Systematic Review of Functional Analysis and Treatment of Elopement (2000–2015)
When social reinforcement drives elopement, FCT is the go-to treatment; when the function is sensory, we still have no tested protocol.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Boyle et al. (2017) read every elopement paper from 2000 to 2015.
They kept only studies that ran a real functional analysis and then treated the behavior.
The final pile showed how researchers moved from FA results to actual interventions.
What they found
Functional communication training was the top choice after an FA showed social reinforcement.
No one had tested what to do when elopement is automatically reinforced.
The field had a clear map for social functions and a blank space for sensory functions.
How this fits with other research
Lord et al. (1997) ran the very first FA on elopement. Boyle’s review treats that paper as the starting line.
Gerber et al. (2011) already ruled FCT “well-established” for kids with ID or autism. Boyle narrows the claim: the evidence is solid only when social reinforcement keeps the wandering alive.
Ghaemmaghami et al. (2021) later warned that most FCT wins happened in clinics, not homes or schools. Boyle’s gap—no automatic-function treatments—looks even bigger once you ask if real-world caregivers can run the protocol.
Why it matters
If your FA points to attention, escape, or tangible, use FCT with confidence.
If the FA is flat or suggests sensory reinforcement, you are in experiment mode: collect data, pilot a matched treatment, and document outcomes.
Share that case so the next review can fill the automatic-reinforcement hole Boyle spotted.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Elopement is a dangerous behavior that is emitted by a large proportion of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Functional analysis and function-based treatments are critical in identifying maintaining reinforcers and decreasing elopement. The purpose of this review was to identify recent trends in the functional analysis and treatment of elopement, as well as determine the efficacy (standardized mean differences) of recent treatments. Over half of subjects’ elopement was maintained by social positive reinforcement, while only 25% of subjects’ elopement was maintained by social negative reinforcement. Elopement was rarely maintained by automatic reinforcement, and none of the studies in the current review evaluated treatments to address automatically maintained elopement. Functional communication training was the most common intervention regardless of function. Results are discussed in terms of clinical implications and directions for future research. The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s40617-017-0191-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2017 · doi:10.1007/s40617-017-0191-y