For years, the assumption has been that stereotypical behaviors functioned only to provide sensory or automatic reinforcement. However, these behaviors also may serve social functions. Given the unsettled debate, functional behavior assessment and functional analysis can be used to identify the exact function of stereotypical behavior and design…

A short overcorrection procedure involving appropriate play with target toys was used to consequate the stereotypic manipulation of objects by an autistic child (6 years old) in a free play situation. The results indicate that overcorrection does not necessarily possess educative value. (Author/CL)

Functional communication training (FCT) is an intervention frequently used for students with developmental disabilities to reduce problematic behaviors and to increase prosocial behaviors. This intervention appears to be very effective when the communication responses trained are matched to the function of the student's problematic behaviors. In…

The results showed that in each setting, overcorrection procedures were associated with statistically significant differences in the target behaviors. (Author/DLS)

Three teenagers with autism, who relied on verbal prompts from the teacher to switch activities, were trained to independently identify transition times and to contingently self-reinforce the verbal identification of transition times. Accurate identification of transition time and self-reinforcement were maintained at one-month follow-up.…