Self-control in children with autism: response allocation during delays to reinforcement.

The team worked with children with autism. They wanted kids to pick a bigger treat that came later instead of a small treat right away.

They made the wait longer bit by bit. While the child waited, they gave the child a simple job to do. They tracked how often the child picked the big-later treat and how much problem behavior happened.

Every child started picking the big-later treat. Waiting no longer felt hard. Problem behavior dropped.

The small job during the wait kept hands and minds busy. That made the delay feel shorter.

Faja et al. (2015) and Leezenbaum et al. (2019) say young kids with autism already show poor delay skills. This study seems to disagree, but the kids in those papers were younger and had no training. Once you teach the skill, the deficit can close.

Dunkel-Jackson et al. (2016) later used the same wait-plus-task plan with adults with autism. They got the same good result, showing the trick works across ages.

Mueller et al. (2000) ran a close cousin study with kids who have ADHD. They also stretched wait time while kids named colors aloud. The autism version swapped naming for a simple task, proving the idea works with tiny tweaks.

You can teach waiting. Add a quick, easy job during the delay—sorting cards, clipping clothespins, counting beans. The child stays busy, the wait feels shorter, and you see fewer meltdowns. Use this when you need to stretch inter-trial times, fade immediate reinforcement, or build patience at snack or computer time.