Foundational treatment components of function-based interventions

Function-based interventions for problem behavior consist of procedural strategies, techniques, and practices based on the results of functional assessment and analysis that are designed to reduce or eliminate future occurrences of problem behavior. These interventions consider the environmental events that have been found to maintain problem behavior and then use those same reinforcers to promote adaptive, pro-social behavior. Function-based interventions are often described in terms of what environmental variables they act upon, either antecedents or consequences. This chapter describes common function-based interventions used to treat problem behavior, including noncontingent reinforcement, extinction, and differential reinforcement. The advantages, disadvantages, conditions under which each should be used, and how to increase the feasibility of these strategies in practical ways are discussed.