Functional communication training and chained schedules of reinforcement to treat challenging behavior maintained by terminations of activity interruptions.
When brief activity pauses set off problem behavior, FCT plus a chained reinforcement schedule keeps kids communicating and learning while you fade escape time.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Two kids with autism hit, screamed, or flopped when staff paused their play.
The team ran a short functional analysis. Breaks looked like the trigger.
They taught each child to hand over a break card. Then they chained two schedules: card gave a tiny break, and later a big break arrived no matter what.
What they found
Challenging behavior dropped to near zero for both youth.
The kids kept using the card even when the first break lasted only seconds.
Staff could now run lessons without long escape periods.
How this fits with other research
Hoyle et al. (2022) compared the same chained schedule against a multiple schedule ten years later. Chained came out ahead on compliance, backing up the 2012 result.
Al-Jawahiri et al. (2019) pooled 28 studies and found thinning after FCT works best when the child already has some communication. The 2012 pair had minimal vocal skills, yet still succeeded—showing a chained schedule can bridge that gap.
Fernand et al. (2023) later used FCT plus thinning for aggression triggered by blocked repetitive play. Same core package, new trigger, same clean drop in problem behavior.
Why it matters
If your functional analysis is messy but interruptions spark problem behavior, try FCT plus a chained schedule. Start with a short escape for the card, then give a longer break on a timer. You can keep teaching while reinforcement thins itself.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
In this article, the authors evaluated functional communication training (FCT) and a chained schedule of reinforcement for the treatment of challenging behavior exhibited by two individuals diagnosed with Asperger syndrome and autism, respectively. Following a functional analysis with undifferentiated results, the authors demonstrated that challenging behavior was occasioned by interruptions of ongoing activities and maintained by terminations of interruptions. Next, they demonstrated the effectiveness of a treatment consisting of FCT with a chained schedule of reinforcement. Last, they modified the chained schedule procedure to increase ease of implementation and promote toleration of activity interruptions, and academic tasks were incorporated into the treatment.
Behavior modification, 2012 · doi:10.1177/0145445511433821