Association for Behavior Analysis International

Escape-maintained problem behaviors are notoriously difficult to treat, given the pervasive and functional nature of these behaviors. This talk will present a unique methodology and practice of demand fading, based on the established research on errorless learning. The focus of the presentation will be on the many applications to a variety of individuals who engage in behaviors maintained by escape from demands. Participants will be able to demonstrate this process as well as identify the different populations of learners for which this is applicable. We will include case examples of successful intervention with this treatment. Treatment focused on utilizing functional assessment methodology which demonstrated that demand situations where common antecedents to escape-maintained problem behaviors, including loud vocalizations, physical aggression, dropping, self-injurious behavior and property destruction. Treatment incorporated a demand fading protocol as part of a comprehensive behavior plan where demands were graded based on difficulty and placed into demand sets that were ordered and introduced according to predetermined mastery criteria of low rates of problem behavior. As individuals decreased their rates of problem behavior over time, new demand sets, that were more complex and difficult, were introduced systematically. Demand fading protocol resulted in decreased rates of problem behavior across all individuals.