Schedule Thinning Following Functional Communication Training: Effects of Chained and Multiple Schedules.
After FCT for escape behavior, a chained schedule can edge out a multiple schedule for compliance, yet both safely thin reinforcement.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team taught three kids to ask for a break instead of hitting or running away.
Next they compared two ways to thin the breaks: a chained schedule and a multiple schedule.
Each child served as their own control in an alternating-treatments design.
What they found
Both schedules kept problem behavior low and compliance high.
The chained schedule pushed compliance a little higher for two of the three kids.
Neither schedule caused a return to escape behavior.
How this fits with other research
Al-Jawahiri et al. (2019) pooled 28 studies and found thinning after FCT works best when the child already talks or signs.
That big picture lines up with Hoyle et al. (2022): thinning still works, even in a tiny sample.
Falcomata et al. (2012) first showed a chained schedule alone can cut escape behavior; Hoyle et al. (2022) adds the head-to-head test and shows chained may beat multiple for compliance.
Boyle et al. (2021) slid an activity schedule into thinning and saw more independent play.
Their extra piece does not clash with N et al.—you could stack an activity schedule on top of either chained or multiple schedules.
Why it matters
You no longer have to guess which thinning path to pick.
Start with FCT, then run both schedules briefly and track compliance.
If the chained schedule lifts compliance even a little, stay with it and keep stretching work time.
One quick comparison saves weeks of slow fading.
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Run a one-day alternating probe: 10 trials chained, 10 trials multiple, count compliance, and pick the winner for the rest of the week.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Functional communication training (FCT) is used to reduce rates of problem behavior by teaching communicative responses that access functionally equivalent reinforcers. During FCT, the communicative response is typically placed on a dense schedule of reinforcement that is unlikely to be maintained in the natural environment. Experiment 1 evaluated the effects of two schedule-thinning procedures (chained schedules and multiple schedules) on problem behavior maintained by escape from demands for three participants following FCT. The chained and multiple-schedule procedures were effective in reducing rates of problem behavior. Compliance increased under both schedules, but the chained schedule resulted in higher levels of compliance with two participants. In Experiment 2, participants' preference for the chained or multiple-schedule procedure was evaluated using a modified concurrent-chain procedure. One participant preferred the chained schedule. One participant preferred the multiple schedule. One participant did not appear to discriminate between conditions.
Behavior modification, 2022 · doi:10.1177/01454455211036003