Three children who displayed destructive behavior maintained by negative reinforcement received functional communication training (FCT). During FCT, the children were required to complete a demand and then to mand (touch a card attached to a microswitch, sign, or vocalize) to receive brief play breaks. Prior to and 1 to 3 times following the…

A large body of literature exists describing the harmful effects of prenatal drug exposure on infant and child development. However, there is a paucity of research examining strategies to ameliorate sequelae such as externalizing behavior problems. In the present study, functional analysis procedures were used to assess challenging behavior…

Functional analyses of problem behavior for 4 young boys with developmental delays showed that problem behaviors were maintained by both negative and positive reinforcement. Functional communication training was conducted with one set of training stimuli in which the child's mother presented a work task in the family living room. Pretreatment…