Rapid Prompting Method (RPM) is a teaching method developed by Soma Mukhopadhyay to teach her non-verbal autistic son to communicate. It involves constant engagement between a teacher and student using paper, pencil, and an alphabet board. The teacher asks fast-paced questions to keep the student focused on the task. RPM works to overcome challenges autistic learners face in processing multiple senses at once by breaking down communication into focused steps of choosing letters to spell words through pointing. Soma went on to create the organization HALO to promote RPM for autistic children.

1. There is
Always Hope
Rapid Prompting Method to
teach children with autism

2. Rapid Prompting Method
 Also referred to as RPM
 It was made public through the media in
the year 2000.

3. Who Developed
RPM?
 Developed by Soma
Mukhopadhyay an
Indian mother who
created it to teach her
three year old non-verbal
autistic child, Tito.
 Tito learned to write by
the age of 6.
 He is now an adult who
expresses himself by
spelling out word.
 He writes poetry and has
published a book.

4.  Soma went on to develop the
organization known as HALO (Helping
Autism Through Learning and Outreach)
 Learn more about HALO on their website:
http://www.halo-soma.org/

5. What is RPM?
A low technology method.
 Involves
1. A teacher
2. A student
3. Paper and pencil/Alphabet board
 It’s
main focus is to keep students on task
by constant, fast paced questions, and
continuous engagement.

6. How does RPM work?
WE first have to understand the differences between a
mainstream learner and an autistic learner.
Mainstream learner Autistic Learner
 Listening, understanding,  Senses become overloaded
with information which
preparing a response and becomes difficult to process.
using the necessary  It takes effort to process
muscles to communicate information from two senses
that response is a such as seeing and hearing.
Then to formulate a response.
subconscious, reflexive 
 Finally, to use the appropriate
process. muscles to communicate the
response.

7. Basically, what comes naturally to most
people takes a great deal of focused
effort, concentration and intended
planning for autistic people.

8. How does RPM work?
Self-Esteem and
Teaching Choices learning channels
A student’s self-stimulatory
1. teaching students to 
behavior is observed to identify
choose from a field of the best way each student
two learns (learning channel)
2. Students are taught to  Kinesthetic, auditory, visual, ta
ctile
spell words by pointing  Then work on motor skills to
to letters in rows of develop picking up and
letters 3 to 6 letters. pointing skills. This will allow
students to answer questions
3. Students learn to use through picking up the answer
a letter board of 26 or pointing.
letters.

9. Take a look at this RPM video