EFFECTS OF ADJUSTING DRO SCHEDULES ON THE REDUCTION OF STEREOTYPIC VOCALIZATIONS IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM

The reduction of stereotypic behavior is important for individuals with developmental disabilities because it may interfere with learning new skills. A common procedure used to reduce stereotypic behavior is differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO), A DRO schedule is a procedure in which reinforcement is delivered given the absence of a target response for a period of time. Although DRO schedules have been shown to be effective in reducing a variety of stereotypic behavior, empirical studies have not yet determined the most effective way to thin the reinforcement schedule, The Current study examined the extent to which the relationship between the inter-response time (IRT) and the DRO requirement affects the reduction of stereotypic behavior. Results of the current study showed the DRO requirement that was set to the 25th percentile of the IRT distribution was more effective in reducing stereotypic behavior when compared with a DRO requirement set to the 95th percentile of the IRT distribution. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.