Alternate Title

RIRD vs. DRO

Advisor(s)

William H. Ahearn

Contributor(s)

Eileen M. Roscoe, Chata Dickson

Date of Award

2010

Date Accepted

8-2010

Degree Grantor

Northeastern University

Degree Level

M.S.

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department or Academic Unit

Bouvé College of Health Sciences. Department of Counseling and Applied Educational Psychology.

Keywords

psychology, behavioral, stereotypy, RIRD

Subject Categories

Autistic people - Case studies, Stereotyped behavior (Psychiatry)

Disciplines

Psychology

Abstract

Motor stereotypy can be a challenging behavior to decrease, particularly when the behavior is maintained by the sensory consequences the response itself produces. Response interruption and redirection (RIRD) has proven to be an effective treatment in reducing the rate of stereotypy for individuals diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Though it is an effective treatment, the RIRD procedure requires intensive resources to implement. Additionally, low treatment integrity could have detrimental effects on the efficacy of the treatment. Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) is another effective treatment that has been shown to reduce the rate of stereotypy. DRO is not as staff intensive; however, it is not always an effective treatment when used alone. The current study compared the effects RIRD and DRO on motor stereotypy in an ABAB design with both treatments being implemented in the B phase. Three students diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder participated. Our findings demonstrated that the treatment of motor stereotypy is idiosyncratic to the individual. For two participants, the RIRD procedure was more consistently effective than DRO. For the other participant the DRO was at least equally effective as RIRD.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Rights Holder

Rachel Farber


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