Functional Analysis and Treatment of Repetitive Verbal Behavior in Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Three kids with autism kept asking "What's that?" over and over. The team ran a full functional analysis to see why.

They tested four conditions: play, alone, demand, and attention. Only the attention condition made the questions skyrocket.

Next they taught each child to tap an adult's arm and say "excuse me" instead. That was the entire treatment package.

All three kids asked fewer questions once they could get attention with the mand. Rates dropped to near zero within five sessions.

The new mand grew fast. Kids used it to start short chats about toys, snacks, or anything else. Repetitive questions stayed low for weeks.

Leon et al. (2010) got the same result years earlier. They also replaced attention-seeking behavior with a simple mand. Their twist was to train during quiet reading time so the skill spread to new rooms. H et al. skipped that generalization step, so you may want to copy Yanerys if the behavior pops up in other places.

Matson et al. (2011) looked at 176 studies and counted 40 ways to build replacement behaviors. Functional communication was on the short list, but so were non-contingent reinforcement and differential reinforcement. The review reminds us that FCT is not the only arrow in the quiver; if attention mands fail, try handing free attention on a time schedule first.

DeRoma et al. (2004) watched the preschoolers and saw that teachers gave eye contact right after problem behavior. That real-world pattern backs up the lab finding here: adult attention is a powerful coin. Use it wisely during treatment.

If a child on your caseload fires off non-stop "What's that?" or similar scripts, do not assume it is true curiosity. Run a quick FA or at least an attention test. Once the function is clear, teach one polite mand and reinforce it every time. You will cut the repetitive talk and give the child a real way to start conversation.