Using Extinction to Reduce Unwanted Behavior

1. Using Extinction to Reduce Unwanted Behavior Inclusive Education & Community Partnership Kristin Hoefflin, MFT, BCBA March 5, 2014

2. Activity

3. How are Behaviors Established? • Behaviors serve a purpose (or function) • When behaviors are reinforced, they increase

4. What is Extinction? • Extinction occurs when reinforcement of a previously reinforced behavior is discontinued • As a result, the frequency of that behavior decreases in the future • Note that the extinction procedure does not prevent occurrences of the behavior, rather the environment is changed so that the problem behavior no longer produces reinforcement *Cooper, Heron, & Heward (2007)

5. Types of Extinction • Extinction of behavior maintained by positive reinforcement • Attention • Tangible • Extinction of behavior maintained by negative reinforcement (removal/avoidance of an aversive stimulus) • Escape • Extinction of behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement • Sensory

6. Extinction Involves… • Based on the function of the behavior, extinction involves: • The withholding of attention by ignoring the behavior (i.e. Planned Ignoring) • Denying access to tangible items or activities • Not allowing the learner to escape or avoid a task or situation • Preventing reinforcing sensory feedback

7. Planned Ignoring • Involves no verbal contact, no physical contact, no eye contact, and no emotional reaction during or following attention-maintained behavior • Consistency is crucial! • May involve reinforcing peers for ignoring and tolerating the behavior

8. Modifying Planned Ignoring • Sometimes complete Planned Ignoring is not possible • When behaviors escalate to the point of being dangerous to self or others (e.g. physical aggression, SIB, extreme property destruction, elopement, etc.) • When behaviors cannot be completely ignored: • Provide high levels of attention when student is engaged in desired behavior • When target behavior occurs, redirect the behavior with minimal attention (e.g. no verbal interaction, no emotional reaction, minimize eye contact, least restrictive physical redirection, etc.)

9. Denying Access to Tangibles • Start with environmental management • Preferred items may be hidden or not available • Adults maintain control of reinforcers • Withhold access to tangible items/activities until student utilizes appropriate functional communication • If student gains access to item, consider pros and cons of physically removing that item from the student • Consider less physical methods to restrict access (e.g. unplug computer, place recess toys in locked cabinet, etc.)

10. Escape Extinction • Involves not allowing the person to escape or avoid the non-preferred task through: • Physical guidance to complete • Keeping the person in the instructional area until he/she completes the task • Repeated presentation of the instruction until the person follows through with the task

11. Escape Extinction Challenges • We cannot force a student to complete a task • The student may be strong-willed enough to “wait it out” until the end of the school day • Discuss with team about at-home consequences • Repeated instruction may inadvertently reinforce the behavior with attention (the behavior may be maintained by both escape and attention)

12. Modifying Escape Extinction • Alternative to blocking escape • Keep all forms of potential reinforcement under adult control • Escape from demands is permitted, but all forms of reinforcement after escape are fully restricted until the student returns and complies • Examples: • Turning off TV every time child gets out of his/her chair • Removing reinforcing toys if child attempts to leave social interaction area *Schramm, Institute Knospe-ABA

13. Modifying Escape Extinction • Alternative to physical prompting and repeated instruction • Put every behavior other than the behavior of interest on extinction…in doing so, we wait for the child to engage in the task without the use of physical prompts • Only repeat the instruction, make eye contact, or engage with the child who has refused a task when he/she has demonstrated a motivation for reinforcement and are more likely to perform the behavior of interest *Schramm, Institute Knospe-ABA

14. Extinction of All Behavior Other Than the Behavior of Interest

15. Sensory Extinction • Behaviors maintained by automatic reinforcement (sensory) are placed on extinction by masking or removing the sensory consequence • Examples: • Pillow under head for head-banging • Mittens on hands for nose-picking • Padding a desk to reduce noise from pencil-tapping • Wearing goggles for eye-poking • Note that “response blocking” is not an extinction procedure, however may be very effective in conjunction with extinction

16. Effects of Extinction • Initial increase in the frequency, duration, and/or intensity of the behavior is called an Extinction Burst • An extinction burst typically starts during the first 1-3 sessions and lasts for a few sessions • After the Extinction Burst, you will see a gradual decrease in the behavior • Spontaneous Recovery occurs when the behavior reappears after it has diminished to near-zero or zero levels

18. Planning for the Burst • Inform treatment team that the behavior “will get worse before it gets better” • Planning for extinction-produced aggression will reduce the likelihood that the aggression is inadvertently reinforced • An extinction burst means that the reinforcer that was previously maintaining the behavior has been successfully identified, and therefore the intervention has a good chance of being effective! • Continue to consistently withhold the reinforcer through the extinction burst

19. Resistance to Extinction • Continued responding during an extinction procedure is considered “resistance to extinction” • Variables that may effect response to extinction include: • Continuous vs. Intermittent Reinforcement • Strength of the establishing operation (EO) or motivation of the behavior • Number, magnitude, and quality of the reinforcement • Number of previous extinction trials • Response effort

20. Don’t Use Extinction Only! • Extinction procedures should always be used in conjunction with other, positive reinforcement procedures such as: • Antecedent strategies to set the environment for success • Functional Communication Training (FCT) • Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior (DRA) • Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior (DRO) • Non-Contingent Reinforcement

21. When NOT to Use Extinction • Extinction should not be used for behaviors that are likely to be imitated by others • Extinction is not typically used for extreme behaviors that may cause harm to self or others • Extinction should not be used as a primary or sole intervention for extreme behaviors • In this case, response-blocking may be necessary • The student’s aggressive behavior can be ignored while the victim is protected and tended to • Can be combined with positive reinforcement for desired behaviors

24. Activity • ID a learner that may benefit from extinction • ID the target behavior • What is the function of the behavior? • What extinction procedure is most appropriate? • What challenges might there be using extinction? • What other interventions can/will you use with extinction?