Functional communication training (FCT) is effective in reducing socially mediated destructive behavior and increasing functional communication responses (FCRs). Following FCT, clinicians often introduce delays to reinforcement to emulate delays experienced in home, school, and community settings. Approaches to teaching delay tolerance consist of a time-based alternation between periods of reinforcement and extinction (i.e., compound schedule) or progressively increasing delays following the FCR while probabilistically providing immediate reinforcement for FCRs (i.e., probabilistic delay fading). Previous research has demonstrated efficacy of both approaches; however, a direct comparison of the efficacy of these procedures has not been conducted. Thus, we compared the efficacy of these approaches to teach delay tolerance by measuring (a) reductions in destructive behavior, (b) persistence of FCRs, and (c) discriminated FCRs. Both approaches were equitable in maintaining reductions in destructive behavior. However, for two of three participants, the compound schedule was more effective in maintaining FCRs and producing discriminated responding.
In the clinic, differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) often involves programming extinction for destructive behavior while reinforcing an alternative form of communication (e.g., a functional communication response); however, implementing extinction can be unsafe or impractical under some circumstances. Quantitative theories of resurgence (i.e., Behavioral Momentum Theory and Resurgence as Choice) predict differences in the efficacy of treatments that do and do not involve extinction of target responding when reinforcement conditions maintaining alternative responding worsen. We tested these predictions by examining resurgence following two DRA conditions in which we equated rates of reinforcement. In DRA without extinction, target and alternative behavior produced reinforcement. In DRA with extinction plus noncontingent reinforcement, only alternative behavior produced reinforcement. We conducted this study in a reverse‐translation sequence, first with participants who engaged in destructive behavior (Experiment 1) and then in a laboratory setting with rats (Experiment 2). Across both experiments, we observed proportionally lower levels of target responding during and following the DRA condition that arranged extinction for the target response. However, levels of resurgence were similar following both arrangements.
Function-based treatments are often highly effective in the treatment of destructive behavior. However, in cases of severe or persistent destructive behavior, punishment may be a necessary treatment component. The stimulus avoidance assessment is a preassessment used to guide the selection of punishers in specialized clinical settings. However, few published studies have examined reliability outcomes for this assessment. In the present study, we conducted a retrospective review of eight cases in which clinicians conducted multiple series of the stimulus avoidance assessment to assess exact, within-1 ranking, and polarity index reliability measures. We found poor reliability outcomes across cases. We discuss these findings in the context of the clinical use of this assessment and suggest a number of avenues for continued research.
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