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Functional Analysis and Noncontingent Reinforcement With Extinction in the Treatment of Perseverative Speech

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Abstract

The present study evaluated the effectiveness of noncontingent reinforcement combined with extinction in the treatment of perseverative speech of an 11-year-old boy with autism spectrum disorder. Following a functional analysis that suggested perseverative speech was maintained by attention, treatment was introduced and consisted of delivering attention on a fixed-time schedule and placing perseverative speech on extinction. The intervention resulted in a 98.5% decrease in perseverative speech, which maintained over a 28-month period.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Chicago, IL, USA

    Julyse A. Migan-Gandonou Horr

  2. Positive Behavior Supports, Corp, Stuart, FL, USA

    Alina Valdes Michael

Authors
  1. Julyse A. Migan-Gandonou Horr
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  2. Alina Valdes Michael
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Correspondence to Julyse A. Migan-Gandonou Horr.

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The authors declare they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

Ethical approval was waived by the Chicago School of Professional Psychology’s Institutional Review Board in view of the retrospective nature of the study, and all the procedures performed were part of the participant’s routine applied behavior analysis–based behavioral therapy.

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Written informed consent was obtained from the participant’s legal guardian.

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Research Highlights

• Noncontingent reinforcement is the time-based, response-independent delivery of known reinforcers.

• A functional analysis should be conducted to confirm whether problem behavior is maintained by social versus nonsocial reinforcement.

• Thinning the schedule of noncontingent reinforcement can promote the maintenance of treatment effects.

• Practitioners should consider combining noncontingent reinforcement with extinction for enhanced treatment outcomes.

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Migan-Gandonou Horr, J.A., Michael, A.V. Functional Analysis and Noncontingent Reinforcement With Extinction in the Treatment of Perseverative Speech. Behav Analysis Practice 14, 208–213 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-020-00523-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-020-00523-x

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