Further evaluations of functional communication training and chained schedules of reinforcement to treat multiple functions of challenging behavior.
One wristband and a chained schedule let FCT handle many behavior functions at once.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Two children with autism had problem behavior that served many purposes. One child hit for escape and for toys. The other bit for attention and for snacks.
The team taught each child to ask with words or pictures. They added a chained schedule. A green wristband told the child, "Ask now, get it soon." The band faded to yellow, then gone. Only then did the child get the item.
What they found
Both kids’ problem behavior dropped to zero. The wristband kept them waiting without new outbursts. Parents used the same plan at home. Results held there too.
How this fits with other research
Malagodi et al. (1975) showed pigeons slow down when tokens stretch too far. The wristband works the same way. It bridges the wait so the child keeps asking, not melting down.
Donahoe et al. (2000) cut multiply-maintained destruction with free toys. Chiviacowsky et al. (2013) cut it with teaching and a schedule. Both work, but FCT plus chaining also builds a skill the child can use anywhere.
Bellon-Harn et al. (2020) checked 59 FCT studies and found no two rating tools agree. Your data sheet matters, but the child’s progress matters more.
Why it matters
You can fold escape, attention, and tangible functions into one plan. Teach one request, use one wristband, and thin the schedule. No need to run separate treatments. Try it next time a client hits for many reasons.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
We evaluated functional communication training (FCT) combined with a chained schedule of reinforcement procedure for the treatment of challenging behavior exhibited by two individuals diagnosed with Asperger syndrome and autism. Following functional analyses that suggested that challenging behavior served multiple functions for both participants, we implemented FCT in which mands for a discriminative stimulus (S(D); wristband) were reinforced with access to the S(D) and all three functional reinforcers. Next, we modified the procedure by incorporating delays to increase ease of implementation and promote toleration of delays to reinforcement. Last, we made additional modifications to the procedure by incorporating a chained schedule of reinforcement such that (a) mands for the wristband were reinforced with access to the wristband and (b) specific mands for respective functional reinforcers were reinforced in the presence of the wristband. The results showed that the procedure successfully treated challenging behavior with multiple functions. Future directions in the evaluation and development of treatments that simultaneously address multiple functions are discussed.
Behavior modification, 2013 · doi:10.1177/0145445513500785