Brief Report: Evaluating the Impact of Behavioural Concerns in Individuals With Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities.

Background: Behavioural concerns, such as aggression and self-injury, are common among youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Additional research is needed to further explore the specific ways in which these types of behaviour impact individuals and their families.

Methods: Caregivers seeking treatment for their child's behavioural concerns completed an interview regarding the negative impact of their child's behaviour related to (a) physical harm to self or others, (b) property damage, (c) structural modifications, (d) situational avoidance and (e) reactive measures.

A Randomized Trial of Caregiver-Mediated Function-Based Elopement Treatment for Autistic Children.

Elopement is a common and dangerous behavior among autistic children. Behavioral treatments can reduce elopement, but most evidence comes from small-N evaluations in specialized settings with strategies varying across studies. The current study compared the efficacy of the caregiver-mediated function-based elopement treatment to parent education program (PEP) in a 16-week randomized clinical trial of 76 autistic children (age = 4-12 years).

Different criteria affect prevalence of relapse of behavior targeted for treatment.

Several studies have examined the prevalence of behavioral relapse among individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities following common treatment challenges (context changes, schedule thinning). Most applied studies compare behavior during the treatment challenges with the maximum level of behavior from five preceding treatment sessions. This max-of-5 criterion could inadvertently capture behavior in transition during the preceding treatment phase, thereby underestimating the prevalence of relapse.

Assessment and Treatment of Target Behavior Maintained by Social Avoidance.

Past research has identified that some individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who engage in target behavior (e.g., aggression, self-injury) maintained by negative reinforcement engage in the behavior to escape or avoid social interaction specifically (i.

A retrospective analysis of the relation between resurgence and renewal of behavior targeted for reduction.

Functional communication training (FCT) is an evidence-based treatment for behavior targeted for reduction that often combines extinction for target responses and arranges functionally equivalent reinforcement for alternative behavior. Long-term effectiveness of FCT can become compromised when transitioning from clinic to nonclinic contexts or thinning reinforcement schedules for appropriate behavior. Such increases in targeted behavior have been conceptualized as renewal and resurgence, respectively.

Descriptive characteristics of extinction bursts: A record review.

Procedural extinction is sometimes associated with a temporary increase in responding known as an extinction burst. Extinction bursts present unique challenges in the context of treating behavior targeted for reduction. The present study updates the prevalence of extinction bursts using a clinical sample (N = 108) receiving treatment for targeted behavior.

Individualized Parent-Mediated Behavioral Treatment for Challenging Behavior: A Program Description.

Past research suggests behavioral treatments are effective for challenging behavior in children and young adults with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, access to these services can be limited and require substantial resources. To address this issue, the current study provides a programmatic description of an individualized parent-mediated service model targeting moderate challenging behavior.

The Development and Acceptability of a Comprehensive Crisis Prevention Program for Implementation in Health Care Settings.

Introduction: Behavioral crises are increasingly prevalent in health care settings. Existing programs, however, include procedures that lack adaptability, omit critical components, and deviate from clinical best-practice recommendations. Health care employees also continue to report lacking confidence for safely managing behavioral crises.

Prevalence of relapse of automatically maintained behavior resulting from context changes.

Increases in behavior due to context changes are common and are known as instances of renewal. Clinically relevant examples from the literature highlighting renewal often include socially mediated problem behaviors. This report retrospectively analyzed data during context changes for individuals who engaged in problem behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement, to evaluate the prevalence of relapse.

Prevalence of resurgence during thinning of multiple schedules of reinforcement following functional communication training.

The current study examined resurgence of problem behavior during thinning of multiple schedules of reinforcement following functional communication training replicating previous research (Briggs et al., 2018). Data were analyzed at each thinning step from subjects enrolled in an intensive day treatment program over a 5-year period.

Interpersonal and Group Contingencies.

Responding by individuals in groups has been a prominent interest of the field of psychology. Experimental analyses of human behavior have provided some unique findings of the role that the environment, including both social and nonsocial stimuli, may have on individual responding. Cooperative and competitive contingencies, previously evaluated in animal and human operant research, provide unique insight into applied interventions, in particular group contingencies.

Prevalence of renewal of problem behavior during context changes.

Renewal is defined as the reemergence of a previously eliminated behavior following a context change. Determining the prevalence of this effect in clinical practice would allow clinicians to better anticipate the reemergence of problem behavior, such as when a patient is discharged from a treatment facility to return to their home. The current consecutive, case-series analysis determined the prevalence and magnitude of renewal when implementing behavioral treatments for problem behavior.

A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial of a Multidisciplinary Intervention for Encopresis in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are often delayed in achieving bowel continence, resulting in negative outcomes. In this pilot trial, 20 children with ASD and encopresis were randomly assigned to multidisciplinary intervention for encopresis (MIE; n = 10) or a waitlist control group (n = 10). The MIE group was treated for constipation and received a 10-day behavioral intervention that utilized suppositories to produce predictable bowel movements that were reinforced.

An Evaluation of Differential Reinforcement in the Treatment of Pica.

Common approaches to pica treatment involve intensive staffing and near continuous behavioral monitoring to proactively disrupt any attempts at this potentially life threatening behavior. Including differential reinforcement of discarding pica items as a contingency in such interventions has been suggested as a more practical treatment model, but the evidence base for this approach is limited. We replicated this work by evaluating differential reinforcement for discarding pica items in conjunction with response blocking and differential reinforcement of other behavior in the treatment of pica exhibited by two children.

Effects of Magnitude on the Displacement of Leisure Items by Edible Items During Preference Assessments.

Studies on preference assessments have shown that when both edible and leisure items are compared, edible items tend to displace leisure items in preference hierarchies. However, the mechanisms behind this process are currently unclear. One possibility is that displacement may be a product of the relatively brief periods of access to leisure items typically used in preference assessments.

A consecutive case series analysis of a behavioral intervention for enuresis in children with developmental disabilities.

Children with developmental disabilities (DD) are more likely than typically developing peers to have issues with enuresis. Past research has shown the success of behavioral treatments consisting of scheduled sits and reinforcement for continent voids. However, this research has included small sample sizes, while studies with larger numbers have lacked key information (i.

Using caregiver report on the impact of challenging behavior exhibited by children with autism spectrum disorder to guide treatment development and outcomes.

Evaluations of treatments using applied behavior analysis (ABA) for challenging behavior have relied mostly on direct behavioral observation. While observation is crucial, qualitative information can also be beneficial. In this study, we describe methods for using qualitative information in ABA treatments for challenging behavior.

An evaluation of delay to reinforcement and mand variability during functional communication training.

Children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities often exhibit invariant responding (i.e., restricted behavioral repertoires), deficits in communication, and challenging behavior.

Lag Schedules and Functional Communication Training: Persistence of Mands and Relapse of Problem Behavior.

We evaluated the effects of lag schedules of reinforcement and functional communication training (FCT) on mand variability and problem behavior in two children with autism spectrum disorder. Specifically, we implemented FCT with increasing lag schedules and compared its effects on problem behavior with baseline conditions. The results showed that both participants exhibited low rates of problem behavior during treatment relative to baseline during and following schedule thinning (up to a Lag 5 schedule arrangement).

An Evaluation of Lag Schedules of Reinforcement During Functional Communication Training: Effects on Varied Mand Responding and Challenging Behavior.

We evaluated the effects of lag schedules of reinforcement during functional communication training (FCT) on the varied use of mands and challenging behavior by two individuals diagnosed with autism. Specifically, we compared the effects of Lag 0 and Lag 1 schedules of reinforcement during FCT. The results showed that each participant exhibited increases in varied mand responding during FCT with the Lag 1 schedule of reinforcement relative to Lag 0; challenging behavior remained low during both FCT lag conditions relative to baseline.

The Effects of Conducting a Functional Analysis on Problem Behavior in Other Settings: A Descriptive Study on Potential Interaction Effects.

It has been suggested that reinforcing problem behavior during functional analyses (FAs) may raise ethical questions, such as resulting in an increase in problem behavior outside of FA sessions. The current translational study assessed whether conducting an FA resulted in increases in problem behavior outside of the FA setting for six participants using a nonconcurrent multiple baseline across participants design. The rate of problem behavior was measured outside the FA setting prior to and during an FA.

Correspondence between the results of functional analyses and brief functional analyses.

Purpose: This study sought to examine the correspondence between brief functional analyses and more thorough functional analyses as described in the model of functional assessment proposed by Vollmer et al. Methods: A panel of trained clinicians indicated the presence/absence of specific functions of problem behavior based on graphic results from brief functional analyses and functional analyses conducted with 19 participants. These conclusions were compared across assessments.

Further evaluation of latency-based brief functional analysis methods: An evaluation of treatment utility.

Objective: Objectives were to evaluate latency-based brief functional analysis (BFA) model for identifying functions of aberrant behavior and treatments generated based on the results of the latency-based brief functional analysis.

Methods: We conducted latency-based BFA, including contingency reversals, and function-based treatment evaluations, including non-contingent reinforcement (NCR) and differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) with three individuals with autism using single subject design methodology.

Results: Socially-mediated functions (attention; tangible) were indicated for two participants and an automatic function was identified for one participant.

Effects of the Good Behavior Game on classwide off-task behavior in a high school basic algebra resource classroom.

This study investigated the effects of the Good Behavior Game (GBG) on classwide off-task behavior in two ninth-grade basic algebra resource classes. Ten students with a variety of disabilities, in two classrooms, and their special education resource teacher participated in this study. A reversal design was employed, in which the special education teacher implemented GBG compared to typical practice-algebra readiness instruction.

Further evaluations of functional communication training and chained schedules of reinforcement to treat multiple functions of challenging behavior.

We evaluated functional communication training (FCT) combined with a chained schedule of reinforcement procedure for the treatment of challenging behavior exhibited by two individuals diagnosed with Asperger syndrome and autism. Following functional analyses that suggested that challenging behavior served multiple functions for both participants, we implemented FCT in which mands for a discriminative stimulus (S(D); wristband) were reinforced with access to the S(D) and all three functional reinforcers. Next, we modified the procedure by incorporating delays to increase ease of implementation and promote toleration of delays to reinforcement.