Abstract
Objectives: This compares effects of explicit delay cue to reinforcement to general delay cue to reinforcement when attempting to decrease tangible-maintained challenging behaviours of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Methods: Two school-age children with ASD participated in this study. In order to evaluate the effects of a general cue versus an explicit cue on the participants’ tangibly maintained challenging behaviours, a multiple baseline design across settings with an embedded alternating treatments design was used.
Results: Results suggested that both types of delay cue to reinforcement demonstrated effectiveness on decreasing tangible-maintained behaviours of the participant. For both participants, an explicit delay cue demonstrated slightly better effects on the participants’ challenging behaviours then a general delay cue.
Conclusions: This study adds an evidence to support that delayed reinforcement can be used as an effective strategy to reduce both escape and tangible-maintained challenging behaviours of children with ASD across multiple settings.
Declaration of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this paper.