A functional analysis was conducted which showed that self-injurious behavior (SIB) of an adult with mental retardation occurred at differentially high rates when restraint materials access was contingent on behavior. An alone condition during the functional analysis showed SIB did not occur in the absence of restraint materials. Functional…

A study compared effects of continuous reinforcement (play) and alone conditions as controls during functional analyses for 66 individuals whose self-injurious behavior (SIB) was maintained by escape. SIB was lower during both control conditions than it was during the test (demand) condition. SIB was lowest during the alone condition. (Author/CR)

Effects of extinction and negative reinforcement on latency of responses (including aggression and self-injurious behavior) following activity requests to an adolescent girl with mental retardation and autism were evaluated. Results showed that latencies occurred in a predictable order. The response class was expanded to include an appropriate…

A study found verbal reprimands, delivered contingent upon eating prohibited foods, were sufficient to decease the food stealing of a girl (age 14) with Prader-Willi syndrome. Warning stimuli were then successfully used to help her discriminate between permitted/prohibited foods during sessions in which food stealing was not directly observed.…

Extinction effects were evaluated in a multiple baseline across behaviors design with 2 boys (ages 7 and 8) with disabilities after just one of several target problem behaviors was observed during a functional analysis. Other target behaviors emerged as extinction was introduced sequentially across all problem behaviors. (Contains three…