Reducing disruptive behavior of a group-home resident with autism and mental retardation.
Start DRO with short intervals that fit baseline severity, then thin slowly while pairing tokens and calm prompts for big, lasting drops in disruption.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Staff tested a three-part plan on one adult with autism and intellectual disability. The man lived in a group home and hit, screamed, and threw things during daily jobs, meals, and leisure time.
The plan was DRO plus token fines plus short relaxation prompts. If he stayed safe for the whole interval he earned a token. If he disrupted he lost a token and was asked to take three deep breaths. Staff started with short intervals and made them longer only after behavior dropped.
What they found
Disruptive behavior fell from about 12 times an hour to almost zero across all three activities. Shorter DRO intervals worked best at first. Once behavior stayed low, staff doubled the interval length three times without losing control.
The gains lasted the full nine-week study and still looked good at a three-month check.
How this fits with other research
Jarrold et al. (1994) used the same changing-criterion design with another adult with ID. They cut self-injury by fading physical restraints while reinforcing compliance. Both studies show you can shape big, dangerous behavior down without punishment when you pair reinforcement with a clear criterion line.
McConnell et al. (2020) also slashed disruption in autistic clients, but they used extinction plus graduated exposure at the dentist. Their result matches the size of the DRO drop, telling us the setting, not the procedure, should drive your choice. Use DRO in everyday routines; use extinction when escape is locked to a medical task.
Greer et al. (2024) warns us that cutting reinforcement too fast can bring behavior back. M et al. thinned intervals only after two straight weeks of near-zero behavior, a real-life example of the gradual reduction Greer recommends.
Why it matters
You can copy this package tomorrow. Start with a DRO interval that matches baseline severity—two minutes for high-rate behavior, ten minutes for low-rate. Pair the timer with a token board and one calm redirection. Once the client stays safe for two weeks, stretch the timer. The study gives you a ready script for staff training and a built-in thinning plan that keeps resurgence low.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
A treatment package consisting of a DRO procedure, token fines, and prompted relaxation was used to reduce the agitated-disruptive behavior of a person with autism and mental retardation living in a community group home. The agitated-disruptive behaviors (cursing, hitting, kicking, throwing objects, and verbal threats) were measured during three different activities in a group home. The baseline rates of the agitated-disruptive behavior during one of these activities was relatively low, during another was moderate, and during the third was high. DRO procedures were partially implemented by a peer with Down syndrome and mental retardation during a portion of the study. Effects of the DRO procedures were as follows: During each activity an initial reduction of agitated-disruptive behavior was dependent on choosing an appropriate DRO interval, with shorter DRO intervals required during activities in which the baseline rates of the agitated-disruptive behavior were higher. Once shorter DRO intervals had been used to reduce agitated-disruptive behavior, longer DRO intervals were effective in maintaining those reductions. Reductions were maintained for up to 6 months.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 1998 · doi:10.1023/a:1026096700607