Using a Multiple Schedule of Reinforcement to Decrease Repetitive Mands
Daniele Rizzi, Alessandro Dibari
Functional Communication Training (FCT) is an evidence-based treatment for decreasing problem behaviour maintained by socially mediated reinforcement. Using a multiple schedule of reinforcement in the subsequent intervention phases is effective in thinning the schedule of reinforcement, producing more sustainable outcomes in the natural environment. In a multiple schedule of reinforcement, each component of the schedule is associated with alternated periods or reinforcement or extinction of the target response and with specific discriminative stimuli linked to each component that alternates with at least a second component. This paper represents a clinical evaluation of the use of a multiple schedule of reinforcement, comprising periods of reinforcement and extinction, to decrease the rate of mands for attention (defined as vocal requests maintained by adult attention) in a girl with autism, during a home-based intervention. Using discriminative stimuli to signal the two components in the multiple schedule allowed us to: (a) bring the target response under discriminative control with a 90% reduction in the target behaviour compared to the baseline level and without problem behaviour; (b) rapidly increase the interval of the extinction component in order to make the treatment effective and sustainable in the natural environment; (c) obtain a rapid transfer of treatment outcomes (from therapist to parent), preventing target behaviour from re-emerging. Discriminative stimuli were faded out during the final steps of the treatment, whilst maintaining a low rate of target behaviour. These results will be discussed focusing on the ease of applying this intervention to a home-based programme and on the universality of the intervention for different target behaviours.
Keywords
Multiple schedules, Mands, Differential reinforcement, Generalisation, FCT.
