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Abstract:
A functional analysis with a 13-year-old girl who had autism documented that her problem behavior was maintained by escape from instruction. Additional assessment revealed that certain types of requests and specific practitioners were associated with the highest frequency of problem behavior. In a subsequent intervention evaluation, response reduction was achieved using a combination of noncontingent escape and instructional fading. The frequency of requests presented to the child also increased with intervention. The study highlights the importance of identifying specific sources of control over escape-maintained problem behavior and manipulating antecedent variables to affect change.
Many children with developmental disabilities demonstrate problem behavior that is maintained by escape from instruction (Miltenberger, 2006). Behavior is described as escape motivated when it terminates an unpleasant or nonpreferred interaction (i.e., the behavior is negatively reinforced). When a functional analysis is conducted (Iwata, Dorsey, Slifer, Bauman, & Richman, 1994), the demand condition typically entails presentation of instructional requests and brief interruptions of instruction contingent on problem behavior. As shown in previous research, various features of instruction can provoke escape, including rate of task delivery (Smith, Iwata, Goh, & Shore, 1995), response effort (Iwata, Pace, Kalsher, Cowdery, & Cataldo, 1990), presence of idiosyncratic tangible objects (Carr, Yarbrough, & Langdon, 1997), and type of verbal directive (Piazza, Contrucci, Hanley, & Fisher, 1997). More recent research has shown that person-specific attributes, such as parent versus grandparent (Ringdahl & Sellers, 2000), parent versus direct-care staff (McAdam, DiCesare, Murphy, & Marshall, 2004), familiar versus novel practitioner (Progar et al., 2001), and practitioner gender (LeBlanc, Hagopian, Marhefka, & Wilke, 2001), can influence behavior. The implication of these findings is that functional assessment of escape-maintained problem behavior must parcel out the aversive properties of demands to formulate potentially effective interventions.
One intervention approach to escape-maintained problem behavior is manipulating antecedent demand conditions so that the child finds instruction more pleasurable. Possible manipulations include reducing the complexity of task requirements, embedding novel tasks in those previously mastered, and decreasing time spent in instruction (Dunlap, Foster-Johnson, Clarke, Kern, & Childs, 1995; Kennedy, Itkonen, & Lindquist, 1995; McComas, Hoch, Paone, & El-Roy, 2000). Romaniuk et al. (2003) also successfully allowed students to make choices during lessons or select how assignments would be completed. One additional strategy is to provide...