A common finding in previous research is that problem behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement continues to occur in the alone condition of a functional analysis (FA), whereas behavior maintained by social reinforcement typically is extinguished. Thus, the alone condition may represent an efficient screening procedure when maintenance by automatic reinforcement is suspected. We conducted a series of 5-min alone (or no-interaction) probes for 30 cases of problem behavior and compared initial predictions of maintenance or extinction to outcomes obtained in subsequent FAs. Results indicated that data from the screening procedure accurately predicted that problem behavior was maintained by automatic reinforcement in 21 of 22 cases and by social reinforcement in 7 of 8 cases. Thus, results of the screening accurately predicted the function of problem behavior (social vs. automatic reinforcement) in 28 of 30 cases.
Multiple schedules with signaled periods of reinforcement and extinction have been used to thin reinforcement schedules during functional communication training (FCT) to make the intervention more practical for parents and teachers. We evaluated whether these signals would also facilitate rapid transfer of treatment effects from one setting to the next and from one therapist to the next. With two children, we conducted FCT in the context of mixed (baseline) and multiple (treatment) schedules introduced across settings or therapists using a multiple baseline design. Results indicated that when the multiple schedules were introduced, the functional communication response came under rapid discriminative control, and problem behavior remained at near-zero rates. We extended these findings with another individual by using a more traditional baseline in which problem behavior produced reinforcement. Results replicated those of the previous participants and showed rapid reductions in problem behavior when multiple schedules were implemented across settings.
Many studies have shown that (a) functional communication training (FCT)
is effective for reducing problem behavior, and (b) multiple schedules can
facilitate reinforcer schedule thinning during FCT. Most studies that have used
multiple schedules with FCT have included therapist-arranged stimuli (e.g.,
colored cards) as the discriminative stimuli (SDs), but recently,
researchers have evaluated similar multiple-schedule training procedures with
naturally occurring SDs (e.g., overt therapist behavior). The
purposes of the current study were to compare the effects of arranged and
naturally occurring SDs directly during (a) acquisition of
discriminated functional communication responses (FCRs) and (b) generalization
of discriminated FCRs when we introduced the multiple schedules in novel
contexts in which the naturally occurring stimuli were either relatively easy or
difficult to discriminate. Results showed that (a) 2 of 3 participants acquired
discriminated responding of the FCR more rapidly with arranged than with
naturally occurring stimuli, (b) 2 of 3 participants showed resurgence of
problem behavior, and (c) 2 of 3 participants showed greater generalization of
discriminated responding to novel contexts with arranged stimuli than with
naturally occurring stimuli. We discuss these results relative to the conditions
under which naturally occurring and arranged SDs may promote rapid
and generalized treatment gains.
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