ABSTRACT
We evaluated the effects of 3 types of noncontingent auditory stimulation (music, white noise, recordings of vocal stereotypy) on 2 children with autism who engaged in high rates of vocal stereotypy. For both participants, the music condition was the most effective in decreasing vocal stereotypy to near-zero levels, resulted in the highest parent social validity ratings, and was selected as most preferred in treatment preference evaluations.
Subject(s)
Acoustic Stimulation/methods , Auditory Perception , Autistic Disorder/complications , Stereotypic Movement Disorder/etiology , Stereotypic Movement Disorder/rehabilitation , Voice , Child , Female , Humans , Music Therapy/methods , Reproducibility of Results , Social Behavior , Stereotyped Behavior/physiology , Time Factors , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
This study systematically replicated and extended previous research on response interruption and redirection (RIRD) by assessing instructed responses of a different topography than the target behavior, percentage of session spent in treatment, generalization of behavior reduction, and social validity of the intervention. Results showed that RIRD produced substantial decreases in vocal stereotypy. Limitations of this study were that behavior reduction did not generalize to novel settings or with novel instructors and that appropriate vocalizations did not improve.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/complications , Behavior Therapy/methods , Stereotyped Behavior/physiology , Stereotypic Movement Disorder/etiology , Stereotypic Movement Disorder/rehabilitation , Voice , Child , Humans , Male , Reproducibility of Results , Stereotypic Movement Disorder/diagnosisABSTRACT
The effects of contriving motivating operations (MOs) and script fading on the acquisition of the mand "Where's [object]?" were evaluated in 2 boys with language delays. During each session, trials were alternated in which high-preference items were present (abolishing operation [AO] trials) or missing (establishing operation [EO] trials) from their typical locations. Both participants learned to mand during EO trials and not to mand during AO trials during training. Generalization of manding was demonstrated across novel instructors, stimuli, and settings and maintained 3 to 4 weeks following the intervention.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/therapy , Communication , Education of Intellectually Disabled/methods , Language Development Disorders/therapy , Motivation , Autistic Disorder/psychology , Child, Preschool , Generalization, Psychological , Humans , Language Development Disorders/psychology , Learning , MaleABSTRACT
Basic research with pigeons on behavioral momentum suggests that differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) can increase the resistance of target behavior to change. This finding suggests that clinical applications of DRA may inadvertently increase the persistence of target behavior even as it decreases its frequency. We conducted three coordinated experiments to test whether DRA has persistence-strengthening effects on clinically significant target behavior and then tested the effectiveness of a possible solution to this problem in both a nonhuman and clinical study. Experiment 1 compared resistance to extinction following baseline rates of reinforcement versus higher DRA rates of reinforcement in a clinical study. Resistance to extinction was substantially greater following DRA. Experiment 2 tested a rat model of a possible solution to this problem. Training an alternative response in a context without reinforcement of the target response circumvented the persistence-strengthening effects of DRA. Experiment 3 translated the rat model into a novel clinical application of DRA. Training an alternative response with DRA in a separate context resulted in lower resistance to extinction than employing DRA in the context correlated with reinforcement of target behavior. The value of coordinated bidirectional translational research is discussed.
Subject(s)
Developmental Disabilities/psychology , Mental Disorders/psychology , Problem Solving , Reinforcement, Psychology , Translational Research, Biomedical , Animals , Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders/psychology , Behavior, Animal , Child , Child, Preschool , Developmental Disabilities/complications , Extinction, Psychological , Female , Humans , Male , Neuropsychological Tests , Rats , Rats, Inbred Strains , Reinforcement Schedule , Young AdultABSTRACT
We summarize a series of bidirectional research studies that demonstrate the persistence-strengthening effects of differential reinforcement of alternative behavior on problem behavior. We model a possible solution to this problem with rats followed by replication with a human clinical population. The importance of coordinated basic and applied research to stimulate new behavioral technologies is emphasized.
