Does Functional Communication Training Compete With Ongoing Contingencies of Reinforcement? An Analysis During Response Acquisition and Maintenance

Abstract

We examined the effectiveness of functional communication training (FCT) in reducing self-injurious behavior (SIB) and in shaping an alternative (communicative) response while SIB continued to be reinforced. Following a functional analysis of 3 individuals' SIB, we attempted to teach an alternative response consisting of a manual sign to each individual, using the reinforcer that maintained SIB. When FCT was implemented without extinction, SIB remained at baseline rates for all participants, and none of the participants acquired the alternative response. When extinction was added to the training procedure, SIB decreased and manual signing increased for all participants. To determine if signing, when established, would compete with SIB when both were reinforced, extinction was then withdrawn. Signing was maintained and SIB occurred at low rates for 2 individuals, but SIB returned to baseline rates for the 3rd individual, necessitating the reimplementation of extinction. These results suggest that it may be difficult to establish alternative behaviors if inappropriate behavior continues to be reinforced, but that, when established, alternative behavior might compete successfully with ongoing contingencies of reinforcement for inappropriate behavior.

Schedule Thinning Following Communication Training: Using Competing Stimuli to Enhance Tolerance to Decrements in Reinforcer Density

“…Functional communication training (FCT) has been demonstrated to be an effective treatment for individuals with developmental disabilities who exhibit severe behavior problems (e.g., Bailey, McComas, Benavides, & Lovascz, 2002;Carr & Durand, 1985;Fisher et al, 1993;Hagopian, Fisher, Sullivan, Acquisto, & LeBlanc, 1998;Shirley, Iwata, Kahng, Mazaleski, & Lerman, 1997;Wacker et al, 1990). FCT involves training an individual to emit an alternative communicative behavior to obtain the reinforcer determined to maintain problem behavior while problem behavior is concurrently placed on with extinction.…”

Effects of Continuous and Intermittent Reinforcement for Problem Behavior During Functional Communication Training

“…During this condition, a delayed prompting procedure identical to that described by Shirley et al (1997) was used to shape the alternative behavior. As during baseline, occurrences of problem behavior produced access to maintaining reinforcers on an FR 1 schedule (i.e., extinction was not in effect).…”

“…For example, Shirley, Iwata, Kahng, Mazaleski, and Lerman (1997) compared the effectiveness of FCT with and without extinction in decreasing self-injurious behavior (SIB) and in establishing an alternative response (a manual sign) with 3 participants. During FCT without extinction, when both SIB and signing produced access to reinforcement on a continuous basis (i.e., a fixed-ratio [FR] 1 schedule), all participants continued to exhibit high rates of SIB and failed to acquire the alternative response.…”

Reinforcement Schedule Thinning Following Functional Communication Training: Review and Recommendations

“…FCT has been demonstrated to be a highly effective treatment for individuals with intellectual disabilities, ranging from mild to profound, who engage in severe problem behaviors such as self-injury and aggression (e.g., Bailey, McComas, Benavides, & Lovascz, 2002;Carr & Durand, 1985;Fisher et al, 1993;Hagopian, Fisher, Sullivan, Acquisto, & LeBlanc, 1998;Kurtz, et al, 2003;Shirley, Iwata, Kahng, Mazaleski, & Lerman, 1997;Wacker et al, 1990). We searched and reviewed the published literature from 1985 to 2009 1 and identified 76 studies employing FCT as a treatment for 235 individuals with intellectual disabilities of varying ages (i.e., 2-34 years old) displaying a wide range of problem behavior (e.g., aggression, disruption, SIB, inappropriate sexual behavior).…”