Meaghan & Kevin: Mod 10 Case Scenario- Ryan
- 1. Meaghan Mooney & Kevin Carlock
- 2. Ryan, an 11-year-old boy with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), demonstrates destructive behaviors consisting of aggression (hitting, kicking, head butting, throwing objects at others, and biting), self-injury (head banging), and disruption (throwing objects and banging on surfaces) when given demands at school. In an effort to reinforce Ryan’s non-destructive behaviors, his teacher and parents have implemented a behavior plan in which Ryan is given a preferred toy for two minutes prior to instruction. At the beginning of instruction, the toys were removed and returned to Ryan for thirty seconds contingent upon an occurrence of destructive behavior. Ryan’s teacher and parents have expressed concerns about using prompting with physical guidance, since he is growing and the intensity of his behavior may be extreme.
- 3. One way to handle destructive behavior that is done for escape/ avoidance involves discontinuation of reinforcement by physically prompting the student to comply with the demand. However, Ryan’s behavior can sometimes be dangerous. To maintain the safety, the teacher will be using verbal guidance as an alternative to physical guidance known as “wait the child out”. When Ryan shows signs of disruptive behavior the teacher will not give him his toys to calm him down but verbally prompt him to act appropriately and wait till he complies before he is allowed to receive his toys. By doing this the teacher will be diminishing the destructive behavior and reinforcing the appropriate behavior (i.e. sitting in his chair, attempting to complete assignment) by giving him his toys after he has exhibited the appropriate behavior.
- 4. Ryan demonstrates his destructive behaviors during class time and then receives his toys for thirty seconds as an attempt to stop that behavior. Extinction should be used to prevent Ryan’s destructive behavior by not giving him his toys when he shows his destructive behavior and reinforcing the behavior of acting appropriately in class. When Ryan plays with his toys before class the teacher would verbally prompt how to behave appropriately by sitting in his chair and attempting to complete his work. When Ryan sits appropriately in his chair the teacher will give him his toys and when he shows signs of destructive behavior the toys will be removed and Ryan will be prompted to sit in his chair and attempt his work in order for him to receive his toys again. This prompting will continue throughout the school day to prevent extinction bursts. Every time Ryan shows disruptive behavior he will not receive his toys until he sits back in his chair and attempts his work. As time goes on a token board can be established to let Ryan work his way towards having time with his toys. Every time the class goes to a new activity or assignment Ryan will demonstrate appropriate behavior by sitting politely and attempting to complete the assignment. When he does this he will receive a sticker on his token board where every 5 stickers will get him 1 minute of play with his toys during the day. When Ryan show destructive behavior he will have a sticker removed and then will have to demonstrate proper behavior again before receiving another sticker.
- 6. 5 stars= 1 minute of play with preferred toy