Whose Antecedent Is It?
Demand Fading
FR
Differential Reinforcement of Compliance.
DN
Operational Definition: A tantrum is defined as _____ engaging in one or more of the following behaviors: crying (with or without tears), whining, falling to the floor, kicking while on the floor, vocal protesting, and/or pulling at people or their clothing.
Onset Criteria: The behavior is considered to have started when the above-described actions persist for at least 5 consecutive seconds. Offset Criteria: The behavior is considered to have ended after 10 consecutive seconds during which ______ either ceases all identified behaviors or successfully responds to redirection.
Observable precursor behaviors that may indicate an impending tantrum include:
Yelling or vocalizing at a high pitch, Facial scrunching, Brow furrowing or frowning
These behaviors often occur shortly before the onset of a tantrum and may serve as early warning signs of emotional escalation.
A child gets a break every 3 minutes of work time. What kind of strategy is this?
MS
If you were a reinforcer, what kind would you be: edible, tangible, activity, social, or sensory?
Open discussion.
Maximize opportunities for ____ to make choices during instructional sessions and daily routines, especially when demands are presented.
Offer choices related to:
Order of tasks (e.g., “Do this task first or second?”)
Manner of task completion (e.g., “Would you like to use crayons or markers?”)
Any other relevant aspect of the activity or environment, provided that the core task objective is preserved.
Encourage _____ to exercise control over his environment to the greatest extent possible while still maintaining instructional integrity and learning goals.
Reinforce choice-making behaviors to promote independence and self-determination.
Tangible extinction.
JD
Aggression is exhibited as ______ engaging in or attempting to engage in one or more of the following: Headbutting others (to include throwing his head backward at others), hitting with an open or closed fist, kicking, biting others, hitting others with objects, pulling/grabbing someone else's hair, scratching others, or throwing things in the direction of others.
Examples: BT presents a demands, _____ hits the BT with a closed fist. ______ walks up to a peer and attempts to hit peer but BT blocks with blocking pad.
Nonexamples: BT presents demand, _____ slams his hand on the table.
Known Antecedents: Circle time, redirection from highly preferred activity, at pickup.
CB
What’s your MO for coffee on a Monday morning?
Sleep deprivation = establishing operation (EO) for caffeine!
SD Modification – Attention
Current Problem Signal:
______ has learned that screaming at others is an effective way to gain attention. This behavior may be inadvertently reinforced by others responding to his screaming (even if just to tell him to stop).
Modification Goal:
Change the environmental cues that signal "attention is unavailable unless you scream" by teaching and reinforcing appropriate attention-seeking behaviors and ensuring that screaming no longer results in attention.
Replacement Behaviors to Teach:
“Excuse me.”
“May I have your attention?”
“Can we do ___?”
JD
Escape Intervention (Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior):
Ensure that _____ receives significantly more verbal attention and reinforcement for engaging in appropriate, alternative behaviors than he does for engaging in the target escape-maintained behavior.
Provide frequent verbal engagement (e.g., asking questions during play, narrating actions, or reading aloud) to keep _____ on task and promote appropriate participation.
Reinforce alternative behaviors such as appropriate conversational skills by granting brief breaks from task demands.
Example: When _____ uses appropriate communication (e.g., “Can I take a break?” or stays on topic during a conversation), provide a 1-minute break as reinforcement.
The amount of demand reduction or break access should be contingent solely on the use of the targeted alternative behaviors—not on problem behavior.
KR
Instances of Aggression include _____ engaging in any of the aforementioned behaviors towards another individual (Peer/ Adult) in order to escape a task/demand, in order to gain access to a preferred object/activity/location/person that she is trying to gain access to and/or when no demands are placed (automatic)
• Hitting individual with an open hand/ closed fist
• Grabbing individual (i.e. grabbing their clothing/body part)
• Pushing/shoving individual
• Pulling individual's hair
• Scratching/ digging nails into skin
• Throwing objects at others
Precursor behaviors include:
Louder voice
wiggling of fingers
gritting of teeth
these behaviors occur before challenging behaviors.
EL
What would your home token economy look like? What do you “earn” stars for?
Open discussion.
High Probability Sequence (AKA Behavior momentum or High P-Low P)
AE
Functional Communication:
Deliver preferred items or activities immediately upon _____ appropriate request.
The primary forms of requesting targeted are vocal requests; however, any appropriate form of requesting will be reinforced by prompt delivery of the preferred item or activity.
Access to preferred items or activities will be withheld when ______ is exhibiting non-compliant behavior, to maintain the integrity of the communication intervention.
AR
Crying with tears, yelling/shrieking, may or may not fall to the floor (if the demand requires distance), hitting nearby surfaces, with property destruction such as throwing objects nearby. Onset occurs after demonstrating signs of crying. Offset occurs after _____ has deescalated for 2 minutes.
Precursors: "Nooo!" "I don't want to." "Cry, uhhh." "Scream."
SCD
Create a behavior intervention plan for your pet using ABA principles!
Fun team brainstorm – use reinforcement, prompting, and shaping!
Response Effort (Automatic, Escape, and Attention Functions):
Increase the effort required for _____ to engage in the target challenging behavior (e.g., scripting) by maintaining active engagement through structured and purposeful communication.
Keep _____ engaged in meaningful conversation to redirect from scripting and encourage functional language use.
Examples include:
“What color is the car?”
“What does Peppa Pig want to do?”
“What do you want to make?”
“Tell me about the story.”
During book activities, have _____ read aloud to the adult to increase verbal engagement and reduce opportunities for scripting.
During functional pretend play, facilitate and expand on _____ play by creating dialogue related to the activity (e.g., “What is the firefighter going to do next?” or “Let’s make the animals talk to each other.”).
KR
Escape Functional Communication
Mands for cessation in the presence of the behavior will not be reinforced.
Tangible Functional Communication
FR
Instances are defined as ______ walking or running away from a supervised location, walking or running through a doorway without letting an adult know, or walking/running away from adult during transitions further than 3 feet.
CZ
Act out a behavior and let your team guess the function!
Interactive – participants act out and others guess function.