Further evaluation of treatments for vocal stereotypy: Response interruption and redirection and response cost

McNamara et al. (2019) tested three ways to quiet vocal stereotypy.

They used RIRD alone, response cost alone, and both together.

Each child got all three treatments in a single-case design.

RIRD alone or with response cost cut stereotypy the most.

Response cost alone helped, but only when you ignored the time it took to give the cost.

Count the whole session and RIRD wins.

Tyrer et al. (2009) already showed RIRD beats medicine.

McNamara adds that RIRD also beats money loss.

Callahan et al. (2023) later got even bigger drops by pairing RIRD with multiple schedules, so the 2019 combo may now be second best.

DeRosa et al. (2019) ran a sister study the same year: they found response blocking topped RIRD for motor stereotypy only when you count setup time—same math twist McNamara saw with response cost.

If a child hums or scripts all day, start with RIRD.

Skip stand-alone response cost—it looks weaker once you count the extra seconds.

For faster transfer across rooms, borrow Callahan’s multiple-schedule upgrade, but McNamara’s plain RIRD still gives solid first-aid you can use tomorrow.