Even if a behaviour looks like it is automatically reinforced, it is still a good practice to conduct an FA to determine the true function.

Once you know that the behavior is truly automatic, hold a team meeting to discuss what about the behavior the individual likes. For example, if a student is engaging in spitting behavior and it’s been determined that it is automatically reinforced, ask yourself why the student likes this particular behavior. Is it because the student likes the feeling of saliva pooling in his mouth? Is it the shiniest of the saliva on the smooth surface? Is it the way the paper towel soaks up the saliva? We had a student who engaged in spitting because he wanted to clean all of the toys and liked the way they looked shiny after he spit on them.

Once you know that information, you can introduce replacement behavior that serves the same function (e.g., like wet wipes to wipe the toys shiny).

One approach to automatic reinforcement is to implement a DRO, but we don’t always love this approach, because, while it suppresses the negative behavior, it does not teach replacement behavior, and often times other negative behavior occurs in its place.

Another approach is to use stimulus control to teach the student time and place for stereotypic behaviour. We will often teach time and place using a bracelet as stimulus control. When the student has the bracelet on, they are able to engage in the stereotypic behavior, but if the bracelet is off, then so is the behavior.