Teaching a child to wash their hands sounds simple until you break it down: turn on the tap, adjust the temperature, wet the hands, pick up the soap, lather, scrub, rinse, turn off the tap, reach for the towel, dry. That's ten steps, each one dependent on the last. 

For many autistic children, learning a sequence like this doesn't happen through observation and imitation the way it might for a neurotypical peer. It needs to be taught step by step, in a deliberate order, with reinforcement built in at the right point. That's what chaining is — and forward chaining is one of three approaches a BCBA will choose between when designing that kind of instruction.

What chaining is

Chaining is an ABA teaching procedure used for skills that consist of multiple steps performed in a specific sequence — what Cooper, Heron, and Heward call a "behavior chain": a series of responses in which each response produces the discriminative stimulus for the next response, and the final response produces the terminal reinforcer.¹

The chain is only as strong as its task analysis — the written breakdown of each individual step in the sequence. A well-written task analysis for handwashing looks different from one for shoe-tying, which looks different from one for making a sandwich. The BCBA writes the task analysis first, sometimes by performing the skill themselves and noting every discrete component, before selecting a chaining method.

There are three main chaining methods: forward chaining, backward chaining, and total task chaining. Each has a different starting point and a different logic for where reinforcement lands.

Forward chaining

In forward chaining, teaching begins with the first step of the task analysis and proceeds in order. The child is taught step one, prompted through all remaining steps, and reinforced when the chain is complete. Once step one is mastered, step two is added. Teaching continues in this direction — front to back — until the child can complete the full sequence independently.

The rationale is that the child experiences the skill from beginning to end every time, which preserves the natural flow of the chain and makes each completed step a discriminative stimulus for the next. Progress is visible from the front of the sequence, which can be motivating for children who benefit from seeing early mastery accumulate.

Shoe-tying example using forward chaining:

The BCBA writes a task analysis: (1) hold one lace in each hand, (2) cross right lace over left, (3) pull right lace under and through to form a knot, (4) make a loop with the right lace, (5) wrap left lace around the base of the loop, (6) push left lace through the opening to form a second loop, (7) pull both loops tight.

In the first teaching session, the child is taught step one — holding a lace in each hand — and then the BCBA completes steps two through seven with hand-over-hand guidance. Reinforcement is delivered at step seven. Once the child completes step one independently and reliably, step two is added to the teaching target. Steps three through seven remain prompted. Reinforcement continues to land at the end of the chain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTvLOs8somg 

Backward chaining

In backward chaining, teaching begins with the last step of the task analysis. The BCBA completes all steps except the final one, then prompts and reinforces the child for completing that last step. Once it's mastered, the second-to-last step is added, and so on — working back toward the beginning of the chain.

The rationale here is that the child is always the one to complete the chain, which means they always experience the terminal reinforcer as a direct consequence of their own behavior. This can produce a stronger reinforcement effect, and for some children and some tasks it produces faster acquisition.¹

Handwashing example using backward chaining:

The BCBA completes steps one through nine — turning on the tap through reaching for the towel — and prompts the child to complete step ten: drying their hands. Reinforcement follows. Once step ten is independent, the BCBA completes steps one through eight and the child completes steps nine and ten independently. This continues until the child enters the bathroom and completes the full sequence from step one.

Backward chaining is particularly useful when the terminal reinforcer is naturally compelling — the feeling of clean, dry hands in this case — or when a child has had repeated failure experiences with a skill and benefits from consistent end-to-chain success before building backward.

Total task chaining

In total task chaining, the child attempts every step of the task analysis on every trial, with prompting provided at whichever steps require it. The BCBA doesn't focus on teaching one step at a time — instead, all steps are targeted simultaneously, with prompts faded as independence develops across the chain.

Total task chaining is best suited to learners who already have some component skills in their repertoire and are learning to sequence them, rather than learners who have no familiarity with any of the steps. It's also useful when the skill needs to be completed quickly for practical reasons and waiting for single-step mastery would be disruptive.

For a child who can already turn a tap, apply soap, and use a towel but cannot sequence the whole handwashing routine reliably, total task chaining is typically faster than forward or backward chaining because no time is spent on steps the child already performs.

How a BCBA chooses between the three

The choice between forward, backward, and total task chaining isn't arbitrary — it depends on the learner, the skill, and what the data show.¹

Forward chaining tends to be the choice when the first steps of the chain are the most critical to establish, when the natural sequence of the skill matters for generalization (the child will always need to start from the beginning in real life), or when the learner benefits from early mastery and visible forward progress.

Backward chaining tends to be the choice when consistent access to the terminal reinforcer is the priority, when earlier steps are already in the child's repertoire, or when previous attempts at the skill have produced frustration and a different entry point is clinically indicated.

Total task chaining tends to be the choice when the learner already has component skills but lacks sequencing, when time constraints make single-step teaching impractical, or when generalization data suggest the child can already attempt the full chain in some form.

In practice, BCBAs sometimes start with one method and switch to another if data show the first isn't producing acquisition at the expected rate. What stays constant is the task analysis — the written breakdown of steps is the foundation regardless of which chaining method is used.Chaining at home: what parents can do

Families don't need to run a formal chaining program at home, but understanding the logic helps.

If your child's BCBA has provided a task analysis and a chaining sequence for a home skill — toileting, tooth-brushing, putting on a coat — the most important thing is consistency: same steps, same order, same prompting approach as the one used in sessions. Inconsistent prompting is one of the most common reasons chaining programs stall outside the therapy room. If you're not sure which step to prompt on and how firmly, ask the BCBA to walk you through a session.

If you're working on a skill informally, breaking it into smaller steps and reinforcing each completed step before adding the next is the core principle — that's forward chaining without the formal data sheet, and for some families and some skills it's enough.

Chaining programs for daily living skills — handwashing, shoe-tying, tooth-brushing, getting dressed — are some of the most common goals Apex BCBAs work on with families across North Carolina, Georgia, and Maryland. These are skills with a direct quality-of-life impact, and a well-run chaining program in the home environment is where the real generalization happens.

Apex ABA works with children ages 2–12 through in-home and school-based ABA therapy, bringing the BCBA and RBT to wherever your child already spends their time — at home, at school, or at daycare — rather than asking families to come to a clinic. If a morning routine is a daily battle, or a self-care skill has resisted every casual attempt, a structured chaining program with real data collection is usually where the breakthrough happens.

Families in North Carolina can find local services across Charlotte, Raleigh, Knightdale, Statesville, and many more NC communities. Georgia families are served across Alpharetta, Albany, Augusta-Richmond, and beyond. Maryland families can find services in Annapolis, Charles County, Cecil County, and across the state.

If your child's BCBA has recommended a chaining program and you want support running it consistently at home, or if you're looking to start ABA for the first time, see how Apex works with families.

How chaining fits into a broader ABA plan

Chaining is one of the core skill-building procedures in ABA, alongside discrete trial training and naturalistic teaching approaches. It's used most often for adaptive daily living skills — the routines of getting dressed, eating, washing, and moving through a day — because those skills are inherently sequential and because independence in them has direct quality-of-life impact.

For families working on token economy systems alongside skill acquisition, chaining programs often integrate naturally: tokens can be used to reinforce step-by-step completion of a chain during the teaching phase, then faded as the child's natural reinforcers — the satisfaction of a completed task, access to the next activity — take over.

For more on how ABA builds skills systematically, see Apex's guides to positive reinforcement and ABA therapy techniques.

If your child's BCBA has recommended a chaining program and you want to make sure home implementation matches the clinic approach, or if you're interested in starting ABA, Apex's team is available to talk through the right next step.

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Sources:

1. Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2020). Applied Behavior Analysis (3rd ed.). Pearson. (Chapters on behavioral chains, task analysis, and chaining procedures)
2. https://www.pearson.com/en-us/subject-catalog/p/applied-behavior-analysis/P200000000905/9780137477210
3. ‍https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22219530/
4. ‍https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21950374/
5. https://www.unl.edu/asdnetwork/virtual-strategies/chaining