Problem Behavior and Potential Approaches

Problem Behavior and Approaches

  • Problem behavior includes challenging behavior or behavior with undesirable topography or high rates.
  • The Autism Partnership method employs various strategies, including discrete trial teaching, naturalistic instruction, cool vs. not cool, teaching interaction procedure, social skills groups, shaping, frustration tolerance, and systematic desensitization.
  • Frustration tolerance and systematic desensitization are hallmarks of the Autism Partnership Method.

Frustration Tolerance

  • Definition: A proactive procedure to teach individuals how to handle potentially frustrating events.
  • It addresses respondent components associated with aversive contingencies.
  • Coping mechanisms are taught to handle unavoidable frustrating situations.

Implementation Steps:

  1. Create a hierarchy:
    • Identify the most tolerable scenarios (lowest anxiety/problem behavior).
    • Determine the least tolerable situation (end goal).
    • Establish reasonable and reliable steps in between.
  2. Determine relaxation behaviors:
    • Identify strategies to relax and reduce anxiety symptoms.
    • Determine relaxation behavior. Identify when calm.
      *No one calms down by being told to calm down.
    • Test out several strategies to identify effective relaxation techniques.
    • Practice regularly when calm.

Systematically Teaching Relaxation

  • Initially, practice relaxation when the individual is calm.
  • Systematically teach when to use relaxation techniques.
  • Teach when not to use relaxation strategies (e.g., during preferred activities).
  • Introduce low-level events in structured, safe situations, possibly using primes to reduce anxiety.
  • Fade towards more natural settings.
  • Gradually move up the hierarchy and be ready to drop back if needed.
  • Continuously move forward and be responsive.

Systematic Desensitization

  • Definition: Gradual exposure to an anxiety-producing situation.
  • It addresses respondent behavior.
  • A relaxation component may or may not be included.

Implementation Steps:

  1. Create a hierarchy:
    • Define the most tolerable to the least tolerable scenarios.
    • Establish the hierarchy, like fear of swimming:
      • Most tolerable: sitting on the side of the pool.
      • Least tolerable: being in the water alone.
  2. Gradually expose: Expose the learner to the targeted steps.
  • Effective for phobias (e.g., fear of spiders).
    • Most anxiety inducing: Spider on me.
    • Least anxiety inducing: Spider in other room with door shut.
  • Deliver reinforcement contingent on calm behavior in the presence of the anxiety-inducing stimulus.
  • Escape from the context might be the reinforcer (e.g., increasing distance from the spider).
  • Define criteria for hierarchy movement (when to move up or down a step).

Example: Fear of Clowns

  • A child is fearful of clowns.
  • Hierarchy:
    • Thinking about a clown.
    • Drawing of a clown
  • Jeremy starts by asking the child to think about clowns. When that’s too scary, he steps back and draws a “bad” picture of a clown.
  • The reinforcer is removing the drawing of the clown, increasing the distance from the feared stimulus.
  • No food, trinkets, or tokens were used; the reinforcer was functional.