| Functional communication training (FCT) is a component of positive behavior support that is an effective method for increasing the socially acceptable communication repertoire of individuals with developmental disabilities who exhibit severe behavior problems. However, systematically increasing tolerance for delays to reinforcement by these individuals after acquiring new communication forms has proven to be difficult. For this study, FCT was implemented for 3 individuals with developmental disabilities who resided in a residential treatment facility. The goals of this study were to: (1) develop and implement a brief discrete-trial functional analysis (2) teach efficient, socially acceptable replacement behaviors to decrease problem behavior and (3) systematically increase the tolerance for delay to reinforcement while maintaining low, acceptable rates of problem behavior for all participants. |
