Escape

Escape is defined, as “behavior occurs to allow the individual to escape something that is

undesirable. Individuals may want to avoid work that is perceived as too hard, too boring, or

uninteresting” (Heflin & Alaimo, 2007, p. 202). Escape is a very common maintaining function

of behavior seen within the classroom. Aggressive behaviors such as hitting a classmate may

cause the student to be sent to time out, which ultimately gets the student out of the class work.

Additionally maladaptive behaviors could possibly occur to escape from an environment that the

student finds displeasing for any number of reasons. It is especially important that teachers

recognize their actions in reinforcing challenging behaviors, because by removing a student from

a task or environment that is undesirable, they are ensuring that the behavior will continue to

occur in the future.

Fortunately there are many intervention strategies that can be used to help the classroom

teacher curb challenging student behaviors that are maintained through escape. Prior to creating

an intervention, it is first necessary to understand why the student wants to escape. Perhaps the

student would benefit from choices; however as the instructor you can restrict the choices as

necessary. There may be multiple assignments that a student is expected to complete, but the

student can be given the opportunity to choose the order of assignments. Another possible

strategy is the usage of a break card, especially for those students with limited communication

skills. When the student presents the break card to the teacher, he/she can be given a short break

from their work; however once again depending on the student the usage of the break card can

come with contingencies. There may need to be some expectation of work, which must be

completed prior to receiving a break.

Figure 1.1 Example of a Break Card

Another system that could be used is the implementation of a token system in which the student

would receive a token for a specific amount of time. Once a predetermined amount of tokens

have been earned, the student can choose from one of the reinforcers available to him/her. The

available reinforcers will have been predetermined through the implementation of a preference

assessment, which is a systematic way of determining potentially reinforcing items. The time a

student needs to remain on task will vary depending on the length of time they are currently able

to remain on-task. If a student is able to remain on-task for four minutes, at first the student

should receive a token every three minutes they remain on-task. As time continues the amount

of time the student is expected to remain on-task will increase. Additionally if at all possible it is

beneficial to incorporate the students interests when creating a token board; for example if a

student loves Thomas the Train then the tokens could be pictures of Thomas the Train himself.

Token systems can be easily modified to also meet the functioning level of the student, meeting

the needs of all students.

Figure 1.2 Example of a Token System

Figure 1.3 Example of a Token System

Figure 1.4 Tokens for a Student Who is Motivated by the Simpsons

Attention

Another maintaining function of behavior is attention, which includes behaviors that

occur so the individual can obtain the attention of a desired person or group of people. Students

may engage in off-task behavior for example in order to get the attention of the teacher, who

reprimands the student, and yet at the same time reinforces the student by providing the desired

attention. This scenario only increases the likelihood that the behavior will continue to occur in

the future. Other forms of challenging behaviors can also be maintained through attention, such

as off-task behavior, out of seat behavior, aggressive behaviors, self-injurious behaviors and a

whole host of others. It is also noteworthy that frequently attention and another maintaining

function of behavior that will be discussed, tangibles, present themselves very similarly.

Once again there are a variety of intervention methods available to decrease challenging

behaviors that are maintained through attention. The token system previously mentioned could

be applied to behaviors that are maintained through attention as well. The reinforcers earned

could all relate to access to a preferred individuals; therefore the student could earn one to one

time with the teacher or perhaps lunch with the principle. Planned ignoring, although very

difficult to realistically follow through with, can also be used to by the teacher. In this scenario,

when the student engages in inappropriate behavior, the teacher would ignore the student rather

than reprimanding them in an attempt to avoid providing the maintaining function of the

behavior. Unfortunately there are times when planned ignoring will not work, such as situations

that are immediately dangerous i.e. aggressive and/or self-injurious behavior. On the other end

of the spectrum, a student could be given abundance of social praise on a fixed schedule. It is

then the hope that the student will not need to engage in challenging behaviors, because they are

already receiving an adequate amount of reinforcement. As time progresses the schedule of

reinforcement can be thinned, by providing the student with social reinforcement on a less

frequent basis.

References:

Alberto, P.A. & Troutman, A. C. (2009). Applied behavior analysis for teachers (8th ed.). Upper

Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Heflin, L. J. & Alaimo, D. F. (2007). Students with autism spectrum disorders: Effective

instructional practices. Upper Saddle River: Pearson.

Volkmar, F. R., & Wiesner, L. A. (2009). A practical guide to autism: What every parent, family

member, and teacher needs to know. New York: Wiley & Sons.