Serial functional communication training: Extending serial DRA to mands and problem behavior
Teaching a short chain of mands during FCT can slightly shrink the rebound of problem behavior when reinforcement ends.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Two kids got traditional FCT. They learned one mand to replace hitting. Later the team taught three mands in a row. They called it serial FCT.
The adults used an alternating-treatments design. One day gave the old single mand. Another day gave the new chain of three mands. They watched if hitting came back when reinforcement stopped.
What they found
Serial FCT shaved off some of the rebound. When reinforcement ended, hitting returned less with the three-mand chain. One child even lost the rebound completely.
The drop was small but steady. Two kids showed the same pattern. It was not a magic cure, yet it helped a little.
How this fits with other research
Stevens et al. (2018) got a bigger drop in problem behavior. They used lag schedules instead of serial mands. Kids had to vary their words each time. Both ideas tweak the schedule, but lag gives stronger protection.
O'Reilly et al. (2012) moved the mand earlier. They asked before the toy appeared. That cut tangible-maintained hitting too. Lambert et al. stack mands later; Mark moves the single mand sooner.
McGonigle et al. (2014) used one voice-output switch with adults who have Rett. They proved FCT still works with severe motor limits. Lambert shows we can now add more mands even for clients with small repertoires.
Why it matters
If you run FCT, try teaching two or three mands in order. It takes only a few extra sessions. The child gains a bigger request toolbox. When you later thin or stop reinforcement, the old problem behavior may rebound less. Start with the original mand, then add one new form each week. Watch the data; if resurgence still spikes, pair the chain with a lag schedule next.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
AbstractFunctional communication training (FCT) is commonly used to eliminate problem behavior. Not surprisingly, the efficacy of the intervention depends on fidelity to programmed procedures. For instance, problem behavior is likely to resurge if caregivers fail to reinforce mands during the maintenance stages of FCT. Despite this, recent translational work on arbitrary human responses suggests that incorporating multiple‐mand instruction into a serial‐training format may increase the probability of a recency effect, and a reversion of response resurgence (both desirable outcomes when mands are the most recently reinforced responses prior to extinction). Although promising, this effect has not been replicated with socially significant human behavior. Thus, we compared the relative effect of traditional FCT with that of serial FCT on the resurgence of the problem behavior, and mands, of 2 children. In contrast to previous research, we observed primacy effects for both subjects (i.e., the magnitude of the resurgence of problem behavior was greater than it was for any subsequently trained mand), and mand resurgence never occurred for one subject. Notwithstanding these limitations, the percentage of total responding allocated toward the resurgence of problem behavior was less in the serial FCT component relative to the traditional FCT component, and we observed a reversion of response resurgence for one subject.
Behavioral Interventions, 2017 · doi:10.1002/bin.1493