Scenario:

Lori is a 12-year old female diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Lori attends her neighborhood public middle school where she spends her entire day in the general education classroom. Lori is currently assessing one grade level behind on all subject areas and receives paraprofessional support for academics in the classroom when she requests it. Her IEP specifies that she must request the support in order to gain access to it, but lately her teacher has noticed that she is falling a bit further behind and hasn't noticed her using the paraprofessional as much. Lori's main problem behaviors include off-task behaviors such as doodling, reading books that aren't related to her work, and talking with her classmates. Lori's behavior is not disruptive to the entire class and often her teacher doesn't notice when she is engaging in them. Recently, an FBA was completed to assess this behavior. The results of the FBA show the following: off-task behaviors are likely to be preceded by math and science work and are followed by escape from the task (note: escape isn't obvious, as she isn't disruptive and the teacher doesn't notice work hasn't been completed until the class period has ended). Lori and her family feel it is important that these behaviors are targeted, as they don't want to see her fall further behind. A preference assessment showed that Lori was very interested in drawing and looking at popular culture magazines.

Tactics to use

• Discrete Trial Instruction: YES or NO
  • Rationale:
• Positive Reinforcement (principle of behavior): YES or NO
  • Rationale:
• Extinction (principle of behavior): YES or NO
  • Rationale:
• Differential Reinforcement: YES or NO
  • Rationale: