The Effectiveness of Differential Reinforcement and Least-to-Most Prompting in Reducing Non-compliance Behavior of Autistic Child
Applied Behavior Analysis for Autism
Abstract
Background. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are at higher risk of exhibiting challenging behaviors, and assessing their underlying functions is imperative in developing an individualized treatment for them. The present study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) technique to reduce active non-compliance behavior of a 6-year-old girl diagnosed with ASD in a private Special Education school setting.
Method. The study was conducted in three different phases: (1) pre-intervention (baseline), (2) intervention, and (3) post-intervention phase, while using the partial interval recording method for collecting data. At baseline, the functional behavioral assessment (FBA) was employed to outline the function of active non-compliance behavior. During the intervention phase, the ABA technique of Differential reinforcement of low-rate behavior (DRL) and least-to-most prompting was implemented.
Results. The result indicated a reduction in the problem behavior from 88.82% (baseline) to 38.85% during the intervention phase. Active non-compliance was estimated at 63.16% in the post-intervention period, which is comparatively exhibited at a lower rate. Also, the FBA suggested that active non-compliance behavior was maintained by escape/avoidance from the instructions.
Conclusion. The study findings concludes that appropriate implementation of DRL arrangements and least-to-most prompting can effectively reduce non-compliant behaviors in ASD children. These data are further discussed, strategies to accommodate the child, and recommendations for future researches are also highlighted.
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References
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