An Alternative Method of Thinning Reinforcer Delivery During Differential Reinforcement

Abstract

Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) may result in rates of reinforcement that are impractical for caregivers to implement; therefore, recent research has examined methods for thinning reinforcer delivery during DRA. In this study, reinforcer delivery was thinned during DRA by restricting access to the participant's alternative response materials.

Reinforcement Schedule Thinning Following Functional Communication Training: Review and Recommendations

“…Of the 19 studies that included schedule thinning, a total of 52 applications 1 of FCT with schedule thinning were described. Schedule arrangements employed in these studies included: (a) delay schedules, which involve introducing delays to reinforcement following the emission of the target communication response (e.g., Fisher et al, 1993); (b) chain schedules, which, in the case of escape-maintained problem behavior, involve increasing the number of demands that must be completed before requests for a break will be honored (also described as "demand fading" or "response chaining," e.g., Lalli, Casey, & Kates, 1995); (c) multiple schedules, wherein the duration of a signaled reinforcement component is progressively decreased while the duration of a signaled extinction component is increased (e.g., Hanley et al, 2001); response restriction, which involves restricting access to the communication response (or device) for progressively longer periods of time (Roane, Fisher, Sgro, Falcomata, & Pabico, 2004). The Table provides a summary of the published studies employing these four methods of schedule thinning following FCT and each is described below.…”

“…Roane et al (2004) used a response restriction procedure with two children with autism and intellectual disabilities who engaged in aggressive behavior. In this study, functional analyses showed that aggression was maintained by positive reinforcement for both children (access to attention and preferred items, respectively).…”

“…In our review, response restriction as a means of schedule thinning following FCT was reported in three studies describing four applications (see Table). Targeted outcomes were achieved for one of the four applications without the use of supplemental components beyond extinction (Roane et al, 2004). In three of the four applications, supplemental components (e.g., noncontingent reinforcement, response blocking) were included to achieve treatment goals.…”

“…Providing access to competing stimuli during FCT allowed schedule thinning to proceed more rapidly, while maintaining lower levels of problem behavior and communicative responding relative to when such stimuli were not available. The use of alternative or competing stimuli during FCT has been described in several studies Fisher et al, 2000;Hagopian et al, 2005;Hagopian, Wilson, & Wilder, 2001;LeBlanc et al, 2001;Roane et al, 2004) all of which resulted in low rates of problem behavior and allowed schedule thinning to progress.…”

“…If the communication response is occurring at high rates, to the extent that there is concern that the treatment will ultimately fail, then the addition of alternative stimuli or competing stimuli may be indicated (Fisher et al, 2000;Hagopian et al, 2005;Roane et al, 2004). In cases with more severe behavior (e.g., behavior that is potentially dangerous) and if other interventions have not been successful, response reduction procedures should be considered.…”