The field of Applied Behavior Analysis is fortunate to rely on decades of research concerning the assessment and treatment of severe destructive behavior (e.g., self-injurious behavior, aggression). In fact, research indicates that behavioral interventions based on functional analysis methodology and subsequent function-based treatments are highly successful in reducing significantly challenging behavior to clinically and socially acceptable levels. Unfortunately, the story has not stopped there. A relatively novel area of research indicates that function-based treatments for severe destructive behavior are likely not durable during the challenges of day to day life. Some of these challenges may be inadvertent adherence drift of the caregiver to implement procedures exactly as prescribed or even more simply due to the client transitioning between different contexts (e.g., transitioning from home to school each day). With these challenges, the return of severe destructive behavior is very likely. This phenomenon has been termed treatment relapse and can occur for a variety of reasons. Research has shown that treatment relapse is fairly ubiquitous. Practitioners should be aware of how often and why treatment relapse may occur due to the risk it poses for causing clients and caregivers harm, decreasing social validity, and increasing the risk of costly second or third readmission into intensive clinical settings. In this presentation, Dr. Randall will provide an overview of treatment relapse after successful interventions, types of treatment relapse, trends on the likelihood of relapse, and the evidence for the most current methods to mitigate the likelihood of treatment relapse.
Learning outcomes:
- define treatment relapse as it relates to severe problem behavior and describe it's commonality in clinical settings
- name and define main types of treatment relapse including resurgence, renewal, reinstatement, rapid acquisition, and recovery
- name and describe at least three resurgence or renewal mitigation techniques used in treatment of severe problem behavior
Credits: Act 48, EITA/Infant-Toddler, Occupational Therapy, Social Work, BACB, PSYCH
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