Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Sep 30;9(2):169-73.
doi: 10.1007/s40617-015-0089-5. eCollection 2016 Jun.

FCT and Delay Fading for Elopement with a Child with Autism

Maria T Stevenson  1 , Patrick M Ghezzi  1 , Kymmo G Valenton  1
Affiliations

FCT and Delay Fading for Elopement with a Child with Autism

Maria T Stevenson et al. Behav Anal Pract. .

Abstract

Nearly half of children with autism have eloped from their caregivers. In assessing elopement, the initial functional analytic results of this case study found positive reinforcement in the form of attention and access to tangibles were the maintaining variables. Functional communication training (FCT) in combination with delay fading was utilized to increase communication and decrease elopement. Results indicated that communication was consistent, elopement remained low, and the child learned to wait.

Keywords: Autism; Delay fading; Elopement; FCT.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Results of the functional analysis
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Baseline, FCT alone, and FCT with VI delay fading
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Anderson C, Law JK, Daniels A, Rice C, Mandell DS, Hagopian L, Law PL. Occurrence and family impact of elopement in children with autism spectrum disorder. Pediatrics. 2012;130:870–877. doi: 10.1542/peds.2012-0762. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Carr EG, Durand VM. Reducing behavior problem through functional communication training. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. 1985;18:111–126. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1985.18-111. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Falcomata TS, Roane HS, Feeney BJ, Stephenson KM. Assessment and treatment of elopement maintained by access to stereotypy. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. 2010;43:513–517. doi: 10.1901/jaba.2010.43-513. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ferster CB, Skinner BF. Schedules of reinforcement. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc.; 1957.
    1. Hagopian LP, Boelter EW, Jarmolowicz DP. Reinforcement schedule thinning following functional communication training: review and recommendations. Behavior Analysis in Practice. 2011;4:4. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources