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Response efficiency during functional communication training: effects of effort on response allocation.
D M Richman1, D P Wacker, L Winborn
1The University of Iowa, USA.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis
|April 25, 2001
Summary
Functional communication training helps children with developmental delays by identifying behavior triggers. Increasing response effort in training can improve the effectiveness of communication strategies for these children.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral science
- Developmental psychology
- Applied behavior analysis
Background:
- Problem behaviors in young children with developmental delays are often maintained by positive reinforcement.
- Functional communication training (FCT) aims to replace problem behaviors with appropriate communication skills.
Observation:
- An analogue functional analysis identified that a young child's problem behavior was reinforced by positive outcomes.
- A concurrent-schedule procedure was employed to manipulate the effort required for the child to make requests (mands).
Findings:
- The study found that the amount of effort needed to communicate significantly impacts the effectiveness of interventions.
- Results indicate that response effort is a crucial factor in designing successful functional communication training programs.
Implications:
- These findings can inform the development of more tailored and effective FCT programs for children with developmental delays.
- Understanding the role of response effort may lead to improved strategies for managing challenging behaviors and enhancing communication skills.