What Is Priming in ABA? 5 Examples and 6 Ways to Use It

In Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), a session should move smoothly from one activity to the next, but a new task or a sudden change might stall it. An unfamiliar room or the end of a favorite game can lead to challenging behavior before teaching starts.

Priming in ABA gives the learner a preview of what's coming, at a moment when little is expected of them. Like other antecedent interventions (changes made to the setting or routine before a behavior happens), it does its job before the activity starts.

When a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) or Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) times the preview well, it can help a learner get through hard transitions with less support. Below, we show where priming sits among other ABA strategies, what each type looks like in a session, and how your team can put it to work.

What is priming in ABA?

Priming in ABA is an antecedent strategy that shows the learner an upcoming activity, task, or setting before they have to take part in it.

The goal is to make the next event predictable, so the learner already knows what the event will involve when it begins.

Preparing learners is one of the most common antecedent-based intervention procedures. A 2020 review rated antecedent-based intervention as an evidence-based practice backed by 49 studies involving participants with autism, from birth to age 22.

A BCBA decides which activities to prime and how, and RBTs and caregivers then deliver the previews.

How is priming different from prompting and other ABA strategies?

Priming differs from strategies like prompting, behavior momentum, and the Premack principle in terms of when it happens and what it's for.

Priming previews what's coming before it starts, while the other techniques shape how the learner responds once work is underway. A BCBA can pair priming with any of them in the same treatment plan.

Priming vs. prompting

A prompt is spoken, gestured, or physical help that supports a specific response. It’s given just before or right as the learner is trying a task. Prompts are gradually removed as the learner gains accuracy and can ultimately demonstrate the skill without this support. 

Priming comes earlier and covers the whole activity, before the learner tries any step.

Priming vs. behavior momentum

Behavior momentum places a harder request right after a string of easier ones that the learner usually follows.

Success with the easy requests helps carry the learner’s motivation into the harder one. Priming centers on showing the learner what the whole activity involves.

Priming vs. the Premack principle

The Premack principle, named after psychologist David Premack, uses access to an activity someone does more often to reinforce one they do less often, as in: "First worksheet, then tablet time."

The Premack principle is often visualized with a first-then board, which shows a picture or description of the current task next to the activity that will follow it.

Using this tool can also work as priming. The RBT can review the board with the learner before work begins, so the order of the session is clear.

Types of priming in ABA with examples

Priming in ABA takes five main forms, and a BCBA picks the one that best fits the learner and the situation.

Verbal priming

Verbal priming uses a few concrete words to tell the learner what's next. An RBT might say, "After this song, we'll put on shoes and walk to the car," a minute or two before the song ends.

Visual priming

Visual priming shows what's coming through pictures, written schedules, or objects.

Before a first dental visit, the learner and their caregiver could look through photos of the waiting room, the chair, and the dentist's tools over several days.

Video priming

Video priming gives a learner a short clip of the next activity or setting just before the transition starts.

The clip might show the snack table or the walk to the lunchroom, filmed from the learner’s point of view.

Academic priming

Academic priming previews lesson content before a teaching session, so the learner gets a first look at the work in a low-pressure setting.

For example, they might read tomorrow's story at home or try the first few problems of a worksheet with an RBT.

Social priming

Social priming rehearses a social routine with an adult before a group activity.

A learner might practice lines like "Your turn" and "You go first" that they’ll use during a board game.

How to use priming in ABA: 6 strategies

Priming belongs in a learner's written treatment plan, alongside the goals it supports. The six strategies below take you from identifying what to prime to checking whether it worked.

1. Select moments from assessment data

BCBAs usually plan antecedent strategies after a functional behavior assessment, which helps identify the situations linked to a challenging behavior.

Session data on antecedents, behaviors, and consequences (ABC data) can also show which transitions, tasks, or settings to prime.

2. Time the preview and reinforce it

Give the preview close to the start of the activity, and praise the learner for paying attention to it. The instruction for the activity can then follow right away.

If they don't get started, the RBT can run through the preview once more before asking again.

3. Match the format to the learner

A verbal preview may be enough for learners who follow spoken directions well. Photos, a picture schedule, or a short video may suit people who respond better to images.

4. Bring caregivers into the plan

Caregivers can run priming routines outside the clinic, where plenty of new situations come up.

When two caregivers used a priming routine at home and in the community, a 5-year-old learner took less time to master making requests. This in turn made better use of instructional time.

5. Plan how the priming will fade

Priming is external support, so BCBAs plan to fade it out as the learner makes progress. A team might shorten it, switch the video to a single photo, or drop the preview for routines that the learner already handles well.

Once priming fades, checking the skill in new settings and with new people shows whether the skill holds up on its own.

6. Track priming

Session notes should record whether priming happened, in which format, and how the learner responded.

Add a phase line (the vertical line on a graph that marks a change in treatment) when priming starts and another when it fades to demonstrate how the target behavior changed at each step.

Plan and track priming with Passage Health

Priming in ABA is easier to evaluate when every RBT delivers it the same way, and the learners’ responses are clearly recorded.

Passage Health puts clinical data, scheduling, and billing into one ABA-designed platform, so the priming plan and progress data live in a single place.

Day to day, this looks like:

• Mobile data collection: RBTs run each learner's goals and targets on the Passage Health mobile app, where recorded data fills in the session note in real time. Frequency, duration, and rate targets can be set to start their timers automatically, and RBTs can log each preview alongside other antecedents in custom note templates.
• Change visualized as it happens: Graphs build automatically from session data, and phase lines appear when a target moves to a new phase. Event lines can flag the date a priming routine was added or dropped, and a progress-by-team-member view shows whether results are consistent across RBTs.
• Treatment reports and signatures: Customizable treatment reports pull goal and target graphs into one document when it's time for reauthorization. Signature questions on session notes record who signed, in what role, and at what time.
• Enhanced scheduling: Color-coded daily and weekly calendar views show open slots at a glance, and unassigned or canceled sessions can be reassigned from one panel. Team members with scheduling permissions can also create and edit events directly in the mobile app.
• Billing and authorizations: Completed sessions feed into electronic claims, and authorization reports show where each client's approved hours stand. Scheduling also warns you when a new event would run past a client's authorization.
• Intake and team access: Our Client Intake pipeline keeps leads organized, from first inquiry to conversion, and custom permissions set what each role can view or manage.

Every clinic gets 1:1 onboarding and a responsive support team, plus new features each quarter, including clinical AI features through our Frontera AI integration.

Book a demo to see how Passage Health can help your team plan, deliver, and review priming for every learner in your caseload.

Frequently asked questions

Can parents use priming at home?

Yes, parents can use priming at home and in the community, ideally with guidance from a BCBA. Talking through the steps of a grocery trip or new bedtime routine before it begins is a simple way to start.

What's the difference between priming and video modeling?

The main difference between priming and video modeling is what the video shows. Video priming previews an activity or setting before the learner encounters it, while video modeling uses a recorded demonstration of someone performing the target skill to help with teaching.

Are social stories a form of priming?

Yes, social stories can work as a form of priming when a learner reads one before they engage in the situation it describes. Researchers study them as social narratives, which are short stories that describe a social situation and give examples of how to respond.

References

Cengher, M., Kim, J. Y., & Fienup, D. M. (2020). A review of prompt-fading procedures, part II: Parameters and components. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 32(4), 553–574. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-019-09711-2

Herrod, J. L., Snyder, S. K., Hart, J. B., et al. (2023). Applications of the Premack principle: A review of the literature. Behavior Modification, 47(1), 219–246. https://doi.org/10.1177/01454455221085249

Misbahuddin, N., & Mason, L. L. (2017). Priming to reduce mand response latency. Journal of Intellectual Disability - Diagnosis and Treatment, 5(2), 36–40. https://doi.org/10.6000/2292-2598.2017.05.02.1 

Steinbrenner, J. R., Hume, K., Odom, S. L., et al. (2020). Evidence-based practices for children, youth, and young adults with autism. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence and Practice Review Team. https://ncaep.fpg.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/EBP-Report-2020.pdf