Initial outcomes of an augmented competing stimulus assessment

Area of Science:

• Behavior Analysis
• Applied Behavior Analysis
• Functional Assessment

Background:

• Competing stimulus assessments (CSAs) identify stimuli that decrease problem behavior.
• Identifying effective competing stimuli can be challenging for certain individuals.
• Treatment-resistant problem behavior often requires innovative assessment strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate an augmented CSA (A-CSA) for treatment-resistant, automatically maintained problem behavior.
• To determine if promoting engagement with stimuli increases the effectiveness of CSAs.
• To explore the potential of A-CSA to actively establish competing stimuli.

Main Methods:

• An augmented CSA (A-CSA) was used with 6 cases of treatment-resistant problem behavior.
• Prompting and response blocking were temporarily applied to increase stimulus engagement.
• The number of effective competing stimuli was measured before and after intervention.

Main Results:

• Initially, 0-1 effective competing stimuli were identified per case.
• Following the use of prompting and response blocking, the number of effective competing stimuli increased for all 6 cases.
• The A-CSA demonstrated utility in both identifying and establishing competing stimuli.

Conclusions:

• Augmenting CSAs with procedures to promote engagement and disrupt problem behavior can enhance their effectiveness.
• The A-CSA may serve as a platform for actively establishing competing stimuli, not just identifying them.
• This approach shows promise for individuals with treatment-resistant automatically maintained problem behavior.