A systematic examination of different parameters of presession exposure to tangible stimuli that maintain problem behavior.

The team worked with children whose problem behavior was kept going by access to toys or other tangibles.

They tried three warm-up plans right before teaching sessions: let the child play with the item until she seemed full, give her only two minutes with it, or give her none at all.

An alternating-treatments design flipped the plan each day so the child acted as her own control.

When the child got "full" of the item first, problem behavior almost disappeared in the next lesson.

Brief access or no access left the behavior high, showing the item still held strong power.

Satiation acted like a switch that turned the motivation off.

Whitehouse et al. (2014) later saw the same switch-off with nail biting in typical kids, proving the trick works for different topographies and diagnoses.

Bhaumik et al. (2009) looked at the flip side: they slowly lengthened deprivation time before choice sessions and found more deprivation did not always boost preference.

That pair of results sounds opposite, but the difference is the outcome measured: Mark et al. counted problem behavior while S et al. counted how often adults then picked the item.

Najdowski et al. (2003) review shows you can fold this satiation step into a larger play-training package so the child stays calm while learning new leisure skills.

If you know a client rips materials to get the iPad, give free iPad time for five to ten minutes right before work.

The brief "full" period costs almost no session time and can erase the need for restraints or elaborate plans.

Try it next Monday: run a short satiation probe, then teach; graph both problem behavior and correct responses to see the payoff.