Why Antecedent Strategies Are Important?
Common antecedent stimuli conditions may affect behavior and function as aversive events
- Responses to these aversive antecedent stimuli may include attempts to escape and avoid
- There may be over-sensitivity to sounds, lights, aromas, tastes, and touch. This may affect the way stimuli affect behavior
- Impacting accuracy in executing responses
- Timing and precision based on cues
- Reducing generalization of behavior
- Application of skills to new situations
- Reducing contextual control
- How situations are interpreted
Antecedent Strategies
Antecedent Management – Setting the occasion for a behavior to occur by providing antecedents to cue the behavior. If you know what agitates or sets the person off, teach him/her to tolerate it by:
- Inoculation
- Environmental changes
- Visual cues
- Verbal cues
- Mechanical devices
- Checklists
- Pre-teaching
Antecedent management strategies:
- Alter events prior to the occurrence of problem behavior
- Decrease the likelihood of problem behavior
- Increase the likelihood of desired behavior
- Are relatively low intrusive interventions
- Are relatively easy to implement correctly
- Require less vigilance from a caregiver because not contingent on behavior
Antecedent Strategies
- Reduce intensity of sounds, lights, temperature
- Be aware of your nonverbal communication, facial expressions and tone of voice
- Model calmness and confidence
- Use structure and consistency to ensure events are more predictable
- Provide concise instructions and offer choices
- Avoid using questions such as: “Are you ready to get your shower?”
- Instead, state a choice: “Do you want to use a wash cloth or a puff for your shower?”
Behavior Variables
- Behavior repertoires are reduced, which produces a reduction in reinforcer accessibility and overall level of reinforcement
- Behavior may be more resistant to change
- Behavior may become more or less sensitive to antecedent and consequence control and, therefore, more variable and less stable
Behavior Management Strategies
- Ongoing evaluation of current repertoire and skills
- Ongoing modulation of difficulty level of activity
- Break activities into small steps
- Shorten duration of activities
- Vary easy and difficult activities
- Offer breaks often
- Gradually increase/change performance criteria
- Establish good Compensation Behaviors, especially good “escape/avoidance” responses and good “attention/object” seeking responses
Consequence Stimuli Variables
- Previously learned behavior-reinforcer relationships are impaired
- Effects of rules may be altered
- Changes in the current behavior-reinforcer relationships may be needed
Consequence Stimuli and Management Strategies
- Reinforce initiation, quick response to requests, and participation throughout activities, as well as for meeting goals
- Look for Alternative (compensatory) Behaviors in any form or frequency and provide ample reinforcement
- Maximize “Positive” : “Negative” Statement Ratio
- Consider Reinforcement Delivery and make adjustment gradually
- Magnitude, Duration, Frequency, Delay, Schedule, Choice & Preference