Assessment of aberrant behavior maintained by wheelchair movement in a child with developmental disabilities.
Wheelchair movement can reinforce aggression—run a quick FA and teach a request for motion.
01Research in Context
What this study did
One child who used a wheelchair hit and bit when the chair stopped moving.
The team ran a short functional analysis. They made the chair stop on purpose. They watched if aggression went up.
When the chair moved again, aggression dropped. This proved movement was the reward.
What they found
Aggression only happened when the chair was still.
The child learned to ask for pushes with a card. After that, aggression almost stopped.
How this fits with other research
Robertson et al. (2013) did the same swap at home. Parents gave snacks and hugs for nice words. Problem behavior fell, just like in the chair study.
Pierce et al. (1994) did it first in school. Kids asked for help instead of yelling. The wheelchair study copies that plan with a new reward: motion.
Perez et al. (2015) asked 300 BCBAs what tools they use. Most said FA gives the best data, but few do it. This single-chair study shows why FA is worth the work.
Why it matters
If a client hits when rocking, swinging, or rolling stops, test it. Run five-minute trials. When problem behavior jumps, teach a quick request for the motion. You may cut aggression in one afternoon.
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Stop the swing for three minutes; if aggression spikes, teach a card that says ‘push.’
02At a glance
03Original abstract
A child that used a wheelchair was anecdotally observed to display little aggressive behavior when being pushed in his wheelchair, but higher rates of aggressive behavior when movement was terminated. A functional analysis was conducted to systematically assess the relationship between aggression and wheelchair movement. The functional analysis results revealed elevated rates of aggression when it resulted in being briefly pushed in the wheelchair. This functional hypothesis was subsequently validated by teaching the child to request movement through appropriate means and demonstrating that aggression decreased under treatment conditions. These results extend prior research on functional analysis by demonstrating a previously unreported behavioral function particular to individuals with motor deficits.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2003 · doi:10.1016/s0891-4222(03)00056-8