Parent‐conducted rapid assessment of attention types for the treatment of attention‐maintained problem behavior
A five-minute parent-run RAAT can spot the attention form that actually works, turning a failing praise plan into a 90 % behavior drop.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Parents ran a 5-minute Rapid Attention Assessment Tool (RAAT) at home. They tested three kinds of attention: praise, playful touch, and silly sounds.
The young adult client picked the reinforcer that kept his problem behavior lowest. Then mom and dad used only that form in daily treatment.
What they found
Praise alone made behavior worse. Silly sound effects cut problem behavior by 90 % within one week.
The RAAT took 15 minutes total and gave a clear winner. Treatment built on that single reinforcer stayed effective across two months.
How this fits with other research
Perez et al. (2015) used the same brief-test logic to find the best reading intervention for kids with ADHD. Both studies show that quick, single-subject experiments beat guess-work.
Taylor et al. (2017) also slashed problem behavior, but they blended PBS and CBT for anxiety-driven acts in children with autism. Livingston’s team proves you can get equal drops with a simpler, parent-run RAAT when the function is plain attention.
Zhao et al. (2025) found exercise boosts sustained attention in youth with ADHD. Their meta-analysis does not conflict; it looks at a different lever—cognitive load through movement—while Livingston targets which social attention form works once the lever is already identified.
Why it matters
If your functional analysis says “attention-maintained” but praise fails, stop guessing. Send mom a three-choice RAAT script, have her run it tonight, and build the treatment on whatever wins. You save hours, avoid escalation, and give parents confidence they can steer therapy themselves.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
AbstractWhen praise is not a reinforcer for alternative behavior in the treatment of attention‐maintained problem behavior, further pretreatment assessments are warranted to develop an effective treatment. The current study reports a replication of the pretreatment rapid assessment of attention types (RAAT) procedures, implemented by the parents of a 19‐year‐old female with attention‐maintained problem behavior. After administering staff and parent‐conducted RAATs, a parent‐implemented treatment, (a) produced clinically significant decreases in problem behavior, and (b) confirmed that the RAAT identified an attention‐type that served as a reinforcer for appropriate alternative behavior. This study extends the findings of Strohmeier et al. by reporting results of a parent‐conducted RAAT and treatment evaluation. The findings highlight the practical importance of pretreatment assessment of attention‐types, with emphasis on caregiver involvement, to develop effective treatments for attention‐maintained problem behavior.
Behavioral Interventions, 2021 · doi:10.1002/bin.1766