The effects of noncontingent access to single- versus multiple-stimulus sets on self-injurious behavior.
Rotate toys every 10 minutes or give several sets together so NCR keeps self-injury low.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team tested noncontingent reinforcement with toys for kids with autism.
They compared one toy set against several toy sets given for free.
Sessions ran until self-injury came back or 30 minutes passed.
What they found
Single-set NCR stopped working after about 30 minutes.
Multiple sets or rotating toys kept self-injury low the whole time.
More variety equaled longer protection.
How this fits with other research
Bauman et al. (1996) showed you can add DRA to NCR and still cut problem behavior.
Dawson et al. (2000) now shows you must also rotate or pile toys so the free reinforcement stays strong.
Leung et al. (1998) used wrist weights and hit 92% SIB drop with one kid.
Both studies prove simple antecedent tweaks beat extra contingencies for automatically reinforced self-injury.
Why it matters
If you run NCR for automatically reinforced SIB, plan to swap toys every 10 minutes or offer three sets at once.
One basket of favorites will wear out before lunch.
Bring a tote with extra sets and a timer to keep the effect all day.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The automatically reinforced self-injury of a girl with autism was treated by providing noncontingent access to a single set of preferred toys during 30-min sessions. The reductive effects of the intervention waned as the session progressed. Rotating toy sets after 10 min or providing access to multiple toy sets resulted in reductions that lasted the entire 30 min.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 2000 · doi:10.1901/jaba.2000.33-623