An ABAB reversal design was employed to evaluate the effect of differential reinforcement of low (DRL) frequency behavior as an interdependent group contingency on the frequency of vocal disruptions of five males, 6-14-years old, diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. The results showed lower frequencies of vocal disruptions during…

Research on stimulus-stimulus pairing to induce novel vocalizations in nonverbal children has typically employed response-independent pairing (RIP) procedures to condition speech sounds as reinforcers. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effects of a response-contingent pairing (RCP) procedure on the vocalizations of three…

Age-appropriate reinforcers have been found to be effective in promoting attentiveness and calmness with children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The present study with a 4-year-old ADHD boy found attentive calmness was substantially increased from a mean of about 3 seconds per trial to the maximum scheduled duration of 60…

Targeted the frequent noncompliant behaviors and negative parent-child interactions each weekday morning in a 12-year-old boy with developmental disabilities and multiple handicaps. "Beat-the-Buzzer" involved setting time limits for the child to get ready for school in the morning and decreasing maternal attention. Data indicated a substantial…

This paper reports on assessment and treatment of food refusal for four inpatient boys (ages 2,3,3, and 9) receiving tube feedings. It used a contingency contacting procedure extended by a component analysis. Data suggest that food refusal appeared to be maintained primarily by negative reinforcement contingencies. Caregiver responses indicated a…