Differential Reinforcement Procedure for Autism, Developmental Disabilities, ADHD

Running head: DIFFERENTIAL REINFORCEMENT PROCEDURE 1
Differential Reinforcement Procedure
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Institutional Affiliation

DIFFERENTIAL REINFORCEMENT PROCEDURE 2
Case 1
Jack is definitely suffering from autism spectrum disorder. Though he can do a lot on his
own, his social skills are obviously underdeveloped (Matson, 2009). The most appropriate
technique to implement is Differential Reinforcement of Other Behaviors (DRO) (O'Donohue &
Fisher, 2009). Under this technique, a student is reinforced (rewarded) for each time that a
behavior that is not desirable is not displayed within a designated time period. Jack who has a
habit of kicking other students every 70 seconds will be differentially reinforced if he does not
display the behavior within the 70 seconds time period. However, the approach is of a positive
nature and the teacher is not to induce any kind of punishment.
Data is to be collected by direct observation of jack’s behavior pattern. The teacher
should clearly spell out to Jack the kind of reward that he is to receive as the first way to induce
behavior change. Frequency count is to be conducted to figure out whether introduction of a
reward is reducing the occurrence of the behavior. The reward will be based on a pre-set time
interval that jack must be able to withhold the undesirable behavior of kicking and hitting other
students. If the behavior prevails within the designated time period, it will signify the
commencement of another interval. Due to Jack’s small age, the teacher would consider
restraining the behavior e.g. by holding his hands and/or legs while telling him not to kick or hit
other children.
He should also be allowed sufficient time on the trampoline to ease his state. The above
procedure should be able to reduce his kicking intervals gradually from every 70 seconds to 3
minutes, 10 minutes and so on until the behavior is completely eradicated.

DIFFERENTIAL REINFORCEMENT PROCEDURE 3
0 - 10 011 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 50 51 - 60
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Frequency of undesirable behavior.
Frequency of undesirable behavior.
Time intervals of 10 mins
No of occurences of the undesirable behavior.
Figure 1: Column representation of reduction of occurrences of undesirable behavior in 10-
minutes intervals in one hour of assessment following introduction of a reward
From the table above, the designated time period for observation is 10 minutes. During
the first interval, Jack is observed to display the undesirable behavior of hitting other students
every 70 seconds totaling to a count of nine times. however, once the differential procedure is
initiated, the total counts reduced significantly to 7 times. With continuous implementation of the
procedure during four more intervals, the overall number of occurrences reduces to 2.
Case 2
Developmental disabilities give rise to disorders that could result to physical
impairments, speech disorders, medical conditions and intellectual disabilities (Odom, Horner, &
Snell, 2009). With Marie having been diagnosed with mild developmental disorder, the pre-
mentioned conditions could greatly affect her productivity at work. The best technique to
implement in her case is Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible Behaviors (DRI) (Malott &