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Using Reinforcement to Prevent Challenging Behaviors

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Handbook of Applied Behavior Analysis

Abstract

Challenging behavior is comprised of behaviors that interfere with an individual’s access to educational and social opportunities. Researchers have identified effective strategies to decrease challenging behavior through the use of functional behavior assessment. More recently, researchers have examined the possibility of prevention of challenging behavior as a way to circumvent these problematic behaviors from occurring. This chapter distinguishes between treatment and prevention of challenging behavior. Reinforcement strategies such as differential reinforcement can be used to reduce the likelihood of challenging behavior from occurring in the future, and thus should be used as preventative strategies whenever possible. A variety of differential reinforcement methods that can be used to increase the likelihood of pro-social behaviors while simultaneously decreasing the likelihood that challenging behavior will occur in the future are discussed. Two well-established procedural frameworks (i.e., functional communication training and positive behavior support) are offered as viable reinforcement-based strategies that can be used across a wide variety of settings with different populations.

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Correspondence to Regan Weston .

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© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

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Weston, R., Rittenhouse-Cea, H., Gauert, S., Crandall, M., Radhakrishnan, S. (2023). Using Reinforcement to Prevent Challenging Behaviors. In: Matson, J.L. (eds) Handbook of Applied Behavior Analysis. Autism and Child Psychopathology Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-19964-6_63

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