UnderstandingBehaviorStrategies.txt

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Laura Ferguson, M.Ed., BCBA 

. 

 
Understanding Behavior Strategies for Individuals with ASD 



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Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD) 


Autistic Disorder 


Childhood 

Disintegrated 
Disorder 


Rett�s Disorder 


Asperger�s 


PDD-NOS 



 Autism: Diagnostic Criteria for Eligibility 



DSM-IV 

�Qualitative impairment in SOCIAL INTERACTION 


 

�Qualitative impairments in COMMUNICATION 
�RESTRICTED and STEREOTYPED behaviors, interests 
and activities 



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 Motivation 


�Motivation makes us all different from one 
another. 
�All born with unlearned motivators: 
�Hunger 
�Thirst 
�Removal of pain 
�warmth 






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 Motivators 



�Soon individuals develop motivators that are 
specific to them. 
�In a young child it often begins with gaining 
attention. 
�Some children may demonstrate a limited 
range of motivators, or atypical motivators. 
�Motivators change constantly 


 


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�Motivation is essential but sometimes 
challenging 
�Often because individuals with autism have 
restricted repertoires of interest, it is difficult 
to maintain motivation 


 


Why is motivation important? 



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Motivation is influenced by: 


.Learning history 
.Expectations of success 
.Environment 


 


Individual�s motivation 



 Response requirement weakens 
Motivation 


�Common issue is an individuals loss of interest 
in determined reinforcers, when the 
requirement is to work in order to obtain that 
reinforcer. 
�Response effort is correlated with the value of 
a reinforcer. 



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 Response requirements 



�Examples of this in adults�. 


You may offer me $500 to run a mile, and I will 
comply with the demand to run the mile. 

Then you change the requirement and tell me I 
know have to run 25 miles for $500. 

 

This changes the value of that reinforcer!!! 


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.Determine reinforcers 
.Determine the skill level of each student 
.Determine antecedent events that evoke 
challenging behavior 



What steps can we take? 



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WHERE DO WE START? 



Pairing yourself with reinforcement 


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.In order to gain instructional control you have to be 
first established as the �giver� of all things good. 

 

.This means that you deliver all reinforcement 

 

.How do we arrange the environment to do this? 

 



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.Initially you should hand out reinforcers for 
free 

.Avoid using �go play� the the reinforcer for 
responding 

.May want to put things up on high shelves 
meaning you do not want the child to get free 
access to the reinforcers. 

WHY? 

 


How do we pair ourselves with 
reinforcement? 

 



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.Preference Assessments 

.Observe the child in their natural environment 

.Use reinforcer surveys 

 

 

 

 


How do we find out what is motivating to the 
child? 



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�It is often difficult for individuals on the 
autism spectrum to effectively communicate 
preferences. 
�Therefore it is important that as we allow 
them to indicate these preferences when 
possible. 
�The best way is through preference 
assessments 



Preference Assessments 





 

Let�s Explore (Positive) Reinforcement!! 


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 Reinforcement 


A stimulus change immediately follows a 
response and increases the future frequency of 
that type of behavior in similar conditions. 


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 Reinforcement 


Most important and widely applied principle of 
behavior analysis. 

Fundamental building block for the selection of 
operant behavior. 

 

*Reinforcement theory states that reinforced 
behavior will be repeated, and behavior that is 
not reinforced is less likely to be repeated 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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 Positive Reinforcement 


Positive reinforcement � when a response is 
followed immediately by the presentation of a 
stimulus, and as a result similar responses occur 
more frequently. 

 

 

 

 (Cooper and Heron, 2007) 


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 Example of Positive Reinforcement 


Johnny eats his peas at dinner. His mother gives him 
a gummy bear. The next time Johnny has peas on 
his plate he eats all his peas. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 (Cooper and Heron, 2007) 


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Let�s Talk 
Behavior Management!

 Managing Challenging Behavior 



�The first step to addressing problem behavior is to 
discover the reason it is occurring. 


 

�In order to do this we need to look at the problem 
behavior as a form of communication. 


 

�If we can determine the reasons for the behavior we 
can apply meaningful strategies to help prevent it. 



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 ABC�s 


 
A B C 

 Antecedent Behavior Consequence 


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 It is also important to look at the function 


Four functions of behavior: 

�Access to tangibles 
�Attention 
�Escape 
�Automatic Reinforcement 





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 Let�s look at some ABC�s 



Antecedent 

Behavior 

Consequence 

Child sees a cookie 

Child hits parent 

Parent gives child cookie 

Worksheet is given to child 

Child throws the worksheet 

Worksheet is removed 




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 Functions 



�If we can determine the function then we can 
effectively treat the behavior. 
�If we do not treat by the function then we 
may strengthen the behavior. 



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 Why is it important to look at the Antecedents 
and Consequences 



�For individuals with autism why a behavior is occurring 
is not always clear. 
�If we assume a behavior is occurring because of one 
stimulus and it is really occurring because of another 
stimulus we may treat these behaviors incorrectly. 
�This may lead to strengthening of inappropriate 
behaviors. 



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 Consequent Interventions 



Differential Reinforcement (DR) 

 

One of the most powerful tools in a teacher�s 
intervention repertoire. It stands at the foundation 
for learning 



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 DRO 



Differential Reinforcement of Other Behaviors (DRO) 

 

Reinforcement is delivered contingent on the absence 
of problem behavior during or at specific times 



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 Examples of DRO 



�It is observed that a child scratches himself every 
minute. So a reinforcement system is put into place 
to reinforce him after 45 seconds of not scratching 
himself. Trainers gradually increase the time required 
for reinforcement until scratching decreased to zero 
episodes. 



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 DRA 



�Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behaviors 


 (DRA) 

Reinforcement is given for occurrences of behavior that 
provides a desirable alternative to the problem 
behavior, but is not always incompatible with it. 

 

 

 (Cooper and Heron, 2007) 

 


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 Time Out 



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Time out from positive reinforcement 

 

The withdrawal of the opportunity to access 
reinforcement or the removal of a reinforcer for a 
specified time, contingent on the occurrence of a 
problem behavior 

 



 Time Out 



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Considerations 

 

The �time-in� environment must be reinforcing 

 

All relevant parties must be informed of the behaviors leading 
to time out 



 In Summary 



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When behavior issues occur: 

 

 .Determine the function first 

 .Implement a strategy based upon that 
function 

 .Remember to reinforce appropriate 

 behaviors 



 


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Thank you so much for coming!! 

 

 Questions?? 



Questions? 

 

Contact info: 

Laura Ferguson 

Laura.ferguson@louisville.edu 

 

 


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Center contact info: 

 

Telephone: (502) 852-4631 

Fax: (502) 852-7148 E-mail: katc @ louisville.edu 

https://louisville.edu/education/kyautismtraining 

 


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