Using a Time Timer(TM) to increase appropriate waiting behavior in a child with developmental disabilities.

Grey, Ian, Olive Healy, Geraldine Leader and Deirdre Hayes. 2009. "Using a Time Timer(TM) to increase appropriate waiting behavior in a child with developmental disabilities." Research in Developmental Disabilities 30(2):359-366.

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the use of a predictive stimulus (Time TimerTM) and delayed reinforcement to increase appropriate waiting behavior in a child with developmental disabilities and problem behavior maintained by access to tangible items and activities. The study employed a changing criterion design across settings to gradually increase reinforcement delay from 1 second to 10 minutes. Firstly a baseline phase was conducted to measure the duration of appropriate waiting behaviour to access tangible reinforcers/activities. Phase 2 involved the use of a red cue card and the verbal instruction ¿wait¿. Phase 3 involved the introduction of the Time TimerTM with the cue card attached, and the verbal instruction ¿wait¿. Finally, Phase 4 utilised the Time TimerTM without the cue card. Results indicated that this was an effective strategy for increasing appropriate waiting behavior with this participant in a school setting. The role of adding a concurrent activity during the reinforcement delay, using cues to predict reinforcement, future generalization, maintenance and the teaching of functionally equivalent skills are discussed.

Publisher

Elsevier

Rights

CC BY-NC-ND

cbn

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School of Psychology (Scholarly Articles)