Intervention, stimulus control, and generalization effects of response interruption and redirection on motor stereotypy

Gould and team tested response interruption and redirection (RIRD) on motor stereotypy. They ran an ABAB reversal with kids who had developmental delays. The goal was to see if RIRD would cut stereotypy, if the cue itself would later stop the behavior, and if the drop would carry over to a new room.

RIRD quickly lowered motor stereotypy each time it was introduced. When the cue that had signaled RIRD showed up alone, stereotypy stayed low—evidence of stimulus control. Caregivers kept high fidelity, and the gains moved to a second setting without extra training.

Saini et al. (2015) already showed that one-demand RIRD works as well as the longer three-demand version and saves time. Gould used that leaner prompt, so the new study builds on their efficiency tip.

Barszcz et al. (2021) later copied the design with vocal stereotypy and also saw fast generalization. Together the two papers say RIRD transfers across settings for both motor and vocal forms.

Callahan et al. (2023) went further, wrapping RIRD inside multiple schedules plus clear context cues. They got large drops and wide generalization across novel activities. Their package extends Gould’s basic RIRD by showing you can program even stronger transfer if you plan the cues and schedule in advance.

You can drop motor stereotypy with a short one-demand RIRD and expect the cue itself to gain stop power. Because generalization happened without extra sessions, you can probe new rooms early and likely save training time. If you want even faster transfer, follow Callahan’s lead and pair the RIRD cue with a multiple-schedule frame.