Instruction in Functional Assessment, 2014a
Instruction in Functional Assessment, 2014a
Instruction in Functional Assessment, 2014a
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
<strong>Instruction</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Functional</strong> <strong>Assessment</strong> Chapter 3<br />
Table 10<br />
Summary of NCR Procedure<br />
1. Identify the re<strong>in</strong>forcers currently ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>dividual’s challeng<strong>in</strong>g behavior<br />
(e.g., positive re<strong>in</strong>forcement, negative re<strong>in</strong>forcement) by conduct<strong>in</strong>g a functional<br />
assessment<br />
2. Schedule a frequent delivery of re<strong>in</strong>forcer accord<strong>in</strong>g to time alone or <strong>in</strong>dependent of<br />
behavior<br />
3. Include an ext<strong>in</strong>ction component for when the problem behavior occurs<br />
4. Initially use a rich schedule of re<strong>in</strong>forcement and adjust it to lean as the challeng<strong>in</strong>g<br />
behavior decreases<br />
Chang<strong>in</strong>g Antecedent Stimuli <strong>in</strong> the Natural<br />
Environment<br />
A quick method of prevent<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>dividual’s challeng<strong>in</strong>g behavior is to manipulate<br />
antecedent stimuli that control behavior (i.e., prompts). Antecedent stimuli <strong>in</strong>clude events,<br />
objects, or people that are present before the <strong>in</strong>dividual’s challeng<strong>in</strong>g behavior occurs.<br />
Stimuli <strong>in</strong> the environment that consistently precede the behavior can either be elim<strong>in</strong>ated<br />
or changed to affect the likelihood of the behavior (Mart<strong>in</strong> & Pear, 2011). For example, if<br />
the <strong>in</strong>dividual typically resists do<strong>in</strong>g chores or is noncompliant then provid<strong>in</strong>g a choice of a<br />
variety of different chores for that person to choose from may be an effective solution (Call,<br />
Wacker, R<strong>in</strong>gdahl, Cooper-Brown, & Boelter, 2004). If the <strong>in</strong>dividual is escap<strong>in</strong>g from<br />
difficult work or material because the read<strong>in</strong>g level is too difficult (i.e., negative re<strong>in</strong>forcement),<br />
then provide more assistance or better <strong>in</strong>struction, or make the work easier (Sanford<br />
& Horner, 2013). Also for escape-ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>ed behavior, the demands or requests could be<br />
delivered less frequently (e.g., present<strong>in</strong>g demands once an hour <strong>in</strong>stead of 20 times) and<br />
then, as the levels of the challeng<strong>in</strong>g behaviors rema<strong>in</strong> low, gradually returned to typical<br />
levels (Lalli, Casey, & Kates, 1995). There is research to support the effectiveness of this<br />
procedure for decreas<strong>in</strong>g the number of requests, known as DEMAND FADING, for escapema<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
challeng<strong>in</strong>g behaviors (see Pace, Iwata, Cowdery, Adree, & McIntyre, 1993;<br />
Penrod, Gardella, & Fernand, 2012).<br />
Another strategy is to add stimuli <strong>in</strong>to the situation <strong>in</strong> which the challeng<strong>in</strong>g behavior<br />
occurs to prompt or cue the <strong>in</strong>dividual’s desirable behaviors. For example, the likelihood of<br />
the desired behavior occurr<strong>in</strong>g may be <strong>in</strong>creased by present<strong>in</strong>g preferred curricular activities<br />
(Foster-Johnson, Ferro, & Dunlap, 1994), background music (Desrochers, Oshlag, &<br />
Kennelly, 2014), activity choices (Rispoli et al., 2013), or models demonstrat<strong>in</strong>g desired<br />
behavior (Stokes & Kennedy, 1980).<br />
Another method to change the antecedent stimuli <strong>in</strong>volves an overall improvement<br />
of the quality of the <strong>in</strong>dividual’s environment, known as ENVIRONMENTAL ENRICHMENT<br />
(EE). EE entails <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>dividuals’ access to preferred activities, people, or objects and<br />
provid<strong>in</strong>g a variety of choices available <strong>in</strong> their everyday environment. One of the earliest<br />
demonstrations of how EE can decrease problem behavior was conducted by Horner<br />
(1980). More recently, <strong>in</strong> a controlled randomized experiment, it has been shown that<br />
<strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g sensorimotor experiences can have a beneficial effect on children with autism<br />
36