Renewal during functional communication training

• Published in: Journal of applied behavior analysis Vol. 51; no. 3; pp. 603 - 619
• Main Authors: Saini, Valdeep, Sullivan, William E., Baxter, Emily L., DeRosa, Nicole M., Roane, Henry S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-07-2018; Wiley Periodicals, Inc; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Autism Spectrum Disorder - psychology; Autism Spectrum Disorder - therapy; Behavior disorders; Behavior Modification; Behavior Problems; Behavior Therapy - methods; Caregivers; Child; Clinics; Communication; Communication Skills; context; Environmental Influences; Family Environment; Female; functional communication training; Generalization; Humans; Intellectual disabilities; Intellectual Disability; Intervention; Male; Problem Behavior - psychology; Program Implementation; Recurrence; relapse; renewal; Resistance (Psychology); Training; context; relapse; renewal; functional communication training
• ISSN: 0021-8855; 1938-3703
• DOI: 10.1002/jaba.471

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. In the present study, we evaluated whether relapse of destructive behavior could be attributed to the discriminative control of the home context, which was historically correlated with reinforcement for destructive behavior. We implemented baseline contingencies in the home setting with caregivers acting as interventionists (i.e., Context A). We then implemented FCT in a treatment clinic with trained therapists (i.e., Context B). Finally, we introduced FCT in the home setting with caregivers implementing the treatment procedures (i.e., return to Context A). For three of four participants we observed the relapse of destructive behavior consistent with operant renewal. We discuss the implications of these findings with respect to strategies designed to promote generalization of FCT across settings during the treatment of severe destructive behavior.