Within- and across-session increases in work requirement do not produce similar response output.

Demand curve fitting is a method of data analysis for interpreting reinforcer consumption. These methods were established and validated by examining increases in unit price (UP) across sessions. An alternative experimental preparation is the progressive-ratio (PR) schedule in which schedule requirements increase within a session. Although PR schedules provide an efficient alternative to traditional evaluations of UP, using demand curves to interpret data obtained via PR schedules has not been systematically evaluated in applied contexts. In this study, the experimenters compared demand curves constructed based on across- and within-session increases in UP and evaluated correspondence between the two methods. Results indicated poor correspondence between demand curves constructed with the two methods. Furthermore, within-session measures of responding suggest that higher rates of problem behavior and longer durations of postreinforcement pauses were more likely under PR schedules than fixed-ratio schedules. Results are discussed in terms of implications for clinical application.

Reducing excessive questions in adults at adult-day training centers using differential-reinforcement-of-low rates.

Differential-reinforcement-of-low rate (DRL) schedules are often used to reduce, not eliminate, behavior. We systematically replicated Austin and Bevan (2011) to determine whether the number of questions asked by two adults with intellectual disabilities working at adult-day-training centers could be reduced using a full-session DRL. The full-session DRL involved delivery of a reinforcer at the end of the day if the number of questions asked was less than a specified number during the entire session. Questions, up to a specified number, were also reinforced within-session. The full-session DRL reduced the number of questions asked by both participants and increased duration of task engagement for one participant.

Further Evaluation of the Use of Multiple Schedules for Behavior Maintained by Negative Reinforcement.

One potential limitation of functional communication training (FCT) is that after the functional communication response (FCR) is taught, the response may be emitted at high rates or inappropriate times. Thus, schedule thinning is often necessary. Previous research has demonstrated that multiple schedules can facilitate schedule thinning by establishing discriminative control of the communication response while maintaining low rates of problem behavior. To date, most applied research evaluating the clinical utility of multiple schedules has done so in the context of behavior maintained by positive reinforcement (e.g., attention or tangible items). This study examined the use of a multiple schedule with alternating Fixed Ratio (FR 1)/extinction (EXT) components for two individuals with developmental disabilities who emitted escape-maintained problem behavior. Although problem behavior remained low during all FCT and multiple schedule phases, the use of the multiple schedule alone did not result in discriminated manding.

The Effects of Advance Notice on Problem Behavior Occasioned by Interruptions of an Ongoing Activity in a Young Girl with Autism.

The current study describes a trial-based functional analysis of problem behavior conducted in a home setting for a 7-year-old girl with autism. Problem behavior was occasioned by interruptions to an ongoing activity. Advance notice, in the form of a 2-min warning, and the sound of a timer were used to signal termination of a current activity and were effective at reducing problem behavior along with increasing compliance to the interruptive demands. A trial-based functional analysis, which are not common in the applied literature, was conducted in a home setting for young girl with autism, using antecedent and consequence modifications described by Hagopian, Bruzek, Bowman, and Jennett (2007), identified the variables that occasioned and maintained problem behavior were interruptions to an ongoing activity followed by regaining uninterrupted access to the previous activity. Mixed findings have been reported regarding the effectiveness of advance notice for decreasing problem behavior. Results of the current study show that an advance notice treatment package was effective for a child with autism; no escape extinction was necessary. Interruptions are part of everyday life and tolerating these changes is critical for habilitation for individuals with autism.

A Survey-Based Method to Evaluate Optimal Treatment Selection for Escape-Maintained Problem Behavior.

Geiger, Carr, and LeBlanc (2010) developed a decision-making model for escape-maintained problem behavior that could be used to guide the course of treatment selection. We used a digital survey to evaluate the model's potential usefulness. We presented novice and expert practitioners' written hypothetical scenarios and asked them to determine the optimal treatment in a given situation. Some participants were given the model, whereas others were instructed to use their best clinical judgment. Using logistic regression analyses, the general findings for our scenarios were the following: (a) experts without the aid of a decision model had better odds of selecting the optimal treatment than novices without the decision model, (b) experts with the decision model did not have greater odds of selecting optimal treatment than experts without the model, and

Parametric analysis of delayed primary and conditioned reinforcers.

We examined the effects of delayed reinforcement on the responding of individuals with intellectual disabilities. Three conditions were evaluated: (a) food reinforcement, (b) token reinforcement with a postsession exchange opportunity, and (c) token reinforcement with a posttrial exchange opportunity. Within each condition, we assessed responding given (a) a no-reinforcement baseline, (b) immediate reinforcement, and (c) delayed reinforcement, in which responses produced a reinforcer after 1 of 6 delays. Results suggest that delayed food produced greater response persistence than did delayed tokens.

Nice Doggie! Contact Desensitization Plus Reinforcement Decreases Dog Phobias for Children with Autism.

Dog phobias are common in individuals with autism; however, evidence supporting behavioral interventions is limited. The current study evaluated the efficacy of contact desensitization plus reinforcement on dog phobic behavior exhibited by three children diagnosed with autism. The treatment package improved contact with dogs in analog and naturalistic settings and the improvements were maintained at follow-up and in generalization tests. Parents/caregivers also provided high consumer satisfaction reports.Approximately 30 % of individuals diagnosed with autism also receive a comorbid diagnosis of a clinical phobia.Research has shown that behavioral treatment for dog phobias in individuals with intellectual disabilities is contact desensitization plus reinforcement using two hierarchies: size of the dog and distance to the dog; no escape extinction was necessary.The current systematic replication shows that this treatment package was effective for children with autism using only a single hierarchy composed of distance to the dog.Future practitioners may wish to examine whether this treatment package also produces changes in supplemental physiological measures such as pupil dilation, heart rate, galvanic skin responses, and respiration.

Assessment of problem behavior evoked by disruption of ritualistic toy arrangements in a child with autism.

A functional analysis suggested that the problem behavior of a 9-year-old girl with autism was maintained by gaining the opportunity to restore ritualistic toy arrangements that had been disrupted. Functional communication training and extinction produced clear decreases in problem behavior in 2 contexts: 1 in which we removed a play item, and 1 in which we merely relocated the item and blocked its rearrangement.

The effect of rules on differential reinforcement of other behavior.

Previous research on the treatment of problem behavior has shown differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) to be an effective behavior-reduction procedure. However, the extent to which presession descriptions of the DRO contingency enhance intervention effects has not been examined. In the current study, we compared a condition in which a presession rule that described the DRO contingency was given to a condition in which no rule was given for 4 participants. The target behavior was toy play, which served as an analogue to problem behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement. Results showed that DRO was more efficient for 1 participant and more effective for 2 participants when a rule was given.

An analysis of modifications to the three-step guided compliance procedure necessary to achieve compliance among preschool children.

After a 3-step guided compliance procedure (vocal prompt, vocal plus model prompt, vocal prompt plus physical guidance) did not increase compliance, we evaluated 2 modifications with 4 preschool children who exhibited noncompliance. The first modification consisted of omission of the model prompt, and the second modification consisted of omitting the model prompt and decreasing the interprompt interval from 10 s to 5 s. Each of the modifications effectively increased compliance for 1 participant. For the remaining 2 participants, neither modification was effective; differential reinforcement in the form of contingent access to a preferred edible item was necessary to increase compliance. Problem behavior varied across participants, but was generally higher during guided compliance conditions and lower during differential reinforcement conditions.

Further examination of discriminated functional communication.

One child with developmental disabilities was taught to mand for attention by saying "excuse me." Treatment effects were extended to multiple training contexts by teaching the participant to attend to naturally occurring discriminative stimuli through differential reinforcement of communication during periods of the experimenter's nonbusy activities (e.g., reading a magazine). Results are discussed in terms of future research on the generalization and maintenance of functional communication in the natural environment.