picture exchange or a device can all count as mands. Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) are tested on telling mands apart from other kinds of language.

Manding depends on your child's motivation in the moment. A child mands for juice when they're thirsty, not right after a full cup, so therapists set up moments when your child wants something. Many ABA language programs teach manding first, since your child gets what they asked for right away. Studies support that order, though it's a recommendation and not a fixed rule.

Your child might say "cookie" when they're hungry, use a sign or hold up a picture of juice. Mands can also replace challenging behavior. If your child screams to get a break, the team might teach them to ask for a break in a way that gets the same result. Asking and naming can be separate skills, so a child who names a cookie on sight may still need to learn to ask for one.

• How your child asks now: Ask your BCBA which ways of asking your child already uses and which ones the plan will build on.
• Replacing hard behavior: Ask whether any request goal is meant to replace a behavior like screaming, and what the new request will look like.
• Speech therapy and ABA: Ask how the team will line up request goals with your child's speech therapy.