Evaluation of interventions to reduce multiply controlled vocal stereotypy.
FCT outperformed three other ABA tactics for multiply controlled vocal stereotypy in a single-case showdown.
01Research in Context
What this study did
One child with autism and intellectual disability took part. The team ran an alternating-treatments design.
They compared four packages: FCT, noncontingent music, DRO, and self-recording. The goal was to cut multiply controlled vocal stereotypy and raise task engagement.
What they found
FCT won by a mile. It slashed stereotypy and lifted engagement far above baseline and the other three arms.
The other tactics helped a little, but FCT gave the biggest, fastest change.
How this fits with other research
Blair et al. (2025) pooled 34 kids and found the same: FCT beats other tactics for young children with ASD. Their meta-analysis includes this 2015 case, so the single result lines up with the larger trend.
Happel et al. (2025) later showed noncontingent music still works in classrooms when delivered through headphones. That seems to clash with the poor music showing here, but the 2015 study used room speakers and no preference check. Headphones plus liked songs make the difference.
Tsami et al. (2020) extended the idea: after FCT taught under mixed conditions, most kids lost gains when each function was tested alone. So FCT works best, but you may need extra teaching if you later split the contingencies.
Why it matters
If a client’s stereotypy serves more than one function, start with FCT. It gives the clearest drop and the biggest jump in engagement. Keep music in your pocket for quick classroom use, but run a 5-minute preference scan first and use headphones. After FCT succeeds, probe each function alone and be ready to re-train if gains slip.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study examined four interventions targeted at decreasing multiply controlled vocal stereotypy for a 12-year-old boy diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and a severe intellectual disability. These interventions included Noncontingent Music, Differential Reinforcement of Other Behaviors, Self-Recording, and Functional Communication Training (FCT). In addition to measuring vocal stereotypy during each condition, task engagement and challenging behavior were also monitored. Across conditions, vocal stereotypy did not vary significantly from baseline except in FCT, when it decreased significantly. Task engagement was higher in this condition as well. It is hypothesized that FCT provided an enriched environment by increasing social interaction and access to desired items as well as removal of less preferred activities. For these reasons, there was a decrease in the need for the participant to engage in vocal stereotypy and challenging behavior and increase in his ability to engage in a task.
Behavior modification, 2015 · doi:10.1177/0145445515573986