An evaluation of durability during and following delay‐and‐denial tolerance teaching

Kastner et al. (2025) tested what happens after delay-and-denial tolerance teaching. They looked for two things: renewal and resurgence of problem behavior.

The team ran single-case tests. They checked if tough behavior came back during extinction probes and during schedule thinning.

Renewal showed up but stayed mild. It rarely hit levels that would worry a clinician.

Resurgence was different. It popped up rarely during extinction tests. Yet it appeared often and got big once they thinned the reinforcement schedule.

Derrenbacker et al. (2025) also studied renewal after an extinction plan. They found that fading reinforcer types cut renewal in half. Kastner saw mild renewal too, but their focus was on the later thinning phase.

Cançado et al. (2011) showed resurgence in pigeons when temporal patterns returned. Kastner now shows the same bounce-back can hit hard during thinning with people.

Latimier et al. (2019) used a gentle nine-step fade to keep problem behavior low while moving to dense teaching. Kastner warns that even after smooth tolerance teaching, thinning the schedule can still spark a surge.

When you fade reinforcement after functional communication training, expect a bigger spike in problem behavior than you saw during extinction probes. Track response rates closely as you thin. Build extra supports or slower steps into your thinning plan so the resurgence does not undo your gains.