Analysis and intervention with two topographies of challenging behavior exhibited by a young woman with autism.
Delay-to-reinforcement helps SIB that wants attention, yet hurts aggression that wants escape—so tailor the package to each function.
01Research in Context
What this study did
A young woman with autism hit herself and hit others. The team ran two separate analyses. One showed self-injury got adult attention. The other showed aggression let her escape tasks.
They taught her to ask for a break or for attention with signs. Adults gave her what she asked for right away. If she hit, they gave nothing. Later they added a 20-second delay before the requested item arrived.
What they found
Self-injury dropped to near zero once the delay was added. The girl kept using her new signs.
Aggression barely budged with the delay in place. Only after the team removed the delay did hitting others fall.
How this fits with other research
Kirkwood et al. (2021) later showed the same rule: when a behavior has two functions, you must treat both. Their food-refusal study matched every function with its own procedure.
Torres-Viso et al. (2018) used the same FCT-plus-extinction package and also saw big drops in problem behavior. Their work proves the combo works across different kinds of mands.
McConnell et al. (2020) looked at escape-only behavior during dental exams. They used immediate escape extinction and won. Their result lines up with the 1997 finding: escape-maintained behavior hates delays.
SLibero et al. (2016) reviewed 20 years of aggression studies. They still list FCT plus extinction as the first-line ABA tool, placing this case inside today’s standard of care.
Why it matters
One size does not fit all topographies. If your client’s problem behavior is multiply controlled, test each function separately. Use delay-to-reinforcement for attention-based SIB, but drop the delay for escape-based aggression. Start with pure FCT plus extinction, then thin only after the behavior is stable.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
A functional analysis was conducted with a young woman who engaged in both self-injury and aggression. Self-injury functioned to access preferred stimuli while aggression served an escape function. Intervention, a package consisting of gradually increasing the delay to reinforcement (access or escape), mand training, and extinction was effective for decreasing self-injury. However, this intervention was less effective in reducing aggression. A modification of the intervention, in which the gradual delay procedure was eliminated, resulted in reductions in aggression. The findings are discussed in the context of assessment and intervention selection with individuals who engage in multiple topographies of challenging behavior.
Research in developmental disabilities, 1997 · doi:10.1016/s0891-4222(97)00009-7