Identifying specific sensory modalities maintaining the stereotypy of students with multiple profound disabilities

In Experiment 1, analogue functional analyses were conducted to identify the functions of stereotypy for six students with multiple profound disabilities. Results indicated that stereotypy (a) occurred across conditions, (b) occurred primarily when alone, or (c) occurred during all sessions except in the Control condition. Experiment 2 analyzed stereotypy while masking visual, auditory, or tactile sensory consequences. Results showed that stereotypy was maintained by visual stimulation, tactile stimulation, or was undifferentiated across conditions. In Experiment 3, we showed that stereotypy could be reduced by providing competing sensory stimulation. In Experiment 4, stereotypy that was undifferentiated in Experiment 1 was analyzed using a concurrent operants procedure. Results showed that stereotypy was not multiply determined, but occurred to produce visual sensory stimulation. Our findings are discussed in terms of the sensory and social reinforcers that maintain stereotypy, assessment procedures used to identify those reinforcers, and the interpretation of assessment results.