The use of Functional Communication Training in reducing problem behaviors in children with autism
Abstract
The presence of behavioral problems correlates with communication deficits in people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and if a person with ASD is taught functional communication, which has the same purpose for them as the manifestation of behavioral problems, there can be a reduction, and for this, the procedure called functional communication training (FCT) is most often used. This paper aims to determine the effectiveness of the application of FCT for each of the behavioral functions, as well as how FCT can be implemented for each function, by reviewing the literature. The papers were searched using the Google Scholar and ProQuest search engines, and the literature review included those papers in which FCT was applied to reduce various behavioral problems. By reviewing the literature, it can be seen that FCT can be implemented with respondents who have different diagnoses, as well as different degrees of functionality in the way they communicate. In addition, FCT can be successfully implemented with participants exhibiting behavioral problems in various functions. Bearing in mind that FCT looks different for each of the mentioned functions, the importance of determining the behavioral function is emphasized, since it is a necessary prerequisite for the successful implementation of FCT. In addition, bearing in mind the effectiveness of the application of FCT in reducing behavioral problems exhibited by children with ASD, it is emphasized that it is necessary to conduct training for special education teachers and parents, as well as all others who work with this population on the application of FCT.
References
Albert, K. M., Carbone, V. J., Murray, D. D., Hagerty, M., & Sweeney-Kerwin, E. J. (2012). Increasing the Mand Repertoire of Children With Autism Through the Use of an Interrupted Chain Procedure. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 5(2), 65–76. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03391825
Alexander, J. L., Ayres, K. M., & Smith, K. A. (2015). Training Teachers in Evidence-Based Practice for Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Review of the Literature. Teacher Education and Special Education: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, 38(1), 13–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/0888406414544551
Andzik, N. R., Cannella-Malone, H. I., & Sigafoos, J. (2016). Practitioner-Implemented Functional Communication Training: A Review of the Literature. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 41(2), 79–89. https://doi.org/10.1177/1540796916633874
Arsić, B., & Gajić, A. (2023). Primena komunikatora u podučavanju dece sa autizmom funkcionalnoj komunikaciji. Pedagoška stvarnost, 69(1), 74–91. https://doi.org/10.19090/ps.2023.1.74-91
Arsić, B., Gajić, A., & Vidojković, S. M. (2022). Primena funkcionalnog komunikacionog treninga za redukciju problematičnih ponašanja u funkciji izbegavanja zadatka. Pedagoška Stvarnost, 68(2), 191–207. https://doi.org/10.19090/ps.2022.2.191-207
Austin, J. L., Groves, E. A., Reynish, L. C., & Francis, L. L. (2015). Validating trial-based functional analyses in mainstream primary school classrooms. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 48(2), 274–288. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.208
Benson, S. S., Dimian, A. F., Elmquist, M., Simacek, J., McComas, J. J., & Symons, F. J. (2018). Coaching parents to assess and treat self-injurious behaviour via telehealth. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 62(12), 1114–1123. https://doi.org/10.1111/jir.12456
Carré, A. J. M., Grice, B. L., Blampied, N. M., & Walker, D. (2009). Picture Exchange Communication (PECS) Training for Young Children: Does Training Transfer at School and to Home? Behaviour Change, 26(1), 54–65. https://doi.org/10.1375/bech.26.1.54
Chow, J. C., & Wehby, J. H. (2018). Associations between language and problem behavior: A systematic review and correlational meta-analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 30(1), 61–82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-016-9385-z
Day, H. M., Horner, R. H., & O’Neill, R. E. (1994). Multiple Functions of Problem Behaviors: Assessment and Intervention. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 27(2), 279–289. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1994.27-279
Derosa, N. M., Fisher, W. W., & Steege, M. W. (2015). An evaluation of time in establishing operation on the effectiveness of functional communication training. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 48(1), 115–130. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.180
Drasgow, E., Martin, C. A., Chezan, L. C., Wolfe, K., & Halle, J. W. (2016). Mand Training: An Examination of Response-Class Structure in Three Children With Autism and Severe Language Delays. Behavior Modification, 40(3), 347–376. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145445515613582
Durand, V. M., & Moskowitz, L. (2015). Functional Communication Training: Thirty Years of Treating Challenging Behavior. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 35(2), 116–126. https://doi.org/10.1177/0271121415569509
Fisher, W. W., Greer, B. D., Mitteer, D. R., Fuhrman, A. M., Romani, P. W., & Zangrillo, A. N. (2018). Further evaluation of differential exposure to establishing operations during functional communication training. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 51(2), 360–373. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.451
Fyffe, C. E., Kahng, S., Fittro, E., & Russell, D. (2004). Functional Analysis and Treatment of Inappropriate Sexual Behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 37(3), 401–404. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.2004.37-401
Gresham, F. M., Elliott, S. N., Vance, M. J., & Cook, C. R. (2011). Comparability of the Social Skills Rating System to the Social Skills Improvement System: Content and psychometric comparisons across elementary and secondary age levels. School Psychology Quarterly, 26(1), 27–44. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022662
Hagopian, L. P., Kuhn, S. A. C., Long, E. S., & Rush, K. S. (2005). Schedule Thinning Following Communication Training: Using Competing Stimuli to Enhance Tolerance to Decrements in Reinforcer Density. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 38(2), 177–193. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.2005.43-04
Hanley, G. P., Iwata, B. A., & Thompson, R. H. (2001). Reinforcement Schedule Thinning Following Treatment with Functional Communication Training. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 34(1), 17–38. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.2001.34-17
Jarmolowicz, D. P., DeLeon, I. G., & Kuhn, S. A. C. (2009). Functional communication during signaled reinforcement and/or extinction. Behavioral Interventions, 24(4), 265–273. https://doi.org/10.1002/bin.288
Jennett, H. K., Harris, S. L., & Delmolino, L. (2008). Discrete Trial Instruction vs. Mand Training for Teaching Children With Autism to Make Requests. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 24(1), 69–85. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03393058
Kuhn, D. E., Chirighin, A. E., & Zelenka, K. (2010). Discriminated Functional Communication: A Procedural Extension of Functional Communication Training. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 43(2), 249–264. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.2010.43-249
Lindgren, S., Wacker, D., Schieltz, K., Suess, A., Pelzel, K., Kopelman, T., Lee, J., Romani, P., & O’Brien, M. (2020). A Randomized Controlled Trial of Functional Communication Training via Telehealth for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 50(12), 4449–4462. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04451-1
Luczynski, K. C., & Hanley, G. P. (2013). Prevention of Problem Behavior by Teaching Functional Communication and Self-Control Skills to Preschoolers. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 46(2), 355–368. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.44
Mark, J. (2019). Evaluation of a Picture Exchange Communication System Program for Children with Autism [Dissertation, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine]. https://digitalcommons.pcom.edu/psychology_dissertations/479
Muharib, R., Correa, V. I., Wood, C. L., & Haughney, K. L. (2019). Effects of Functional Communication Training Using GoTalk NowTM iPad® Application on Challenging Behavior of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Special Education Technology, 34(2), 71–79. https://doi.org/10.1177/0162643418783479
Mulhern, T., Lydon, S., Healy, O., Mollaghan, G., Ramey, D., & Leoni, M. (2017). A systematic review and evaluation of procedures for the induction of speech among persons with developmental disabilities. Developmental Neurorehabilitation, 20(4), 207–227. https://doi.org/10.3109/17518423.2016.1150360
O’Brien, M. J., Schieltz, K. M., Berg, W. K., McComas, J. J., & Wacker, D. P. (2021). Delivering Interventions Via Telehealth: Functional Communication Training with a Child with Autism as a Case Example. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 46(1), 53–60. https://doi.org/10.1177/1540796920980452
Reichle, J., & Chen, M. (2016). Challenging Behavior and Communicative Alternatives. In R. A. Sevcik & M. Romski (Eds.), Communication Interventions for Individuals with Severe Disabilities: Exploring Research Challenges and Opportunities (1st edition, pp. 35–74). Brookes Publishing.
Roane, H. S., Fisher, W. W., Sgro, G. M., Falcomata, T. S., & Pabico, R. R. (2004). An Alternative Method of Thinning Reinforcer Delivery During Differential Reinforcement. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 37(2), 213–218. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.2004.37-213
Roche, L., Sigafoos, J., Lancioni, G. E., O’Reilly, M. F., Schlosser, R. W., Stevens, M., van der Meer, L., Achmadi, D., Kagohara, D., James, R., Carnett, A., Hodis, F., Green, V. A., Sutherland, D., Lang, R., Rispoli, M., Machalicek, W., & Marschik, P. B. (2014). An evaluation of speech production in two boys with neurodevelopmental disorders who received communication intervention with a speech-generating device. International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, 38(1), 10–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2014.07.003
Rose, M. L. (2006). The utility of arm and hand gestures in the treatment of aphasia. Advances in Speech Language Pathology, 8(2), 92–109. https://doi.org/10.1080/14417040600657948
Stevenson, M. T., Ghezzi, P. M., & Valenton, K. G. (2016). FCT and Delay Fading for Elopement with a Child with Autism. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 9(2), 169–173. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-015-0089-5
Suess, A. N., Romani, P. W., Wacker, D. P., Dyson, S. M., Kuhle, J. L., Lee, J. F., Lindgren, S. D., Kopelman, T. G., Pelzel, K. E., & Waldron, D. B. (2014). Evaluating the Treatment Fidelity of Parents Who Conduct In-Home Functional Communication Training with Coaching via Telehealth. Journal of Behavioral Education, 23(1), 34–59. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10864-013-9183-3
Suess, A. N., Wacker, D. P., Schwartz, J. E., Lustig, N., & Detrick, J. (2016). Preliminary evidence on the use of telehealth in an outpatient behavior clinic. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 49(3), 686–692. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.305
Tasić, I. S., & Raspopović, S. M. (2022). Informaciono-komunikacione tehnologije u realnom programu vrtića. Sinteze - časopis za pedagoške nauke, književnost i kulturu, 21, 23–33. https://doi.org/10.5937/sinteze11-37059
Tsami, L., Lerman, D., & Toper-Korkmaz, O. (2019). Effectiveness and acceptability of parent training via telehealth among families around the world. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 52(4), 1113–1129. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.645
Volkert, V. M., Lerman, D. C., Call, N. A., & Trosclair-Lasserre, N. (2009). An Evaluation of Resurgence During Treatment with Functional Communication Training. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 42(1), 145–160. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.2009.42-145
Wacker, D. P., Lee, J. F., Padilla Dalmau, Y. C., Kopelman, T. G., Lindgren, S. D., Kuhle, J., Pelzel, K. E., Dyson, S., Schieltz, K. M., & Waldron, D. B. (2013). Conducting Functional Communication Training via Telehealth to Reduce the Problem Behavior of Young Children with Autism. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 25(1), 35–48. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-012-9314-0
Copyright (c) 2024 Bojana B. Arsić, Anja M. Gajić
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Autori koji objavljuju u ovom časopisu pristaju na sledeće uslove:
- Autori zadržavaju autorska prava i pružaju časopisu pravo prvog objavljivanja rada i licenciraju ga "Creative Commons Attribution licencom" koja omogućava drugima da dele rad, uz uslov navođenja autorstva i izvornog objavljivanja u ovom časopisu.
- Autori mogu izraditi zasebne, ugovorne aranžmane za neekskluzivnu distribuciju članka objavljenog u časopisu (npr. postavljanje u institucionalni repozitorijum ili objavljivanje u knjizi), uz navođenje da je članak izvorno objavljen u ovom časopisu.
- Autorima je dozvoljeno i podstiču se da postave objavljeni članak onlajn (npr. u institucionalni repozitorijum ili na svoju internet stranicu) pre ili tokom postupka prijave rukopisa, s obzirom da takav postupak može voditi produktivnoj razmeni ideja i ranijoj i većoj citiranosti objavljenog članka (Vidi Efekti otvorenog pristupa).