Altering the timing of academic prompts to treat destructive behavior maintained by escape.
Following a functional analysis showing that destructive behavior was reinforced by escape, we altered the aversiveness of task demands by interspersing easy and difficult tasks and by presenting a corrective prompt as an antecedent event the next time a previously failed item was presented; this procedure was compared with one in which the corrective prompt was provided as an immediate consequence. Results of a reversal design showed that the antecedent prompt acted as an establishing operation and reduced destructive behavior to zero.
Ebanks
Mercedes E
ME
Marcus Institute, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA.
Fisher
Wayne W
WW
D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D001288:Attention; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D020208:Brain Injury, Chronic / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004495:Education of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities / Q000379:methods*; D004924:Escape Reaction; D005246:Feedback; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012057:Reinforcement, Verbal; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*