Interventions for Repetitive Behavior in Young Children with Autism: A Survey of Behavioral Practices.
Most BCBAs already use and trust the same short list of tactics for repetitive behaviors in young children with autism.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team sent a short survey to 128 board-certified behavior analysts. They asked which 16 common tactics the BCBAs already used for repetitive behaviors in young children with autism.
Each person rated how well the tactic worked in their own cases. The list mixed reinforcement, punishment, and packaged plans.
What they found
Almost every BCBA said they already used most of the 16 practices. They also gave each one high marks for effectiveness.
The same small set of tools topped the list across the whole country.
How this fits with other research
Honey et al. (2008) watched preschoolers for one year. Their formal scores for repetitive behaviors went up, yet parents felt daily life got easier. The new survey shows BCBAs keep using the same tactics anyway, and still call them effective.
Harrop et al. (2016) found that when child behaviors rise, parent stress rises too. The 2019 survey points to a ready-made menu of tools BCBAs trust to bring those behaviors down.
Pastrana et al. (2018) asked what grad programs teach. Both papers used BCBA surveys, but Pastrana looked at reading lists while J et al. looked at real-life tactics. Together they show training and practice are now being tracked the same way.
Why it matters
You no longer need to hunt for exotic fixes. The field has settled on a core set of moves that most peers already rate as helpful. Use the list as a quick-start menu when you write your next plan for a preschool client. If parents worry about rising scores, show them the same tactics also lowered day-to-day impact in earlier work.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) display social-communication deficits and present with rigid and repetitive patterns of behavior and/or interests (RRBIs). Compared to interventions for social-communication skills, less attention has been given to RRBIs, especially with regard to interventions for young children. We surveyed 128 behavior analysts who implemented interventions for young children with ASD on their use of 16 practices and one assessment for the treatment of RRBIs. The majority of our sample perceived the practices to be effective in producing sustainable behavior change. Behavior analysts generally responded in the same way to items about reinforcement-based practices, punishment-based practices, and a group of commonly packaged antecedent and consequence-based package components. Implications and future directions are discussed.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2019 · doi:10.1007/s10803-019-04023-y