Kennedy, C. H., Meyer, K. A., Knowles, T., & Shukla, S. (2000).
Analyzing the multiple functions of stereotypical behavior for students with autism: Implications for assessment and treatment.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,
33, 559-571.
We studied behavioral functions associated with stereotypical
responses for students with autism. In Study 1, analogue
functional analyses (attention, demand, no-attention, and
recreation conditions) were conducted for 5 students. Results
suggested that stereotypy was multiply determined or occurred
across all assessment conditions. For 2 students, stereotypy was
associated with positive and negative reinforcement and the
absence of environmental stimulation. For 2 other students,
stereotypy occurred at high levels across all experimental
conditions. For the 5th student, stereotypy was associated with
negative reinforcement and the absence of environmental
stimulation. In Study 2, the stereotypy of 1 student was further
analyzed on a function-by-function basis. Within a
concurrent-schedules procedure, alternative responses were taught to the
student using functional communication training. The results of
Study 2 showed that similar topographies of stereotypy, based on
qualitatively different reinforcers, were reduced only when
differential reinforcement contingencies for alternative forms of
communication were implemented for specific response–
reinforcer relations. Our results suggest that the causes of
stereotypy for students with autism are complex and that the
presumed association between response topography and behavioral
function may be less important than previously realized.
DESCRIPTORS: _stereotypy, autism, response–reinforcer
relations