Overview
In applying a reductive procedure, it is highly important to strengthen dualistically alike substances to problem behaviors since the process targets the basic purpose of the behavior in question, making sure that the person has a valid means of responding to their demands. Certainly, the simple removal of behavior without an alternative may result in behavioral contrast, through which either the problem behavior can become more frequent, longer, or more intense, or a new behavior is developed that serves the same purpose (Cooper et al., 2020). The replacement behavior that is taught and reinforced to serve the purpose helps the individual to learn how to have an outcome that is more socially acceptable and productive. This approach is based on the acquisition of a new skill instead of ongoing suppression of an old one, which will result in more lasting and beneficial change.
Autistic children are known to exhibit a common self-stimulatory behavior (stimming), like hand-flapping, and this typically plays a sensory role, e.g., seeking quanta sensoria or a calming effect. The hand-flapping can be inhibited through a reductive process like response blocking. It is not sufficient, however, to dispel the behavior. This process needs to be used with these reinforcements in order to be effective and ethical.
In this instance, the child may be trained to use a stress ball or a fidget spinner, which will create a similar effect of a stress ball on hand-flapping. In the case where the child starts to flap his hand, a therapist would tentatively, but decisively, remove the movement (the reductive procedure). At the same time, the therapist would encourage the child to play with the fidget toy, and publicly give positive reinforcement as soon as the child would interact with this toy in the right way (e.g., verbal praise, a favorite toy, a token) when he/she would do so. This informs the child that it is a more effective and socially approved method of getting the kind of sensory input they desired compared to hand-flapping when using the toy (Little & Akin-Little, 2019). As time goes by, the child will develop an ability to select the fidget toy so that no hand-flapping is required. This philosophy coincides with the applicability of the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), which also focuses on the development of skills and positive alternatives.
References
Cooper, J., Heron, T., & Heward, W. (2020). Applied Behavior Analysis (3rd ed.). Pearson. https://www.amazon.com/Applied-Behavior-Analysis-John-Cooper/dp/0134752554Links to an external site.
Little, S. R., & Akin-Little, A. (2019). Reductive procedures: Positive approaches to reducing the incidence of problem behavior. 77–96. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000126-005Links to an external site.
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