Behavior Reduction & Maintenance Strategies in ABA: Key Concepts and Interventions

Behaviors to Be Reduced & Maintaining Causes

Examples of interfering behaviors: crying, refusal/non-participation, off-topic talking, leaving seat, interrupting, noncompliance.

Possible Maintaining Causes

Social positive reinforcement (attention), social negative reinforcement (escape from demands), automatic reinforcement (sensory stimulation).

Key Point

Identify the likely function before choosing a strategy.

Study Task (Behaviors)

Choose 2-3 behaviors and identify the likely maintaining variable and how it would guide your choice of intervention.

Direct Response Reduction Strategies

Strategies that change the consequences for the undesirable behavior.

Stimulus Presentation

Neutral verbal signals immediately after the undesirable response ("No," "Try again"); avoid emotional tone; reinforce correct responses heavily.

Reinforcer Withdrawal

Includes time-out, response cost, and extinction procedures.

Time-Out

Brief removal of reinforcement; prefer non-exclusionary forms where attention/interaction is paused.

Response Cost

Removal of tokens or points already earned.

Extinction

Withholding the reinforcer that previously followed the behavior; not for dangerous or automatically reinforced behaviors.

Study Task (Reduction Strategies)

Create a table listing each strategy, definition, a pediatric example, and an adult example.

Indirect Strategies (Differential Reinforcement)

Strategies that reduce problem behavior by increasing appropriate or alternative behaviors.

DRO

Reinforce any appropriate behavior except the problem behavior.

DRI

Reinforce an incompatible behavior (cannot occur simultaneously with the problem behavior).

DRA

Reinforce a more appropriate alternative behavior with the same function.

DRL

Reinforce lower rates of a behavior (reducing but not eliminating it).

Designing an Effective Response-Reduction Plan

Guidelines: define behavior in observable/measurable terms, prioritize positive reinforcement/indirect strategies, do not allow escape during extinction/time-out, apply consequences immediately/consistently, avoid accidental reinforcement, monitor facial expressions and verbal reactions.

Attendance & Adherence

Non-adherence is common; many clients drop out early; completion is more likely with short wait times, more intensive early sessions, and visible progress at each visit.

Barriers to Adherence

Structural barriers (insurance, transport, distance, acceptance of disorder) and modifiable barriers (clinician language, rapport, follow-up, engagement).

Self-Efficacy

The client's belief that they can change.

Clinician Support for Self-Efficacy

Use simple/non-judgmental language, emphasize small improvements, avoid discouraging or overly technical language.

Student Task (Self-Efficacy)

Generate examples of empowering statements and discouraging statements.

Conflict & Stress

Conflict is normal; sources include differing expectations, cultural differences, personality clashes, resistance to change, and family dynamics; unresolved conflict increases stress and weakens the therapeutic relationship.

Types of Generalization

Includes response generalization (new words/phrases/contexts), setting generalization (home/school/community), and audience generalization (teachers/peers/family/unfamiliar partners).

Intermixed Probes

Trained and untrained items are mixed; only trained items are reinforced.

Pure Probes

Unreinforced probe items used to determine true skill level.

Reasons Maintenance Fails

Natural environments don't reinforce new behaviors, old behaviors still get reinforced, partners don't prompt or expect new skills, large clinic-home/school differences, effort to maintain behavior is high.

Maintenance Study Task

Choose a disorder and list two risks for poor maintenance and two strategies to prevent each risk.

Promoting Generalization & Maintenance

Procedures include using functional targets, natural stimuli, multiple exemplars, sufficient treatment duration, naturalistic practice, thinning reinforcement, expanding discriminative stimuli, training significant others, teaching self-monitoring, and using technology for home practice.

Major Sections of a Treatment Plan

Identifying information, background, diagnostic impressions, rationale, long-term goals, short-term objectives, baseline data, probe procedures, detailed treatment procedures, generalization and maintenance plans, dismissal criteria, structured follow-up.

Home Treatment Programs

Home programs support maintenance; families are trained to present stimuli, record responses, and provide feedback.

Structuring Home Practice

Begin structured and shift to naturalistic practice; clinicians review home practice through audio/video.

Follow-Up Purpose

Verify maintenance, detect relapse, and determine the need for booster sessions.

Follow-Up Components

Speech/language sample, probe tasks, review of home practice.

Conditions for Booster Treatment

Booster or new treatment is needed when relapse occurs or when maintenance is insufficient.

Integration: Referral → Dismissal

Students should be able to describe the full case flow from referral to follow-up: referral, initial contact, barriers, self-efficacy considerations, assessment, diagnosis, selecting targets, baseline measurement, identifying interfering behaviors/functions, treatment planning, ongoing data collection, generalization probes, maintenance strategies, home programming, dismissal criteria, and structured follow-up with potential booster sessions.