An evaluation of a punisher assessment for decreasing automatically reinforced problem behavior

Abstract

We extended research on the identification and evaluation of potential punishers for decreasing automatically reinforced problem behavior in four individuals with autism spectrum disorder. A punisher selection interview was conducted with lead clinicians to identify socially acceptable punishers. During the treatment evaluation, treatment phases were introduced sequentially and included noncontingent reinforcement (NCR), NCR and differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA), and NCR‐and‐DRA with punishment. During the NCR‐and‐DRA with punishment phase, four to five potential punishers were evaluated using a multielement design. Dependent measures included the target problem behavior, appropriate item engagement, and emotional responding. For all participants, NCR‐and‐DRA was not effective and punishment was necessary. However, the most effective punisher identified in the context of NCR‐and‐DRA differed across participants.

Assessment and treatment of tracheostomy tube manipulation: Effects of competing stimuli and protective equipment

“…That is, it may be more accurate to consider the protective collar as a form of punishment rather than sensory extinction. If this is the case, there may be alternative options (beyond the use of the protective collar) that more effectively decrease tracheostomy tube manipulation (e.g., Verriden & Roscoe, 2019). In the current study, application of the equipment used over an extended period was not evaluated.…”

Annual Research Review: Shifting from ‘normal science’ to neurodiversity in autism science

“…This is particularly the case with one dominant intervention, Applied Behavioural Analysis (Dawson, 2004). Even as recently as 2019, autistic people have been subjected to 'aversive' treatments in behavioural intervention research (Verriden & Roscoe, 2019), including electric shocks as punishment at the highly controversial Judge Rotenberg Educational Center of Canton, Massachusetts, which is still open for business despite having been condemned for torture by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture (Neumeier & Brown, 2020). The persistent focus on deficits serves to support these dehumanising attitudes; seeing autistic people as 'less than human' (Goffman, 1990; see also Cage, di Monaco, & Newell, 2019) legitimises the use of electric shock in this instance.…”

A comparison of sources of baseline data for treatments of problem behavior following a functional analysis

“…We reviewed the method and results sections of articles for which the title mentioned a treatment for problem behavior ( N = 45) to identify the source of baseline data. Of the articles for which the source could be determined ( N = 41), we identified 15 articles that used the data from the test condition in the FA as baseline (e.g., Torres‐Viso, Strohmeier, & Zarcone, ); 12 articles that collected new baseline data by conducting additional sessions of a test condition (following completion of the FA) using contingencies identical to those in the FA (e.g., Fisher et al, ); 11 articles that conducted additional sessions (following completion of the analysis) using a modified test condition from the FA (e.g., Verriden & Roscoe, ); and three articles that used a combination of the above methods across participants (e.g., Slocum, Grauerholz‐Fisher, Peters, & Vollmer, ; list of articles available from the first author). Although this cursory review sampled only a few years of data, the outcome indicates that the source of baseline data used by researchers in treatment evaluations continues to vary.…”