Project Purpose

Main Topic Index

I. What is Challenging Behavior?

II. Functional Behavior Assessment

III. Overview of Intervention Strategies

IV. Communicative Alternatives

V. Implementing Antecedent-Based Strategies

Teaching When and When Not to Use Communicative Alternatives

Using newly established communication appropriately requires learning to use it conditionally. Conditional use means that there are situations where the new communicative alternative should be produced (positive teaching examples) and other situations in which it should not be produced (negative teaching examples).

• For example, consider Ginger, who has learned that she can reject carrots successfully at any meal; however, Ginger cannot be allowed to reject her medication at meal time.  Learning to use rejecting in the presence of carrots, but refraining from using it with medication, represents a conditional use of the communicative alternative.

Some conditional uses may be less straightforward.

• For example, it may be okay to request one cookie after dinner.  However, a request for "seconds" of dessert cannot be reinforced. 

In both of the above examples, occasions when the new communicative behavior can be honored (reinforced) represent positive teaching examples.  Conversely, occasions when the new communicative behavior cannot be reinforced represent negative teaching examples.

Instruction requires both types of teaching examples. When a communicative alternative is taught as a positive teaching example, environmental arrangement and/or antecedent focused interventions are often utilized when the communicative alternative cannot be reinforced. Initially, examples should make the learner's choice very clear.