Building Incremental Success:
Graduated Exposure and Contingent Rewards
This intervention for handling running away/elopement is most appropriate for students who elope from and actively resist entering certain locations. Students may become agitated or frightened merely by approaching these locations, and the repeated exposure leads to a de-sensitivity to the specific settings. The first goal is to get the student to enter the setting, and eventually to participate in the activity within that learning environment. This intervention requires additional staffing to support implementation.
*Use the resource tracker below to help guide you in following these steps.
*Use the resource tracker below to help guide you in following these steps.
How to:
First, understand the behavior (Phase 1: Baseline):
First, measure how close the student will come to the setting without displaying negative behaviors (bolting, aggression).
Using this data, determine specific shorter distances along the way, where the student will be rewarded (the first reward being prior to the distance that the first negative behavior was exhibited, such as 30% of the closest distance the student achieved prior to displaying behaviors). Support the student in successfully reaching the first, closer goal multiple times before moving to the next expected distance, gradually reaching the goal location.
Next, work to get the student safely to the setting:
Then, work to get the student to enter the setting:
Finally, work to get the student to participate:
First, measure how close the student will come to the setting without displaying negative behaviors (bolting, aggression).
- Tell the student, “_____, it is time to go to the _____ (setting).” Walk with the student, until he/she displays behavior.
- Place a marker on the floor, to later measure the closest distance the student will tolerate.
- Tell the student, “It is time to go back to the classroom.”
- To calculate a meaningful baseline, get an average for the setting across multiple attempts (at least 3).
Using this data, determine specific shorter distances along the way, where the student will be rewarded (the first reward being prior to the distance that the first negative behavior was exhibited, such as 30% of the closest distance the student achieved prior to displaying behaviors). Support the student in successfully reaching the first, closer goal multiple times before moving to the next expected distance, gradually reaching the goal location.
- Possible rewards include small edibles (raisin, goldfish), or another small reward such as a sticker.
- Pair the reward with specific verbal praise, “Nice job walking safely.”
Next, work to get the student safely to the setting:
- A second staff person stands on the distance marker that sets the goal for the student.
- If the student reaches the marker, they receive their small reward, paired with verbal praise, and return to the classroom.
- If problem behaviors occur, no reward is given and the student is prompted to return to the classroom.
- When the student is successful at the distance two instances in a row, increase the distance 20%.
- Continue with these steps until the student is able to arrive at the setting, for three consecutive sessions.
Then, work to get the student to enter the setting:
- After three consecutive successes of reaching the doorway of the setting, the second staff person is now there to greet the student, and reward them for stepping into the environment.
- A timer is set once the student enters the setting, to cue the student how long they will remain in the setting. Once the timer goes off, the student is rewarded and then returns to class. If the student engages in negative behavior prior to the timer going off, the time and behaviors are recorded, and the student is prompted to return to class.
- The expectation for time spent in the setting is adjusted as needed, and may be set at as low as 2 seconds initially, and slowly built up with successes.
- As the student becomes more successful, the rewards will be faded out.
Finally, work to get the student to participate:
- Once the student is able to enter the setting, and remain in the setting for a meaningful amount of time, rewards are then switched to match participation goals.
- Student can be rewarded for a specific action (running one lap), or for being a part of the group for a specific amount of time (sitting in circle time for 3 minutes).
- As the student becomes more successful, rewards can shift to tokens, which can later be translated into larger rewards.
Reference:
Schmidt, J. D., Luiselli, J. K., Rue, H., & Whalley, K. (2013). Graduated exposure and positive reinforcement to overcome setting and activity avoidance in an
adolescent with autism. Behavior Modification, 37(1), 128-142. doi: 10.1177/0145445512456547
Schmidt, J. D., Luiselli, J. K., Rue, H., & Whalley, K. (2013). Graduated exposure and positive reinforcement to overcome setting and activity avoidance in an
adolescent with autism. Behavior Modification, 37(1), 128-142. doi: 10.1177/0145445512456547
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