Recreating the scene: an effective way to provide delayed punishment for inappropriate motor behavior.
Making the child replay the whole problem act right after it happens can serve as a fast, low-tech delayed punisher.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Two kids with autism and developmental delay kept hitting themselves or others. Staff could not stop the behavior right when it happened.
After each episode, workers made the child repeat the whole action chain. The child had to stand up, walk to the spot, and mime the hit again. This do-over served as a delayed punisher.
What they found
The do-over quickly cut the bad behavior for both kids. Hits and kicks dropped close to zero after only a few sessions.
The change lasted while the plan stayed in place. Staff saw no harm and no new problem acts popped up.
How this fits with other research
Martinez-Perez et al. (2024) later tested different sizes of punishment in a lab. They found that bigger punishment stops the target act but does not stop resurgence later. Saunders et al. (1988) showed the do-over works in real life; the 2024 lab work warns the effect may not stick once rewards return.
Chung et al. (2010) tried short warm-ups before sessions. Some kids did better, some did worse. Both studies tell us to test each child: one size does not fit all.
Gerow et al. (2019) cut motor stereotypy with parents using praise and blocking. That route needs mom or dad ready right away. The do-over gives you a back-up when you miss the moment.
Why it matters
You can’t always reach the child in time. Keep the do-over in your bag. After a blow, walk the child through the same moves in the same place. No extra gear, no hard tech. Pair it with praise for good acts so the do-over stays punishing, not rewarding. Watch for resurgence later and be ready to run the plan again.
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Join Free →After a hit, calmly guide the child back to the spot and have them mime the exact chain once; praise the first good act that follows.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
A mediated punishment procedure that involved recreating a behavioral sequence by guiding the subject through the behavior in the situation in which it occurred was used to suppress several severe problem behaviors in two developmentally delayed children. The mediational procedure was first used with a 4-year-old autistic boy for biting and then for foot stomping. Next the procedure was used for stealing and hoarding behavior with a multiply handicapped 17-year-old girl. Results indicated that the procedure was effective and produced relatively rapid results. One advantage of the procedure is that it provides an opportunity for trained personnel to apply restrictive procedures to low frequency behavior that occurs in their absence rather than relying on less qualified staff to implement the procedure immediately after the behavior occurs.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1988 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1988.21-187