Teaching delay tolerance to a child with Smith‐Magenis syndrome in a classroom using a simplified approach
A five-minute teacher script turns half-minute waits into five-minute waits for kids with Smith-Magenis syndrome.
01Research in Context
What this study did
One teacher learned a five-minute delay-tolerance routine. She used it with a student who has Smith-Magenis syndrome in a regular classroom.
The child had to wait for adult attention. The teacher gave praise and small treats when the child stayed calm during the wait.
What they found
Waiting time grew from 32 seconds to 5 minutes after training. The teacher used the plan correctly right away.
The child kept the new skill during class work and free time.
How this fits with other research
Matson et al. (2008) first showed that kids with Smith-Magenis act out to get adult attention. DeFreitas et al. now give a fast way to teach waiting so the same attention does not feed problem behavior.
MShawler et al. (2021) also used praise and blocking to help kids with IDD keep masks on. Both studies show a short DR package can build tolerance in school or hospital.
Pettingell et al. (2022) found teachers need up to eight weeks to master one skill. DeFreitas cut that to one brief lesson, suggesting the delay plan is extra simple.
Why it matters
You can copy this plan tomorrow. No long training. No extra staff. Just pick a wait goal, pick a reinforcer, and praise calm waiting. It tames the attention-seeking spiral seen in Smith-Magenis and works in a busy classroom.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
AbstractDelay tolerance training is used to teach children to accept delayed access to a requested item or event without exhibiting challenging behaviors. It is used during schedule thinning following acquisition of a functional communication response (FCR) or trained on its own in a skills‐based treatment package. Typically, delay tolerance training occurs in a clinic or hospital, and rarely in a school classroom. Most often delay tolerance training has been used with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study integrated findings from previous research on delay tolerance training to evaluate training in a classroom, with a child with Smith‐Magenis syndrome, using a simplified protocol. The training resulted in acquisition of delay tolerance for 5 min from a baseline of 32 s (average). The participant's teachers were then trained to use similar strategies throughout the school day and quickly acquired and applied the procedure with reported benefits.
Behavioral Interventions, 2024 · doi:10.1002/bin.2063