Behavior Reduction
D-01 Identify essential components of a written behavior reduction plan
D-02 Functions of Behavior
D-03 Implement Interventions based on Antecedents, MOs, SDs
D-04 Differential Reinforcement (DRO, DRA, DRI)
D-05 Extinction Procedures
D-06 Crisis/Emergency Procedures
D-01 Behavior Reduction
Identify essential components of a written behavior reduction plan
A behavior plan is useful because it helps the behavior technician address behaviors effectively. Typically, the Behavior Analyst will develop the behavior plan and the behavior technician will implement it during ABA sessions.
Key features of a behavior reduction plan include a definition of a the target behaviors and the behaviors? functions; a description of the data collection procedures to be used; a description of the function based procedures and teaching formats to be used; a description of reactive strategies (consequence based strategies) to be used; and a description of any crisis based strategies to be used.
Plans will also typically provide details of persons responsible, the assessment tools used to establish the hypothesis about the behavior?s function, when consent was provided, when the plan will be reviewed/removed and details about how to graph the relevant behaviors.
D-02 Functions of Behavior
There are several categories of behavior functions. These include Attention (social positive), which is when a behavior is more likely to occur in the future because it has been reinforced by new or additional forms of attention being provided following a behavior that challenges. Reinforcing Tangible/Activity is when a challenging behavior results in access to an activity or tangible item. Escape avoidance is when a person is trying to escape a situation or avoid it altogether. Automatic (Sensory) is when a behavior is innate and (usually)sensory. Automatic positive is when the behavior creates or enhances a (usually) pleasant sensation. Automatic negative is when a behavior results in the removal of a (usually) unpleasant sensation.
The acronym SEAT is sometimes used to help remember these categories of function. It stands for Sensory, Escape, Attention, Tangible.
D-03 Implement Interventions based on Antecedents, MOs, SDs
Implementing interventions based on modifications of antecedents, such as motivating operations and discriminative stimuli, is often an important part of a behavior reduction plan. Antecedents are what are present before a behavior occurs.
When a functional assessment identifies certain social and physical environmental arrangements as predicting a behavior that challenges, we can alter these antecedents in order to reduce the occurrence of the target challenging behavior.
For example, if loud noises predict self-injurous behavior, we might provide a client with ear defenders. As a result, the probability of self-injury might reduce. Similarly, if low levels of attention predicted a behavior that challenges, we could use non-contingent reinforcement (providing attention independent of a behavior) to reduce the motivation to engage in that behavior.
If a challenging behavior was related to escaping demands, then techniques like using the Premack Principle or Behavioral Momentum, might reduce the probability of that challenging behavior.
D-04 Differential Reinforcement (DRO, DRA, DRI)
Differential reinforcement consists of withholding reinforcement for the behaviour that challenges (i.e. Extinction), and providing reinforcement for (1) a contextually appropriate replacement behaviour (Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior), (2) an incompatible behaviour (Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible Behavior), or (3) the absence of the challenging behaviour (Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior). Over time, the behaviour that is placed on extinction will decrease and the behaviour that is successfully reinforced will increase.
Differential Reinforcement of High/Low rates of Behavior (DRH/DRL) differs in that it involves providing reinforcement based provided that the behavior occurs above or below a particular target criteria. This might be used if a behavior is not typically challenging, but it has become challenging because it is happening too often or not happening often enough.
Where the goal is to increase the use of a particular behavior, a DRH procedure is used. When the goal is decrease the use of a behavior, a DRL is used.
D-05 Extinction Procedures
Extinction is used by no longer reinforcing a previously reinforced behavior.
Access based Extinction: A behaviour previously reinforced by allowing one to gain access to tangibles or attention can be placed on extinction by not allowing him/her to gain access to the tangibles or attention after the behaviour occurs.
Escape Extinction: If the behaviour is previously reinforced by allowing one to escape from tasks/items/events, the behaviour will be placed on extinction by not allowing him/her to escape from them.
Sensory Extinction: If the behaviour is previously reinforced by allowing one to gain automatic reinforcement (sensory input), extinction can be applied by not allowing him/her to gain automatic reinforcement (sensory input) after the behaviour occurs.
D-06 Crisis/Emergency Procedures
When dealing with challenging behaviors, it is important to have emergency procedures in place to ensure the safety of all individuals involved. One such procedure is the use of restraints. Restraints should only be used as a last resort and should be used in accordance with the laws and regulations of the jurisdiction where the service is being provided. Restraints can be physical or chemical, but should only be used when the individual’s behavior poses a serious risk of harm to themselves or others.
When using restraints or other restrictive interventions, it is important to use the least restrictive option available, and to ensure that the individual is continuously monitored while in restraint. Chemical restraints should only be used under the direction of a physician or other appropriately qualified healthcare professional, and the individual should be continuously monitored while under the influence of the chemical restraint.
The use of restraints should be documented in the individual’s behavior plan (or associated document) and reported to the appropriate parties as soon as possible. It is also important to have a debriefing process after the use of restraints to ensure that any necessary adjustments to the individual’s behavior plan are made to prevent the use of restraints in the future.
Behavior Reduction Key Terms
Behavior that Challenges
Behaviour can be described as challenging when it is of such an intensity, frequency, or duration as to threaten the quality of life and/or the physical safety of the individual or others and it is likely to lead to responses that are restrictive, aversive or result in exclusion
Behavior Reduction Plan
These are also known as Behavior Support Plans, Positive Behavior Support Plans, Behavior Plans and a variety of other terms. A Behavior Reduction Plan is a formal written guide intended for the client, other stakeholders and those delivering interventions for the client who engages in behaviors that challenge. The plan should outline the strategies that can be used to reduce behaviors that challenge, teach or increase more contextually appropriate alternatives, meet a client?s needs and improve their quality of life. Strategies included should interventions to address setting events, antecedents and consequences that maintain a behaviour that challenges.
Behavior Contract
Behaviour contracts are written agreements that outline the different contingencies and arrangements that will be implemented when a behaviour support plan is implemented.
Antecedent Interventions
Antecedent interventions prevent behaviour that challenges by changing what happens before the behaviour.Antecedent interventions involve altering the physical or social environment in a way that decreases the probability of a behaviour occurring in the first instance.
Non-Contingent Reinforcement
Non-contingent reinforcement is an antecedent intervention that involves the delivery of reinforcement independent of a target behaviour. Reinforcement is delivered in a fixed or variable time schedule. By providing the type of reinforcement that typically followed the challenging behaviour independent of the challenging behaviour, we reduce the probability of the challenging behaviour occurring.
Behavioral Momentum
Behavioural momentum can be used as an antecedent intervention for challenging behaviours maintained by escape from demanding situations. It involves changing the social environment by altering the characteristic way in which demands are delivered to a client. A typical behavioural momentum strategy might involve presenting three easy tasks, one hard task, three easy tasks and one hard task. This strategy builds a pattern of success and reinforcement for the learner and pairs up the person giving an instruction with reinforcement.
Premack Principle
A technical definition of the Premack Principle states that making the opportunity to engage in high-frequency behavior (fun activities) contingent upon the occurrence of low-frequency behavior (difficult tasks) will function as a reinforcer for the low-frequency behavior.
The Premack Principle is classed as an antecedent intervention because when using it, you usually tell your client what contingency is. You are effectively saying ?First do this unpleasant activity, then you will be able to do that pleasant activity?. This statement can act as an establishing operation that increases motivation to engage in the difficult task.
Sensory Function
When the function of a behaviour is sensory, it means that the sensory consequence of a behaviour reinforces and maintains it. This can be positive (i.e. it adds something the client experiences as pleasant) or negative (i.e. it removes an unpleasant sensory sensation like an itch).
Escape Function
When the function of a behaviour is escape, it means that the behaviour results in the termination, delay or avoidance of something aversive.
Attention Function
When the function of a behaviour is attention, it means that the behaviour results in some sort of change in the social environment. When positive, it results in the addition of some preferred form of social interaction. When negative (i.e. escape social) it results in the removal of some aversive form of social stimulus.
Tangible Function
When the function of a behaviour is Tangible, it means that behavior results in access to some form of physical stimulus (e.g. money or cookie) or activity (playing football or chasing).
Functionally Equivalent Replacement Behavior
A functionally equivalent replacement behaviour (FERB) is the name for the new behaviour that replaces the problem behaviour
Functional Communication Training
Functional communication training teaches a person a contextually appropriate alternative response to replace a behavior that challenges. In technical terms, FCT establishes an appropriate communicative behaviour to compete with problem behaviours evoked by a motivating operation.
Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior
Differential Reinforcement of Other (DRO) Behaviour reinforces all other behaviour except the target behaviour. The target behaviour is placed on extinction. In effect, because you are reinforcing all other behaviour, a DRO involves reinforcing the absence or the non-occurrence of the problematic behavior. For this reason, they are sometimes called a DR0 (zero).
Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior
Differential Reinforcement of Alternative (DRA) Behaviour procedures are those in in which a problem behaviour is decreased by reinforcing a functionally equivalent alternative behaviour (a competing behaviour) to replace the problematic behaviour. The functionally equivalent alternative behavior is reinforced while the challenging behavior is placed on extinction. The functionally equivalent replacement behavior chosen is often a communication response (i.e. FCT).
Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible Behavior
When using a differential reinforcement of incompatible (DRI) behaviour procedure, you start by identifying a behavior that is incompatible with the behavior that challenges. When we say that it is incompatible, we mean that it cannot occur at the same time.
Differential Reinforcement of High or Low Rates of Behavior
Differential Reinforcement of High/Low rates of Behavior (DRH/DRL) differs in that it involves providing reinforcement based provided that the behavior occurs above or below a particular target criteria. This might be used if a behavior is not typically challenging, but it has become challenging because it is happening too often or not happening often enough. Where the goal is to increase the use of a particular behavior, a DRH procedure is used. When the goal is decrease the use of a behavior, a DRL is used.
Crisis Intervention
A crisis intervention plan describes the actions that should be taken when there is an immediate risk of harm to the client or those around them. While in some cases a crisis intervention plan may be incorporated or included within a behaviour reduction plan, the goals of a crisis intervention plan and a behaviour reduction plan can differ. The ultimate goal of a behaviour reduction plan is to ensure that a behaviour that challenges occurs less often in the future (often with the goal of eliminating the behaviour completely). A crisis intervention plan focuses on keeping a client and those around them safe within during a crisis episode. RBT?s should not use crisis intervention techniques that they have not been trained to use (e.g. physical restraints or administering medications) or those that they are not legally authorised to implement.
Least Restrictive Principle
Where restrictive interventions are authorized, only the least restrictive intervention should be used. They should only be used when reasonable, necessary and proportionate. They should only be used when it is in the best interests of the client to use them. The least restrictive intervention may be defined as that interventions that affords the most favorable risk to benefit ratio, with specific consideration of probability of intervention success, anticipated duration of intervention, distress caused by procedures, and distress caused by the behaviour that challenges itself.