The Study
Chaining Differential Reinforcement of Compliance and Functional Communication Training to Treat Challenging Behavior Maintained by Negative Reinforcement
This study tried two different ways to help kids stop acting out when they don't want to do something. It showed that one way (FCT) worked better for these three kids, and they liked it more. But it doesn't prove it will work for every kid with autism—it only worked for these three.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Some kids with autism act out to get away from tasks. Two ways to help: teach them to ask for a break (FCT), or reward them for doing the task (DRC). FCT stops the yelling or hitting, but they still refuse to do the work. DRC makes them do the work, but they still yell and hit. This study tried putting them together: do the task first, THEN get to ask for a break.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 551 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes—this means kids are more likely to stick with a treatment if it lets them communicate their needs, even if they have to do some work first.
- 2When they had to do 1 task before asking for a break, challenging behavior dropped by 77–81%, and they followed instructions over 70% of the time.
- 3All 3 kids chose to ask for a break (FCT) over just doing chores (DRC) when given a choice.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Behavioral Sciences
Year
2025
Authors
Emily L. Ferris, Alexandra R Howard, Eleni Baker, Andrew R. Craig, H. Roane, William E. Sullivan
Related Content
Claims (5)
In children with autism spectrum disorder, functional communication training reduces escape-related challenging behavior more than differential reinforcement of compliance, but does not improve compliance; differential reinforcement of compliance improves compliance to over 90% of demands but results in higher and more variable levels of challenging behavior.
Children with autism who have challenging behaviors triggered by avoiding tasks and can speak choose functional communication training over another behavioral method when given a choice, and this choice correlates with better adherence to treatment and longer-term success.
In children with autism or related neurodevelopmental disorders who engage in challenging behavior to avoid tasks, combining differential reinforcement of compliance with functional communication training reduces challenging behavior by 77–81% and increases task compliance to over 70%, with these improvements sustained when task demands are gradually increased to five consecutive tasks.
When children with autism are rewarded only for following instructions during behavioral therapy, they comply with more than 90% of requests, but their aggressive and self-injurious behaviors remain at or above previous levels.
In children with autism spectrum disorder who can speak, teaching them to ask for breaks using functional communication training reduces challenging behaviors triggered by escape demands, but it does not make them more likely to follow task instructions.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.