Abstinence as Choice: Exploring Voluntary Abstinence from Alcohol Self-Administration Using the Resurgence-as-Choice Framework.

Resurgence is an increase in the rate of a previously suppressed behavior that occurs when an alternative source of reinforcement is made worse in some way. The Resurgence as Choice model offers a quantitative approach to understanding resurgence that may provide important insights into the variables that affect this form of relapse in the natural environment. Bringing this model to bear on relapse following reinforcement-based interventions for alcohol and other substance use disorders, however, may not be straightforward.

Synthesized alternative reinforcement and resurgence.

In treatments based on differential reinforcement of alternative behavior, applied researchers and clinicians often provide multiple, qualitatively different reinforcers (i.e., synthesized reinforcement) rather than a single reinforcer (i.

Resurgence of ethanol seeking following voluntary abstinence produced by nondrug differential reinforcement of other behavior.

Resurgence refers to the relapse of a target behavior following the worsening of a source of alternative reinforcement that was made available during response elimination. Most laboratory analyses of resurgence have used a combination of extinction and alternative reinforcement to reduce target behavior. In contingency-management treatments for alcohol use disorder, however, alcohol use is not placed on extinction.

A Preliminary Evaluation of a Brief Behavioral Parent Training for Challenging Behavior in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often exhibit challenging behaviors. Existing behavioral parent trainings (BPT) address ASD symptomology, but are lengthy and associated with significant attrition. In the current pilot study, a longitudinal randomized controlled trial was used to evaluate a novel brief BPT targeting caregivers of children with ASD ages 5-9.

Resurgence following differential reinforcement of alternative behavior implemented with and without extinction.

In the clinic, differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) often involves programming extinction for destructive behavior while reinforcing an alternative form of communication (e.g., a functional communication response); however, implementing extinction can be unsafe or impractical under some circumstances.

Treating destructive behavior reinforced by increased caregiver compliance with the participant's mands.

Functional analyses sometimes do not identify momentary fluctuations in the function of destructive behavior (Bowman, Fisher, Thompson, & Piazza, 1997). In such cases, individuals may mand for the reinforcer that is currently most preferred and display destructive behavior if that mand goes unreinforced. In this study, we conducted a mand analysis to test whether destructive behavior functioned as a precurrent response that increased reinforcement for the participant's mands.

Re-exposure to reinforcement in context a during treatment in context b reduces ABC renewal.

Previous work from our laboratory showed that intermittently re-exposing rats to reinforcement for lever pressing in a training (A) context, while eliminating lever pressing in a second (B) context, increased ABA renewal of lever pressing relative to rats that experienced only Context B during response elimination. In the current study, we replicated these procedures while assessing renewal in the presence of a novel context (i.e.

Comparing response blocking and response interruption/redirection on levels of motor stereotypy: Effects of data analysis procedures.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is marked by deficits in social communication and the presence of restrictive and/or repetitive behaviors or interests. Motor stereotypy is a form of repetitive behavior that is common in ASD. Response Interruption and Redirection (RIRD) and response blocking (RB) are two interventions found to be efficacious in reducing motor stereotypy.

Further evaluation of a nonsequential approach to studying operant renewal.

Basic-laboratory assessments of renewal may inform clinical efforts to maintain reduction of severe destructive behavior when clients transition between contexts. The contextual changes arranged during standard renewal procedures, however, do not necessarily align with those that clients experience during outpatient therapy. More specifically, clients transition between clinical (associated with extinction for target behavior) and home/community (associated with reinforcement for target behavior) contexts during outpatient treatment.

A systematic review of functional analysis in pediatric feeding disorders.

We conducted a systematic review of the functional analysis of inappropriate mealtime behavior in peer-reviewed studies in PsycINFO, ERIC, PubMed, and the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis between 2000-2016. We identified 18 studies involving 86 functional analyses. We coded descriptive data and calculated summary statistics in addition to conducting a quality appraisal of the literature.

Evaluation of word recognition following typing produced through facilitated communication.

The extant literature on facilitated communication suggests facilitator control rather than independent communication. We used a novel assessment to evaluate a participant's correct identification of words produced during facilitated communication sessions. The participant was unable to recognize common words that she was being facilitated to type, with correct responding varying as a function of the number of distracter stimuli available.

Measurement of nontargeted problem behavior during investigations of resurgence.

Resurgence occurs when a previously extinguished behavior reemerges once a more recently reinforced behavior is placed on extinction. Previous research has suggested that nontargeted responses within the same response class recur alongside target-response resurgence (e.g.

Baseline reinforcement rate and resurgence of destructive behavior.

Concepts from behavioral momentum theory, along with some empirical findings, suggest that the rate of baseline reinforcement may contribute to the relapse of severe destructive behavior. With seven children who engaged in destructive behavior, we tested this hypothesis in the context of functional communication training by comparing the effects of different baseline reinforcement rates on resurgence during a treatment challenge (i.e.

A nonsequential approach to the study of operant renewal: a reverse translation.

ABA renewal is a model of treatment relapse that describes the recurrence of severe problem behavior when behavior learned in one context (e.g., home; A) and treated in a separate context (e.

Renewal during functional communication training.

Functional communication training (FCT) is one of the most commonly prescribed interventions for the treatment of severe destructive behavior exhibited by individuals with intellectual disabilities. Although highly effective, FCT has been shown to fail in some cases when treatment is introduced into the child's typical environment. Basic and translational research on renewal provides a model for studying the relapse of destructive behavior following successful response to treatment in clinic settings using FCT.

The combined effects of noncontingent reinforcement and punishment on the reduction of rumination.

The current study extends the literature on the assessment and treatment of rumination through the evaluation of a combined reinforcement- and punishment-based intervention. The study included a single participant with a history of rumination maintained by automatic reinforcement, as identified via a functional analysis. Both noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) with preferred edible items and punishment, in the form of a facial screen, were implemented separately to evaluate their independent effects on the occurrence of rumination.

Effects of arm-splint rigidity on self-injury and adaptive behavior.

The current study replicated and extended previous research on the use of a rapid assessment to identify effective arm-splint rigidity with 2 participants who had been diagnosed with autism and who engaged in self-injurious behavior (SIB). We varied rigidity levels within a multielement design across several adaptive tasks and identified the most effective rigidity level in terms of reductions in SIB and levels of compliance.

Analysis of self-feeding in children with feeding disorders.

In the current investigation, we evaluated a method for increasing self-feeding with 3 children with a history of food refusal. The children never (2 children) or rarely (1 child) self-fed bites of food when the choice was between self-feeding and escape from eating. When the choice was between self-feeding 1 bite of food or being fed an identical bite of food, self-feeding was low (2 children) or variable (1 child).

Reduction of emergent dropping behavior during treatment of elopement.

Although treatments for elopement (leaving an assigned area or a caregiver without permission) and dropping (falling to the floor) have been reported in the literature, there are no studies that have examined the concurrent treatment of these behaviors. The current investigation reports on the emergence and treatment of dropping during the treatment of elopement.

A component analysis of schedule thinning during functional communication training.

One limitation of functional communication training (FCT) is that individuals may request reinforcement via the functional communication response (FCR) at exceedingly high rates. Multiple schedules with alternating periods of reinforcement and extinction of the FCR combined with gradually lengthening the extinction-component interval can effectively address this limitation. However, the extent to which each of these components contributes to the effectiveness of the overall approach remains uncertain.

Using modified visual-inspection criteria to interpret functional analysis outcomes.

The development of functional analysis (FA) methodologies allows the identification of the reinforcers that maintain problem behavior and improved intervention efficacy in the form of function-based treatments. Despite the profound impact of FA on clinical practice and research, questions still remain about the methods by which clinicians and researchers interpret FA graphs. In the current study, 141 FA data sets were evaluated using the structured visual-inspection criteria developed by Hagopian et al.

Effects of access to a stimulating object on infant behavior during tummy time.

Placing infants in a prone position for "tummy time" often is recommended to ensure appropriate infant development and to combat the effects associated with infants spending extended periods of time in a supine position. However, tummy time may be associated with inappropriate infant behavior such as crying and noncompliance. We provided continuous access to a preferred stimulus to decrease negative vocalizations and to increase the duration of an infant's head being elevated during tummy time.