Reducing Challenging Behaviors
What are the four functions of behavior
1. Access to tangible
2. Escape/Avoidance
3. Attention
4. Sensory
Which teaching method breaks a complex skill into smaller steps and teaches one step at a time?
Task Analysis
Which measurement method records how often a behavior occurs?
Frequency/Event Recording
What document outlines the professional responsibilities and ethical standards that RBTs must follow?
RBT Ethics Code / BACB Ethics Code
What term describes anything that happens before a behavior and can trigger or set the occasion for that behavior?
Antecedent
A client throws materials when presented with writing tasks. Before selecting an intervention, what assessment process should be completed to identify why the behavior occurs?
Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA).
A therapist uses clear instructions, prompts immediately if needed, reinforces correct responses, and repeats multiple teaching trials at a table. Which teaching method is being used?
Discrete Trial Training (DTT)
A therapist records the amount of time from the instruction "Come here" until the child begins walking toward them. What measurement is being collected?
Latency
An RBT posts a photo of a client during therapy on social media without written permission. Which ethical responsibility has been violated?
Maintaining confidentiality and protecting client privacy
A child completes a puzzle and receives praise. The child begins completing puzzles more often. What behavioral principle is demonstrated?
Positive Reinforcement
During intervention, a therapist reinforces requesting a break instead of engaging in aggression. Which differential reinforcement procedure is being used?
Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior (DRA) (or Functional Communication Training if specified).
During play, a child reaches for bubbles. The therapist waits for the child to request "bubbles" before delivering them, using the child's motivation to teach communication. Which teaching method is this?
Natural Environment Teaching (NET)
A client engages in screaming for 10 minutes during a session. The RBT records when the screaming starts and stops. Which measurement system is being used?
Duration Recording
A parent asks an RBT, "Can you provide private ABA sessions for my child on weekends?" What should the RBT do?
Decline and inform the supervisor/BCBA because RBTs must avoid unauthorized dual relationships and cannot provide independent services outside supervision.
A learner cries when given a difficult task. The therapist teaches the learner to request a break, and crying decreases. What process is occurring?
Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior (DRA)
A therapist implements extinction for attention-maintained screaming. During the first week, the screaming becomes louder and more frequent. What is this phenomenon called, and why does it occur?
Extinction Burst—it is a temporary increase in frequency, intensity, or duration because the previously reinforced behavior no longer produces reinforcement.
A BCBA wants to teach a child to wash hands independently. The learner completes the last step independently while the therapist assists with all previous steps. Which chaining procedure is being used, and why might it be selected?
Backward Chaining; it allows the learner to immediately contact reinforcement after independently completing the final step.
An RBT wants to measure how often a child looks away from a task during a 30-minute activity. Instead of recording every occurrence, the RBT checks every 1 minute whether the behavior occurred. What measurement system is this, and what is one limitation?
Partial Interval Recording; it may overestimate behavior because any occurrence during the interval is scored.
An RBT disagrees with a supervisor's intervention plan and believes another strategy may work better. What is the most ethical action?
Discuss concerns professionally with the supervisor, seek clarification, and follow the approved treatment plan unless there is an ethical or safety concern.
A teenager refuses to clean their room. The parent removes the instruction and the teenager escapes the demand. The refusal behavior increases in the future. What principle explains this?
Negative Reinforcement (escape-maintained behavior)
A learner engages in self-injurious behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement. Differential reinforcement has produced limited effects, and the BCBA recommends conducting a competing stimulus assessment. Explain the purpose of this assessment and how its results guide intervention.
A competing stimulus assessment identifies items or activities that compete with the sensory reinforcement maintaining the behavior. Stimuli associated with reduced problem behavior and high engagement are incorporated into the intervention to decrease automatically reinforced behavior.
A learner consistently responds correctly during DTT but rarely uses the skill in everyday situations. As an RBT, what teaching strategies would best promote generalization while maintaining treatment integrity? Name at least three
Examples: Teach in multiple settings, use different people and materials, incorporate NET, vary SDs, reinforce spontaneous responding, fade prompts systematically, program common stimuli, train sufficient exemplars
Two RBTs collect data on the same child's aggression during the same session. Their agreement is only 65%. What does this indicate, and what steps should be taken before continuing intervention?
Low Interobserver Agreement (IOA). They should review operational definitions, retrain observers, clarify measurement procedures, and collect new IOA data to ensure reliable measurement.
An RBT notices that another therapist is repeatedly skipping data collection and writing inaccurate session notes. The therapist says, "Don't worry, nobody checks this." What should the RBT do according to ethical guidelines?
Address the concern through appropriate channels, report suspected unethical behavior to the supervisor/appropriate authority, and maintain accurate documentation.
A child receives attention every time they scream. The therapist stops providing attention for screaming and reinforces appropriate requests for attention instead. Initially screaming increases before decreasing. Identify the procedures and explain the behavioral processes involved.
Extinction combined with Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior (DRA). The initial increase is an Extinction Burst, followed by behavior reduction when reinforcement is consistently withheld and appropriate behavior is reinforced