The effects of response interruption redirection and differential reinforcement of other behavior on motor stereotypy

Abstract

Motor stereotypy can be a challenging behavior to decrease, particularly when the behavior is maintained by the sensory consequences the response itself produces. Response interruption and redirection (RIRD) has proven to be an effective treatment in reducing the rate of stereotypy for individuals diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Though it is an effective treatment, the RIRD procedure requires intensive resources to implement. Additionally, low treatment integrity could have detrimental effects on the efficacy of the treatment. Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) is another effective treatment that has been shown to reduce the rate of stereotypy. DRO is not as staff intensive; however, it is not always an effective treatment when used alone. The current study compared the effects RIRD and DRO on motor stereotypy in an ABAB design with both treatments being implemented in the B phase. Three students diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder participated. Our findings demonstrated that the treatment of motor stereotypy is idiosyncratic to the individual. For two participants, the RIRD procedure was more consistently effective than DRO. For the other participant the DRO was at least equally effective as RIRD.