When discussing a routine, ask how the learner communicates that the current support is not working for them. That question belongs alongside what the team hopes to teach.

Ask about the actual response

Communication may involve speech, AAC, signs, gestures, movement, or another established response. Ask the caregiver what they notice. Do not assume that the form most convenient for the adult is the only response worth recognizing.

Connect the answer to the plan

Clarify what existing instructions apply when support is declined and what the clinician still needs to assess. If the team cannot explain what to do, resolve that question before asking someone else to implement the plan.

In a prompting discussion, include what means stop, pause, or change support. Physical guidance is not an automatic final step. Its use requires appropriate individualized planning, training, consent and assent considerations, safety protections, and a fading plan.

Review the experience

Ask which supports were accepted, requested, or declined. Describe what happened rather than reviewing only whether the adult finished the sequence.

The Parent Training Baseline includes a place to begin this conversation.

Added to the archive October 28, 2026.

Educational planning guidance for clinicians. Individualize clinical decisions with the learner and family.