| Abstract: | This study examined procedures for the assessment and treatment of automatically reinforced vocal stereotypy of a 6‐year‐old girl with autism. Stimulus assessments were conducted to identify toys that were correlated with higher rates of vocal stereotypy and toys that were not. A concurrent operants assessment identified preferred stimuli (toys that produced auditory stimulation), which were then used as reinforcers for the non‐occurrence of vocal stereotypy. A reversal design was used to compare the effects of a fixed time schedule of reinforcement (FT 1‐min) to differential reinforcement for the non‐occurrence of behavior (DRO) to reduce vocal stereotypy. Implementation of the FT schedule revealed no effect, whereas the DRO schedule led to a reduction in the target behavior during treatment sessions and across the school day. This study adds to the body of literature supporting the identification of matched stimuli to reduce non‐socially mediated problem behavior. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
