Behavior Change Study
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This study examined an intervention to decrease hoarding behavior in a 17-year-old student with severe cognitive and language deficits. The student had a 5-year history of hoarding food and non-food items and becoming aggressive when limits were set. The intervention taught the student to name and categorize items as school-related or not using a positive reinforcement approach. This decreased the total number of items brought to school and increased the proportion identified as school-related, but had no effect on the student's late arrival times. The results suggest teaching categorization skills can reduce hoarding behavior for students with cognitive limitations.
Behavior Change Study
- 1. Heather Weiler SPED 5050-Applied Behavior Analysis II Changing Hoarding Behavior
- 2. Abstract This study was designed to determine an effective teaching strategy to decrease hoarding behavior for students with severe disabilities. The target behavior, hoarding, is defined as bringing an excessive amount of nonessential items to school which were never used. A multiple baseline design was used to determine if the teaching strategy selected would change the hoarding as well as arrival punctuality. The teaching strategy selected is based on the cognitive linguistic research of Paul Bloom, Dan Slobin, and Melissa Bowerman. The specific research was from the intervention study for categorization acquisition by Partyka and Krescheck (1983) By teaching meaning of words within a positive communicative context, the student will gain organization and comfort to facilitate transition across physical settings. The results indicated the intervention decreased the hoarding but had no effect on arrival time.
- 3. Subject 17 year old high school student with severe deficits in cognitive and language 5 year history of hoarding for food and nonfood items When limits are set student becomes aggressive Sleep cycles are inconsistent. When not sleeping at night, foraging for items occurs School Arrival time late over 90% of days Most problematic early morning and late night and transitioning physical settings
- 4. Functional Assessment Interview Results Functional Assessment Interview Form ONeil et al High Priority Problematic Behavior Hoarding Items Predictors Time of Day Moving from on Location to another Free Time Unsupervised Time Immediate Antecedents Leaving house Change in schedule Maintaining Consequences delays transition obtains home based items avoids loss of personal possessions Reinforcer Toys CDs Food
- 5. Hypothesis The target behavior of hoarding increases when there is a change in structure 1. Physical setting 2. Low to No Structure Activity It is hypothesized that the hoarding behavior functions to bring meaning and a comforting structure to the situation An effective replacement or competing behavior would be bringing those objects related to the immediate context.
- 6. Research Design Selection Multiple Baseline 1. Items brought to School 2. School related objects 3. School Unrelated Objects 4. Arrival Punctuality The project looked at these variables to determine the relationship change between objects and punctuality following a behavioral teaching intervention
- 7. Intervention Strategy Procedure Upon classroom entry, teacher engages using a positive and enthusiastic attitude. Student is given a box with name on it. Student is instructed to name each item and place it in the box as teacher records them on a list As each item is named, the teacher provides two attributes for the item. One includes its use (function) within the educational setting. The teacher asks, Do you need this for school? Student responds yes/no or by nod Teacher then summarizes every item aloud from the list and notes ones that are not school related and then those that are. Student puts the box in a cubby within eyesight.
- 8. Research Basis Paul Bloom (2000) How Children Learn the Meaning of Words Melissa Bowerman (2001) Shaping the Meaning for Language Partyka and Krescheck (1983) A Comparison of Categorization Skills of Normal and Language Delayed Children in School Dan L. Slobin (2001) Form- function relationships: how do children find out what they are?
- 9. Data Collection Procedure Data taken daily upon arrival Data was a listing of all items brought Date recorded for arrival time Data taken for 32 days
- 10. Results Baseline: Number of Objects ranged from 22 25 All objects were nonrelated to school Student never initiated any interaction with objects during school day Intervention Phase: Decrease in Objects first presentation of procedure resulted in a decrease from 24 objects to 8 Increase in School Related Objects 0% to 95%
- 11. Replacement Behavior Change Changes in Transitional Objects for Attending School 30 25 20 Number of Objects Daily 15 Unrelated Objects School Related Objects 10 5 0 Dates
- 12. Behavior Trends Table 1
- 13. Number of Objects 10 15 20 30 25 0 5 -5 1/26/09 1/28/09 1/30/09 2/1/09 2/3/09 2/5/09 2/7/09 2/9/09 2/11/09 2/13/09 dates 2/15/09 2/17/09 2/19/09 2/21/09 2/23/09 2/25/09 2/27/09 Trends in Object Types 3/1/09 3/3/09 3/5/09 3/7/09 3/9/09 3/11/09 # of Objects 3/13/09 Unrelated Objects 3/15/09 Linear (# of Objects) School Related Objects 3/17/09 Linear (Unrelated Objects) 3/19/09 Linear (School Related Objects)
- 14. Number of minutes late 100 120 20 40 80 60 0 1/26/09 1/28/09 1/30/09 2/1/09 2/3/09 2/5/09 2/7/09 2/9/09 2/11/09 2/13/09 2/15/09 2/17/09 2/19/09 2/21/09 Dates 2/23/09 2/25/09 2/27/09 3/1/09 Punctuality 3/3/09 3/5/09 3/7/09 3/9/09 3/11/09 Relationship of Objects to Arrival Relationship between Arrival Time and Objects Brought 3/13/09 3/15/09 3/17/09 3/19/09 late Linear (late) # of Objects Linear (# of Objects)
- 15. Results Relationship Changes 1. Overall Number of Items Decreased 2. Inverse Relationship for Related to Unrelated Items As School Related Items Increased Unrelated Objects Decreased 3. No relationship change resulted for Arrival Time and Objects Brought
- 16. Implications The teaching intervention was effective in changing the problematic behavior to the targeted replacement behavior Another analysis to determine another strategy for changing the punctuality needs to be completed Use of positive reinforcement in combination with a cognitive linguistic intervention technique should be explored for other students with cognitive and language limitations who display hoarding behavior or delaying behaviors during transition Further study into the excessive collection of items to determine whether there is a difference between the DSM IV diagnosis of hoarding and those who collect items due to a lack of organization for relevancy due to limited cognitive and linguistic reasoning strategies Further study into hoarding (DSM IV) versus transitional object use in adolescence and students with significant disabilities