The analysis and treatment of problem behavior evoked by auditory stimulation

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Abstract

The current study aimed to identify specific stimuli associated with music that served as an establishing operation (EO) for the problem behavior of a 6-year-old child with a diagnosis of autism. Specific EOs for problem behavior evoked by auditory stimulation could be identified. A differential negative reinforcement procedure was implemented for specific conditions that evoked problem behavior. Using a changing criterion and a differential negative reinforcement of other behavior, exposure to specific stimuli associated with music was gradually increased, and resulted in reductions in problem behavior to near zero levels.

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Participant

The participant was a 6.1-year-old boy. At the age of 2 years and 3 months, he received a dual diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder and a Learning Disability by a registered clinical psychologist. He attended a school using applied behavior analysis as treatment for children with autism 5 days per week, for 6 h per day. It was reported by parents and staff that the participant emitted problem behaviors, such as feet stomping, aggravated delayed echolalia and covering his ears when exposed to

Baseline and auditory stimuli assessment

Fig. 1 shows occurrences of disruption, expressed as number of intervals within 1 min sessions, across each of the three playback sources, and four music categories. The A Cappella playback source, produced the highest number of intervals with disruption, such disruption occurring during three of the four musical categories (Disney, pop, TV theme songs). No disruptions were emitted during the classical music category under the A Cappella condition. For all other playback sources, disruption was

Discussion

Noise sensitivity is a widespread issue in the area of developmental disability (Rimland & Edelson, 1995), and the findings of the current research are a potentially important contribution to the limited behavioral literature on auditory stimulation. A number of articles, as well as some preliminary data from functional analyses, have suggested that noise, and certain musical stimuli, may serve as an establishing operation for evoking problem behavior in individuals with developmental

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank the staff at Stepping Stones ABA School, Co. Meath, Ireland for their assistance in the implementation of this study.

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