Functional analysis and treatment of problem behavior related to mands for rearrangement

The team worked with two boys who had autism. Both boys hit, kicked, or screamed when adults would not move objects or people back to "right" spots.

First the researchers did a short functional analysis. They saw that problem behavior only happened when staff refused to rearrange things.

Next they taught each boy a simple mand like "move it back." They used FCT plus extinction. Reinforcement for the new mand stayed thick while problem behavior got zero payoff.

Problem behavior dropped to near zero for both boys within five to nine sessions. Use of the new mand shot up and stayed high.

The staff then thinned reinforcement with a multiple schedule. The boys kept asking nicely and rarely showed the old behavior, even when reinforcement became lean.

Banerjee et al. (2022) extends this work to bilingual kids. They added "repair-the-message" steps so the child repeats or clarifies the mand if the adult still does not respond. This tweak prevents resurgence when listeners miss the cue.

Martin et al. (1997) showed FCT can last over two years in family homes. Their early data foreshadow the current study’s focus on thinning schedules without losing the gain.

Roth et al. (2025) used the same FCT-plus-extinction core for vomiting maintained by attention. Their case study shows the package travels across very different topographies when the function is social.

If your client melts down until you fix the room layout, teach a quick "move it back" phrase and hold the line on extinction. Start thick, then thin with a multiple schedule so you are not glued to the child all day. The procedure is brief, parent-friendly, and keeps its punch even when reinforcement gets lean.