The effect of response interruption and redirection with and without a differential reinforcement of alternative behavior component on stereotypy and appropriate responses

Three kids with autism kept saying the same word over and over. The team tried two ways to stop it.

Way one: block the word and tell the child to do something else (RIRD). Way two: same block plus praise for using words the right way (RIRD+DRA).

Each child got both ways in a small room for 10-minute sessions.

Both ways cut the repeated words. Adding praise did not make the drop bigger.

Neither way helped the kids use more good words once the session ended.

Gibbs et al. (2018) got faster drops by playing soft music behind RIRD. Music plus RIRD beat RIRD alone, yet Cividini-Motta saw no extra gain when praise was added. The music may give a second reinforcer stream that pure DRA did not.

Ruckle et al. (2023) paired RIRD+DRA with a discard response and kept kids from eating items. Their big success shows the DRA piece must be chosen with care; any old praise may not work.

Laugeson et al. (2014) warn that if you only count after you interrupt, RIRD looks stronger than it is. Cividini-Motta counted every interval, so their mixed result is likely the real picture.

Use RIRD when you need to stop vocal stereotypy fast. Do not count on the DRA add-on to build new skills unless you pick a powerful replacement response and teach it first. Track every 10-second block so you do not fool yourself into seeing a miracle.