What this study is
Although treatments for problem behavior, like functional communication training (FCT), can be highly effective in the clinic, changes in the way the FCT is implemented (e.g., when transferring treatment to the home, when teachers implement treatment with poor fidelity) can result in treatment relapse. The goal of this study is to evaluate whether using treatment signals and gradually introducing materials from natural contexts can help mitigate treatment relapse during context changes and poor treatment-integrity scenarios.
What's being tested
- Trad FCT
Intervention · BEHAVIORAL
This intervention emulates a traditional reinforcement schedule-thinning method during FCT in which clinicians program delays to reinforcement without discriminative stimuli (e.g., the child learns that some FCRs result in reinforcement and some do not). By programming reinforcement approximately every 15 s, the rate of reinforcement will be equivalent to mult FCT. During Period 1 of this project, trad FCT served as an appropriate control condition to which mult FCT could be compared.
- Mult FCT
Intervention · BEHAVIORAL
This intervention involves correlating discriminative stimuli (e.g., purple and yellow index cards) with times in which reinforcement for the functional communication response (FCR) is and is not available. During Period 1 of this project, this procedure resulted in rapid reduction of destructive behavior and mitigated resurgence and renewal when the discriminative stimuli were used as programmed.
- Mult FCT + Stimulus Fading
Intervention · BEHAVIORAL
This condition is similar to mult FCT except that the experimenters will gradually incorporate natural stimuli (e.g., rugs, tables, lamps) into sessions to approximate target settings that may occasion relapse typically without such gradual stimulus fading.
Study details
- Official title
- Stimulus Control Refinements of Functional Communication Training
- Sponsor
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
- Conditions
- Aggression · Self-injurious Behavior
- Enrolling
- 24 people
- Starts
- 2021-05-03
- Est. completion
- 2026-12-31
- Design
- Open-label, randomized, parallel groups
- Record
- View on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
Who can join
Age 3 Years – 17 YearsSex ALLHealthy volunteers Not acceptedYou may qualify if
- Boys and girls from ages 3 to 17
- Destructive behavior that occurs at least 10 times a day despite previous treatment
- Destructive behavior reinforced by social consequences like attention (FCT is not appropriate for automatically reinforced destructive behavior)
- On a stable psychoactive drug regimen for at least 10 half-lives per drug or drug free
- Stable educational plan and placement with no anticipated changes during the child's treatment
You can't join if
- Patients who do not meet the inclusion criteria
- Patients currently receiving 15 or more hours per week of treatment for their destructive behavior
- DSM-5 diagnosis of Rett syndrome or other degenerative conditions (e.g., inborn error of metabolism)
- A comorbid health condition or major mental disorder that would interfere with study participation
- Occurrence of SIB during study assessments that presents a risk of serious or permanent harm (e.g., detached retinas) based on our routine clinical-risk assessment
- Patients requiring drug-treatment changes, but the experimenters will invite these patients to participate if they meet inclusion criteria after drug regimen is stable.
Sign in and we'll check these against your records.Full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Study locations (1)
1 openChildren's Specialized Hospital - Rutgers University Center for Autism Research, Education, and Services
Somerset, New Jersey, United States
- Wayne Fisher, PhD · Contact8488008503wayne.fisher@rutgers.edu
- Serena Claiborne · Contact8488008504sclaiborne@childrens-specialized.org
Recruiting
Study team
Sponsor
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Study ID Pro2019001493
Principal investigator
Wayne W Fisher, PhD
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Frequently asked questions
The sponsor hasn't published answers to common questions for this trial.