Natural Environmental Teaching (NET)

What is Natural Environment Teaching (NET)?

Natural Environment Teaching (NET) refers to systematic, planned instructional strategies delivered within settings that closely resemble a child’s typical environment. Often conducted through play-based and child-led activities, NET contrasts with more adult-directed, massed trial approaches common in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). It aims to teach language, communication, social, cognitive, and motor skills through meaningful, motivating, and naturalistic interactions.

Unlike the misconception that NET means unsystematic or unplanned teaching, effective NET is intentional and evidence-based while providing flexibility and promoting child engagement.

Core Principles of NET

  • Child-led, play-based, and developmentally appropriate: Children choose activities and materials, increasing motivation and engagement.
  • Embedded teaching opportunities: Learning happens within ongoing natural activities rather than isolated drills.
  • Balanced adult involvement: Adults imitate, expand, and respond to child initiations, scaffolding learning without making demands or requiring responses.
  • Natural language modeling: Language is modeled in context by narrating actions, adding new words to the child’s ideas, or imitating play.
  • Use of motivating materials: Adults control access to preferred items to create opportunities for communication.
  • Focus on social communication and engagement: NET supports reciprocal social relationships by sharing interests rather than just reinforcing work compliance.

Why Use NET?

Research and clinical practice indicate children, especially young learners and those who require intensive intervention, gain significant benefit from teaching closely resembling typical childhood interactions and play,. NET supports:

  • Development of natural reciprocal relationships
  • Higher child motivation and engagement
  • Broader and more generalized communication and social outcomes
  • Opportunities for children who rarely initiate to communicate spontaneously

NET vs. Traditional Trial-Based Teaching

Traditional adult-directed ABA trials often occur outside of natural contexts and may rely heavily on prompts and reinforcers contingent on compliance. In contrast, NET integrates teaching into child-led play, reducing demands and encouraging spontaneous communication. NET provides “air time” for children to initiate, with adults imitating and expanding rather than requiring behaviors.

Common NET Strategies

Incidental Teaching:

  • Capitalizes on child initiations to request elaborations using natural language modeling and reinforcement.

Mand Model:

  • Initiates teaching for children who do not spontaneously initiate communication by modeling and prompting language.

Implementation Guidelines

  • Limit demands and adult talk except to respond to, imitate, and expand on child initiations.
  • Allow children time and space to initiate and respond spontaneously, especially for those who initiate infrequently.
  • Use child-directed strategies to support social communication and engagement, and consider more adult-directed approaches for teaching academic, pre-academic, or motor skills.
  • Match language expansion rate to child communicative frequency, especially with low-rate talkers, to avoid overwhelming.

Popular NET-Associated Interventions (NDBIs)

Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBIs) are closely related to NET and include evidence-based models such as:

  • Pivotal Response Training (PRT)
  • Incidental Teaching
  • Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT)
  • JASPER (Joint Attention, Symbolic Play, Engagement, and Regulation)
  • Reciprocal Imitation Training (RIT)
  • Project ImPACT
  • Early Start Denver Model (ESDM)

These models differ in focus but share the use of child-led, play-based contexts to teach communication, play, and imitation skills.

Resources for Teachers and BCBAs

Books and Manuals

  • “Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder” by Geraldine Dawson et al. — A comprehensive guide on NDBIs including practical strategies.
  • “Project ImPACT for Young Children” by Ingersoll & Dvortcsak — A step-by-step manual focusing on parent-mediated NET strategies.
  • “Early Start Denver Model for Young Children with Autism” by Sally Rogers and Geraldine Dawson — Details the ESDM curriculum integrating NET principles.

Peer-Reviewed Articles

  • Schreibman et al. (2016). “Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions: Empirically Validated Treatments for Autism Spectrum Disorder.”
  • Koegel & Koegel’s research on Pivotal Response Training and motivational strategies in naturalistic teaching.

Online Trainings and Modules

  • Autism Focused Intervention Resources and Modules (AFIRM): Free evidence-based training modules on NET, NDBIs, and related strategies. https://afirm.fpg.unc.edu
  • The Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI): Webinars on naturalistic and developmental interventions.
  • Autism Partnership Foundation: Offers workshops focused on naturalistic teaching strategies for professionals and families.

Professional Organizations

  • The Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI)
  • The International Society for Autism Research (INSAR)
  • The National Autism Center

Videos and Webinars

  • Look for videos demonstrating NET strategies on YouTube or educational platforms such as Summit Center and Autism Partnership Foundation.
  • Webinars by experts such as Dr. Geraldine Dawson and Dr. Laura Schreibman provide insights into embedding interventions naturally.