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Assessment and Treatment of Challenging Behavior Maintained by a Nonvocal Mands Function

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A Correction to this article was published on 17 November 2020

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Abstract

Standard functional analysis procedures may require modifications to assess idiosyncratic variables, such as adult compliance with mands. In the literature, the mands function is largely represented by individuals who vocally communicate idiosyncratic requests. Although effective treatment procedures have been published, schedule thinning has rarely been conducted. Using a reversal design, a mands functional analysis was completed with a 12-year-old nonvocal male. Results showed differentiated rates of challenging behavior. Treatment consisted of differential reinforcement via a chained schedule with signaled availability. During schedule thinning, low rates of challenging behavior were maintained.

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  • 17 November 2020

    Figure 2 did not have a data path of open circles depicted. Below is the corrected Fig. 2, with a more accurate figure caption.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Behavioral Psychology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, 707 N. Broadway, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Sara Jeglum, Jonathan D. Schmidt, Morgan Hallgren, Jennifer Vetter & Amanda Goetzel

  2. Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Sara Jeglum, Jonathan D. Schmidt & Jennifer Vetter

Authors
  1. Sara Jeglum
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  2. Jonathan D. Schmidt
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  3. Morgan Hallgren
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  4. Jennifer Vetter
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  5. Amanda Goetzel
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jonathan D. Schmidt.

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Conflict of Interest

All of the authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from the caregivers of the participant included in the study. The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Implications for Practice

• This Brief Practice provides a framework to conceptualize assessment of challenging behavior maintained by access to adult compliance with nonvocal mands.

• This study replicates prior work in the area and extends the research by documenting effects for a nonvocal individual with challenging behavior maintained by access to adult compliance with mands. It provides a possible method for conducting schedule thinning within a multicomponent treatment package.

• Providers should carefully examine the relationship between communication and challenging behavior while conducting functional behavior assessments and consider both vocal and nonvocal communication.

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Jeglum, S., Schmidt, J.D., Hallgren, M. et al. Assessment and Treatment of Challenging Behavior Maintained by a Nonvocal Mands Function. Behav Analysis Practice 13, 972–977 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-020-00486-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-020-00486-z

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