ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS OF TASK PREFERENCES,TASK DEMANDS,AND ADULT ATTENTION ON CHILD BEHAVIOR IN OUTPATIENT AND CLASSROOM SETTINGS

Two studies were conducted with children who displayed behavior problems to evaluate the effects of task preference, task demands, and adult attention on child behavior. In Study 1, we conducted brief functional analyses in an outpatient clinic to identify variables that facilitated appropriate behavior. For 8 of 10 children, distinct patterns of performance occurred; 3 children displayed improved behavior with changes in task demands, 1 child displayed improved behavior with a preferred task, and 4 children displayed improved behavior with changes in adult attention. In most cases, the children's parents carried out the assessments with adequate procedural integrity. In Study 2, we applied similar assessment methods to a classroom setting over an extended period of time. We identified independent variables controlling appropriate, on-task, and academic behavior for 2 children on two tasks, with slightly different treatment procedures across tasks for both children. In addition, the results of brief functional analyses for both children corresponded to the extended classroom assessments.     

Relative preference for distinct reinforcers maintaining destructive behavior

The literature offers few recommendations for sequencing exposure to treatment conditions with individuals with multiply maintained destructive behavior. Identifying relative preference for the functional reinforcers maintaining destructive behavior may be one means of guiding that decision. The present study presents a preliminary attempt at developing a robust relative preference and reinforcer assessment for individuals with multiply maintained destructive behavior. Guided and free-choice trials were implemented in which participants chose between two multiple-schedule arrangements, each of which programmed signaled periods of isolated reinforcer availability and unavailability. Consistent participant choice and responding during free-choice trials was then used to thin the corresponding schedule of reinforcement. The results demonstrated a strong preference for one of the two functional reinforcers for all four participants, yet preferences differed across participants and were not well predicted by responding in prior analyses.     

Further evaluation of leisure items in the attention condition of functional analyses

Research suggests that including leisure items in the attention condition of a functional analysis may produce engagement that masks sensitivity to attention. In this study, 4 individuals' initial functional analyses indicated that behavior was maintained by nonsocial variables (n = 3) or by attention (n = 1). A preference assessment was used to identify items for subsequent functional analyses. Four conditions were compared, attention with and without leisure items and control with and without leisure items. Following this, either high- or low-preference items were included in the attention condition. Problem behavior was more probable during the attention condition when no leisure items or low-preference items were included, and lower levels of problem behavior were observed during the attention condition when high-preference leisure items were included. These findings suggest how preferred items may hinder detection of behavioral function.     

Functional analysis and treatment of aggression maintained by preferred conversational topics

After an initial functional analysis of a participant's aggression showed unclear outcomes, we conducted preference and reinforcer assessments to identify preferred forms of attention that may maintain problem behavior. Next, we conducted an extended functional analysis that included a modified attention condition. Results showed that the participant's aggression was maintained by access to preferred conversational topics. A function-based intervention decreased aggression and increased an appropriate communicative response.     

The effects of preference assessment type on problem behavior

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who engage in problem behavior maintained by access to tangibles may exhibit more problem behavior during certain preference assessments. We compared three common preference assessments to determine which resulted in fewer problem behaviors. The paired stimulus and multiple‐stimulus without replacement assessments produced higher rates of problem behavior than the free operant (FO) assessment, suggesting that the FO assessment may be the most appropriate assessment for individuals who engage in problem behavior maintained by access to tangibles.     

Transfer of treatment effects from combined to isolated conditions during functional communication training for multiply controlled problem behavior

Functional communication training (FCT) is highly effective for treating socially maintained problem behavior when based on the results of functional analyses (FA). Research suggests that combining relevant antecedents and consequences of problem behavior during FCT can be an efficient approach to treatment for behavior that is multiply controlled. However, no studies have evaluated whether treatment effects under combined conditions would transfer to single, or isolated, conditions. Participants were 5 children with autism, aged 3 years to 6 years, who engaged in problem behavior maintained by both escape from demands and access to tangibles. An experimenter coached their caregivers via video conferencing to implement FA and FCT in their homes. All participants received FCT under a combined condition, followed by brief exposure to sessions with isolated antecedents and consequences. Treatment effects for just 1 of the 5 participants immediately persisted under isolated conditions. These results suggest that, when caregivers combine variables relevant to multiple functions during FCT, exposure to isolated conditions may at least temporarily produce treatment failures.     

A comparison of differential reinforcement and noncontingent reinforcement for the treatment of a child's multiply controlled problem behavior

Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) and differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) with escape as the reinforcer were evaluated after an initial functional analysis indicated the problem behaviors exhibited by a 7 year old child were maintained by escape. When NCR and DRO did not decrease the problem behaviors, a second functional analysis was conducted and showed that the behaviors were maintained by attention and escape. DRO with attention and escape as reinforcers was compared to NCR with attention and escape as reinforcers for the treatment of the child's multiply controlled behavior problems. Results showed that DRO and NCR were both effective at reducing the problem behavior to low levels and increasing compliance. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Functional analysis and treatment of problem behavior evoked by noise.

We conducted a four‐part investigation to develop methods for assessing and treating problem behavior evoked by noise. In Phase 1, 7 participants with developmental disabilities who were described as being hypersensitive to specific noises were exposed to a series of noises under controlled conditions. Results for 2 of the participants verified that noise was apparently an aversive event. In Phase 2, results of functional analyses indicated that these 2 participants' problem behaviors were maintained by escape from noise. In Phase 3, preference assessments were conducted to identify reinforcers that might be used during treatment. Finally, in Phase 4, the 2 participants' problem behaviors were successfully treated with extinction, stimulus fading, and a differential‐reinforcement‐of‐other‐behavior (DRO) contingency (only 1 participant required DRO). Treatment effects for both participants generalized to their home environments and were maintained during a follow‐up assessment. Procedures and results were discussed in terms of their relevance to the systematic assessment of noise as an establishing operation (EO) and, more generally, to the identification of idiosyncratic EO influences on behavior.     

Relative versus absolute reinforcement effects: implications for preference assessments

We compared results obtained in two previous studies on reinforcer identification (Fisher et al., 1992; Pace, Ivancic, Edwards, Iwata, & Page, 1985) by combining methodologies from both studies. Eight individuals with mental retardation participated. During Phase 1, two preference assessments were conducted, one in which stimuli were presented singly (SS method) and one in which stimuli were presented in pairs (PS method). Based on these results, two types of stimuli were identified for each participant: High-preference (HP) stimuli were those selected on 75% or more trials during both preference assessments; low-preference (LP) stimuli were those selected on 100% of the SS trials but on 25% or fewer of the PS trials. During Phase 2, the reinforcing effects of HP and LP stimuli were evaluated in reversal designs under two test conditions: concurrent and single schedules of continuous reinforcement. Two response options were available under the concurrent-schedule condition: One response produced access to the HP stimulus; the other produced access to the LP stimulus. Only one response option was available under the single-schedule condition, and that response produced access only to the LP stimulus. Results indicated that 7 of the 8 participants consistently showed preference for the HP stimulus under the concurrent schedule. However, when only the LP stimulus was available during the single-schedule condition, response rates for 6 of the 7 participants were as high as those observed for the HP stimulus during the concurrent-schedule condition (1 participant showed no reinforcement effect). These results indicate that, although the concurrent-schedule procedure is well suited to the assessment of relative reinforcement effects (preference for one reinforcer over another), absolute reinforcement effects associated with a given stimulus may be best examined under single-schedule conditions.     

TREATMENT OF PICA THROUGH MULTIPLE ANALYSES OF ITS REINFORCING FUNCTIONS

We conducted functional analyses of the pica of 3 participants. The pica of 1 participant appeared to be maintained by automatic reinforcement; that of the other 2 participants appeared to be multiply controlled by social and automatic reinforcement. Subsequent preference and treatment analyses were used to identify stimuli that would compete with the automatic function of pica for the 3 participants. These analyses also identified the specific aspect of oral stimulation that served as automatic reinforcement for 2 of the participants. In addition, functional analysis-based treatments were used to address the socially motivated components of 2 of the participants' pica. Results are discussed in terms of (a) the importance of using the results of functional analyses to develop treatments for pica and (b) the advantages of developing indirect analyses to identify specific sources of reinforcement for automatically reinforced behavior.     

Use of a latency‐based demand assessment to identify potential demands for functional analyses

Unlike potential tangible positive reinforcers, which are typically identified for inclusion in functional analyses empirically using preference assessments, demands are most often selected arbitrarily or based on caregiver report. The present study evaluated the use of a demand assessment with 12 participants who exhibited escape‐maintained problem behavior. Participants were exposed to 10 demands, with aversiveness measured by average latency to the first instance of problem behavior. In subsequent functional analyses, results of a demand condition that included the demand with the shortest latency to problem behavior resulted in identification of an escape function for 11 of the participants. In contrast, a demand condition that included the demand with the longest latency resulted in identification of an escape function for only 5 participants. The implication of these findings is that for the remaining 7 participants, selection of the demand for the functional analysis without using the results of the demand assessment could have produced a false‐negative finding.     

A “Healthy-Contingencies” Behavioral Intervention

Interventions based on functional analyses may result in better treatment outcomes than those using arbitrary reinforcers. However, functional analyses may be impractical in some situations, or an immediate intervention may be necessary while a functional analysis is being conducted. In these situations, delivering the social reinforcers most commonly identified by functional analyses (attention, access to tangibles, and escape from demands) following appropriate behavior and withholding these events following problem behavior may improve behavior. We assessed the extent to which this type of intervention would improve child behavior with three participants. All participants engaged in moderate to high rates of problem behavior and very little appropriate requesting during baseline, and high rates of appropriate requests and reduced rates of problem behavior during treatment.     

Providing noncontingent,alternative, functional reinforcers during delays following functional communication training

Functional Communication Training (FCT) involves arranging extinction for problem behavior and reinforcement for a more desirable, functionally equivalent, communicative response (FCR). Although effective under ideal arrangements, the introduction of delays to reinforcement following the FCR can result in increased problem behavior. Austin and Tiger (2015) showed that for individuals whose problem behavior was sensitive to multiple sources of reinforcement, providing access to alternative, functional reinforcers during delays mitigated this increase in problem behavior during delay fading. The current study replicated the procedures of Austin and Tiger with 2 individuals displaying multiply controlled problem behavior. Providing alternative functional reinforcers reduced problem behavior during 10-min delays for both participants without requiring delay fading.     

Functional analysis of self‐injury maintained by automatic reinforcement: exposing masked social functions

Two functional analyses for self‐injurious behavior (SIB) exhibited by a child diagnosed with mental retardation and autism were conducted. Responding was high and undifferentiated in the first functional analysis, indicating that SIB was maintained by automatic reinforcement. During the second functional analysis, the client wore a padded helmet and all SIB was blocked. SIB decreased in all conditions except attention, suggesting that SIB was multiply controlled (social positive and automatic reinforcement). Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A preliminary examination of the evocative effects of the establishing operation

We attempted to isolate the evocative effects of the establishing operation for positively reinforced problem behavior with 2 participants. The study consisted of three phases. First, a functional analysis identified tangible items (Participant 1) and attention (Participant 2) as maintaining problem behavior. Second, access to tangible items and attention was systematically controlled (continuous access vs. no access) immediately prior to functional analysis sessions in which these consequences were delivered contingent on problem behavior. Results of this phase indicated that problem behavior occurred at higher levels when access to tangible items and attention was restricted. In the third phase, prior access was again controlled, but problem behavior produced no consequences. Results of this final phase indicated that problem behavior occurred at higher levels during extinction sessions when participants did not have prior access to the reinforcers.     

Further examination of factors that influence preference for positive versus negative reinforcement

Factors that influence choice between qualitatively different reinforcers (e.g., a food item or a break from work) are important to consider when arranging treatments for problem behavior. Previous findings indicate that children who engage in problem behavior maintained by escape from demands may choose a food item over the functional reinforcer during treatment (DeLeon, Neidert, Anders, & Rodriguez-Catter, 2001; Lalli et al., 1999). However, a number of variables may influence choice between concurrently available forms of reinforcement. An analogue for treatment situations in which positive reinforcement for compliance is in direct competition with negative reinforcement for problem behavior was used in the current study to evaluate several variables that may influence choice. Participants were 5 children who had been diagnosed with developmental disabilities and who engaged in problem behavior maintained by escape from demands. In the first phase, the effects of task preference and schedule of reinforcement on choice between a 30-s break and a high-preference food item were evaluated. The food item was preferred over the break, regardless of the preference level of the task or the reinforcement schedule, for all but 1 participant. In the second phase, the quality of the break was manipulated by combining escape with toys, attention, or both. Only 1 participant showed preference for the enriched break. In the third phase, choice of a medium- or low-preference food item versus the enriched break was evaluated. Three of 4 participants showed preference for the break over the less preferred food item. Results extend previous research by identifying some of the conditions under which individuals who engage in escape-maintained behavior will prefer a food reinforcer over the functional one.     

A descriptive analysis of potential reinforcement contingencies in the preschool classroom

In recent years, functional analysis methods have been extended to classroom settings; however, research has not evaluated the extent to which consequences presented during functional analysis are associated with problem behavior under naturalistic classroom conditions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine whether the social consequences commonly manipulated in functional analyses occur in typical preschool classrooms. A total of 14 children attending preschool programs participated in the study. Data were collected on the occurrence of antecedent events (e.g., presentation of tasks), child behaviors (e.g., aggression), and teacher responses (e.g., delivery of attention). The probability of various teacher responses given child behavior was then calculated and compared to the response-independent probabilities of teacher responses. Attention was found to be the most common classroom consequence (100% of children), followed by material presentation (79% of children), and escape from instructional tasks (33% of children). Comparisons of conditional and response-independent probabilities showed that the probability of teacher attention increased given the occurrence of problem behavior for all children, suggesting that a contingency existed between these two events. Results suggest that functional analyses that test the effects of attention, escape, and access to materials on problem behavior may be appropriate for preschool settings.