Effects of within-activity choices on the challenging behavior of children with severe developmental disabilities

This study compared the effects of using verbal directives or choice questions within instructional routines on the challenging behaviors of students with developmental disabilities. Two children with severe cognitive impairments who were typically uncooperative and aggressive during instructional routines participated in the study. Using ABAB designs, results indicated overall decreases in challenging behavior for both students during the choice condition as compared with the traditional verbal directive (no choice) condition. Further, the use of choice questions resulted in more steps being completed prior to the onset of challenging behavior during daily instructional routines for these students. For the one student who seldom independently initiated steps of the routine, the introduction of the choice condition coincided with an increase in independent initiations, although high levels continued for the remainder of the study. These results are discussed in light of the continuing search for simple, nonintrusive, and effective curricular interventions for children who engage in serious problem behavior.