Submitted by: Lindsey Knopf, BCBA

Resurgence has not been a term that has been frequently used in ABA, but it is very important because it occurs frequently. Resurgence describes the recurrence of a previously reinforced behavior following the extinction of the subsequently reinforced alternative behavior. This means that an appropriate behavior that used to be reinforced is no longer getting any reinforcement (i.e. it is being put on extinction).

For example, a problem behavior such as whining used to get a child access to something preferred, such as candy. But then the child is taught to ask appropriately for what he or she wants by saying “candy” without whining. Asking for candy appropriately now always gets the child candy, rather than the whining. However, in school the candy is not always available and when asking appropriately is no longer reinforced frequently enough, problem behaviors such as whining will come back again or reoccur given that these behaviors have gotten the child candy in the past.

Here is another example of resurgence and how it can be broken down into 3 phases:

• Phase 1: A problem behavior is reinforced (e.g. shouting out an answer in class always gets attention from the teacher).
• Phase 2: An alternate behavior is reinforced while the target behavior is put on extinction (e.g. raising hand is given attention and shouting out the answer is ignored).
• Phase 3: The alternate behavior is not reinforced as often so the problem behavior begins to RESURGE or reoccur given its reinforcement history (e.g. raising hand is no longer reinforced every time due to a substitute teacher who does not know to call on the student who is now raising his/her hand instead of shouting/other kids are getting called on so the child shouts out the answer since this behavior has gotten attention in the past).

This concept is important because when placing problem behavior on extinction (i.e. no longer allowing the behavior to contact reinforcement) and teaching replacement/alternate behaviors, we need to make sure that we continue to reinforce the replacement behavior so that the problem behavior does not reoccur. A fixed time schedule of reinforcement refers to when a fixed amount of time is required to earn a reinforcer (e.g. providing reinforcement every minute that problem behavior does not occur). Using a fixed time schedule of reinforcement can also help maintain the alternate/appropriate behavior. This shows the child that he or she does not need to engage in the problem behavior to access reinforcement.

When teaching an alternate behavior, we need to start with a dense schedule of reinforcement (e.g. providing reinforcement every time the behavior occurs) and then gradually fade the schedule (e.g. providing reinforcement every other time the behavior occurs, then about every few times the behavior occurs, then about every 5 times, etc.) to the point where it is manageable for caregivers to provide reinforcement in the natural environment. The fact that the child can perform the alternative behavior does not necessarily indicate that natural occurring schedules of reinforcement will maintain it. We should let all treatment team members and caregivers know what behavior(s) we are placing on extinction and what behavior(s) we are reinforcing. Our goal is to reduce problem behavior and increase appropriate behaviors, so it is very important to be aware of resurgence and actively prevent it from occurring.

Talk to your child’s ABA instructor about the function of your child’s problem behavior and the replacement behaviors that are being worked on. Work on increasing and maintaining replacement behaviors by:

• Having the ABA instructor come into your home or community setting to model how to reinforce the replacement behavior and place the problem behavior (s) on extinction.
• Asking for more center-based parent training.
• Providing extra reinforcement for more independent responding (differential reinforcement).
• Providing reinforcement immediately after your child engages in the replacement behavior (between 0-5 seconds).
• Providing reinforcement that serves the same function as the problem behavior (allowing escape or a break from a difficult or aversive task, providing attention to the child, giving the child access to a preferred item or activity, or allowing the child to engage in a sensory activity).
• Providing reinforcement every time the replacement behavior occurs, then gradually fading reinforcement for the replacement behavior.
• Making sure problem behavior never contacts reinforcement.
• Reinforcing the absence of problem behavior.

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Submitted by: Emily Dale Garcia, BCBA

As a society, we utilize contracts in basically every environment and situation that one can think of. Anywhere from employee manuals, house mortgages, marriages, insurances agreements, doctors’ offices, etc., contracts have been used to explain the expectations and consequences of meeting (or not meeting) the agreement. What if I told you that you could harness this powerful and universal tool within your own home, classroom, and community to alter one’s behavior? Well, I’m here to tell you that you can! In fact, a Behavior Contract can be created simply, and within just a few minutes.

A contract should include the following:

1. List or state the desired behavior that the child needs to engage in to meet agreement
2. List out how one can earn reinforcement
3. Establish positive consequences or reinforcers for meeting the agreed upon expectations
4. Clearly state the consequences if the contract is broken or if the agreed upon details are not met
5. The timeframe or how long contract should last
6. Create a way to track behavior (clicker, chart, a sticker board, etc.) together
7. A place for signatures
8. Add tips on how to earn reinforcement (a great addition, but not a requirement)

Examples:

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Not only do I work with children with Autism in a clinical setting, but I also teach a group of neurotypical children on the weekends. One of the most common complaints I hear from parents is “I have tried everything! Yelling and spankings just aren’t working!” While spanking some children may work, more often than not, it is only a temporary solution that usually only brings crying and more frustration and doesn’t usually change the behavior it was directed towards in the first place.

Why are spankings ineffective?

The first thing to know about changing behavior is that in order for something to actually be “punishment”, it must actually decrease the behavior in the future. If your child continues to do the behavior you spanked them for week after week or month after month, chances are, spankings are not punishment.

The next thing to know is that reinforcement is more effective in changing behavior than punishment is.  Parker-Pope (2013) said that it’s surprising that the most effective discipline typically doesn’t involve any punishment at all, but instead focuses on positive reinforcement.

To positively reinforce your child, you would give them things for doing the behaviors you DO want from them, instead of focusing on what they are doing wrong. For example: if the desired behavior is your child cleaning up their toys, you would tell them how they are doing a great job cleaning (instead of focusing on how much of a mess they made), and give them some sort of reinforcer (candy, praise, etc.) after they clean their toys.

Punishment may be necessary in certain situations, but it should always be used along with reinforcement. Try focusing on what things your children are doing correctly, model the appropriate behaviors for them, and reinforce them as they are doing what you want from them.

Remember that if you need to use punishment that it must be something that decreases the behavior in the future. If your chosen punishment, specifically spanking, isn’t working then you should look at using a different form of punishment (time-out, additional tasks before reinforcement, etc.)

Parker-Pope, T. (2013). Positive reinforcement is more effective than punishment.

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1)      Social Referencing: You and the child are seated across a table from one another. Place up to 10 pieces of preferred edibles in a row on the table. When the child is seated quietly and makes eye contact with you, nod your head up and down, permitting the child to take an edible. A few notes on this procedure, 1) if the child attempts to grab the candy prior to making eye contact, you should block access and 2) you may want to start by only placing one edible on the table at a time to eliminate distractions.

2)       Establishing gaze- or point-following: Again, you and the child are seated across the table from one another. You will need 2 opaque cups and up to 10 pieces of a preferred edible that will fit underneath the cup. With both cups upside down on the table, have the child close his/her eyes and when he/she is not looking, place an edible under 1 of the 2 cups. Tell the child, “Ready,” or “You can look now”. Once the child makes eye contact, immediately move your face as close to the cup with the hidden treat. The child should select the cup that you are closest to. If not, do not allow access to edible, repeat the trial until the child consistently (3 consecutive trials) looks at your face and selects the correct cup.

These are only a few of the procedures that we use to help enhance joint attention skills.  Other simple steps could include, reinforcing any eye contact made at any time, delaying access to preferred items until eye contact is made. One way to increase the success of these steps is to ensure that the item is highly preferred/desired. When not naturally developed, eye contact is a skill that can be taught and strengthened through a history of reinforcement. Like any learned skill, it takes time, patience, and consistency.

References

Holth, Per.  (2006).  An Operant Analysis of Joint Attention Skills. European Journal of      Behavior Analysis, 7, 77-91

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In order to identify the function of the problem behavior, look out for what is taking place in the child’s environment right before the behavior occurs. Common antecedents are: being told “no”, interruption from preferred activity, transitions, being ignored (low attention), and aversive tasks.  The function of problem behavior is typically parental attention, access to preferred items/activities, access to preferred foods, and escape from aversive tasks.

The following three procedures either used alone or combined, target the various functions of problem behavior.

Planned Ignoring (Extinction):  Problem behavior is reduced by withholding reinforcement specific to the motivating operation (i.e. child is not allowed access to the item or activity they want) (Iwata et al, 1994). To implement this procedure, block access to all reinforcers and minimize your attention towards the child (no eye contact, talking, or unnecessary touching). When the behavior has stopped for 3 seconds, give the child some attention and redirect them to a different item or activity.

Count & Mand:  This procedure is to be used when a reinforcer is available. With this procedure, you are teaching appropriate asking for an item/activity as opposed to the child exhibiting problem behavior. This procedure includes telling the child for example, “no hitting”, and then prompt them to keep their hands down and begin counting to 5 verbally and with your fingers. If the child does not exhibit problem behavior for the full 5 seconds, prompt an appropriate mand and reinforce their response. If the child does emit inappropriate behavior during those 5 seconds, restart the wait interval. If you do not receive an appropriate response and have done the wait interval many times, withdraw the reinforcer without saying anything (the opportunity to receive the reinforcer has ended). (Procedure is derived from Dr. Vincent Carbone).

Transition:  The purpose of this procedure is to transition your child away from a preferred activity without problem behavior. The procedure begins with offering a transition reinforcer for leaving the activity without inappropriate behavior. If a child exhibits problem behavior, remove the transition reinforcer and block access to other reinforcers while minimizing attention. Continue to place the demand of transitioning to the next activity and provide praise when your child begins to transition. Once the transition is complete and they have begun the next activity, provide additional reinforcement. Alternatively, if your child transitions without problem behavior, deliver the transition reinforcer as soon as the transition is complete. (McCord, Thomson, & Iwata, 2001).

Remember, it may take some time to become used to the protocols, but research has shown that the consistent use of the problem reduction procedures will decrease problem behavior. Do not become frustrated if your child’s behavior becomes worse, before it gets better. We call this an “extinction burst”, which means the child is trying everything they can to receive an item, get your attention, etc. and the problem behavior will decrease once they are no longer being reinforced for their inappropriate behavior.

References

Carbone, V. J., Morgenstern, B., Zecchin-Tirri, G., Kolberg, L. (2010).  The role of the reflexive-

            conditioned motivating operation (CMO-R) during discrete trial instruction of children

            with autism.  Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 25, 110 – 124.         

McCord, B. E., Thomson, R. J., & Iwata, B. A. (2001). Functional analysis and treatment of self-

            injury associated with transitions. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 34, 195-210.

Iwata, B.A., Pace, G.M., Cowdery, G.E.,  Miltenberger, R.G., (1994).  What makes Extinction

            work: an analysis of procedural form & function.  Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,

            27(1), 131 – 144.

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