Antecedent –Based activities

Overview

Antecedent-based intervention (ABI) is an evidence-based practice that is derived from applied behavior analysis (ABA) and are used to address both interfering (e.g., disruptive, repetitive, stereotypical) and on-task behaviors.

By definition, the principle of ABI describes a relationship between a behavior and an antecedent stimulus; that is, an event or condition that occurs before or as a behavior is used. In other words, individual interfering behaviors (e.g., hitting, kicking, hand flapping) are more likely to occur when particular environmental conditions/events accompany the behavior and provide reinforcement for its use (Alberto & Troutman, 1999). For example, a young child with ASD may scream any time the teacher begins an activity that includes working among other children. Because the child has been removed from the activity previously for screaming, she screams every time a small-group activity begins. In this situation, the small-group activity with peers is the antecedent to the child's screaming. The child was reinforced in the past for this behavior by being removed from the activity.

When using ABI, teachers/practitioners focus on identifying the events that take place immediately before and after particular interfering behaviors. In this way, they not only seek to identify the conditions or events within the environment that prompt learners to use particular behaviors (i.e., antecedents), but also what is reinforcing the behavior after it occurs (i.e., consequences). This information then allows teachers/practitioners to identify appropriate ABI strategies that can be used to organize learning environments to prevent future occurrence of interfering behaviors as well as to increase the likelihood that learning will occur.

When seeking to identify the potential causes of interfering behaviors, four key concepts are essential: behavior, antecedent stimulus, consequence, and setting event. Each of these factors is extremely important to fully understand what might be causing an interfering behavior to occur. The table above provides an example.

A functional behavior assessment (FBA) is often conducted to accurately identify these four concepts. Through this process, teachers/practitioners, parents, and other professionals observe learners within the environments where interfering behaviors are occurring to identify the factors that might be prompting learners to engage in the behaviors.

Once the setting event, antecedent stimulus, behavior, and consequence have been determined, teachers/practitioners can think about how to rearrange or change setting events and antecedent stimuli to help learners with ASD succeed without engaging in interfering behaviors. The goal is to change the factors that prompt learners to engage in interfering behaviors during particular activities/settings.

ABI focus on modifying the environment to change the conditions in the setting that prompt a learner with ASD to engage in an interfering behavior (Kern, Choutka, & Sokol, 2002). In many cases, interfering behaviors continue to occur because the environmental conditions in a particular setting have become linked to the behavior over time. ABI are designed to prevent the occurrence of interfering behaviors (Luiselli, 2008). For instance, the teacher of the young child with ASD in the above example may include a preferred toy into a small-group activity to increase the child's interest and to prevent her from screaming in future activities.

ABI are particularly useful because they focus on identifying the conditions in the environment that may be contributing to the occurrence of the interfering behavior. Because interfering behaviors often are situation-specific, the conditions identified in a particular environment are modified to prevent the behavior from occurring in the future.

Why Use ABI?

Because many learners with ASD engage in interfering behaviors, teachers and other practitioners who work with this population may find ABI strategies particularly helpful in preventing or reducing interfering behaviors as well as increasing on-task behaviors. One reason is that ABI strategies are easy to implement and require little additional effort by classroom teachers and other practitioners who work with learners with ASD on a regular basis. Second, ABI strategies are effective with a variety of learners across the age range. These two factors make ABI a particularly relevant and effective practice that can be used to prevent or reduce interfering behaviors and to increase engagement and on-task behavior.

Who Can Use ABI and Where Can They Be Used?

This set of intervention strategies can be used by a variety of professionals, including teachers, special educators, therapists, and classroom assistants in different educational and community-based environments. The evidence-based studies were conducted mainly in clinic-based settings or in one-to-one teaching sessions with learners with ASD; however, in one study, ABI procedures were implemented in a combination of settings (i.e., general education classroom, resource room). Although most of the research did not demonstrate the use of ABI strategies in more naturalistic settings (e.g., during ongoing classroom routines and activities, in the home, in community-based settings), the results of the one study conducted in a general education classroom suggest that ABI procedures could be effectively implemented in more naturalistic settings as well.

With What Ages Are ABI Most Effective?

According to the evidence-based studies, this practice has been effectively used with learners with ASD who ranged in age from 3 to 16 years. ABI are most often used with learners with ASD who exhibit interfering behaviors, especially self-injurious, repetitive, and stereotypical behaviors. The studies in the evidence base also focused on promoting engagement and on-task behaviors in learners with ASD

Antecedent-Based Intervention Strategies

The goal of ABI is to identify factors that are prompting learners to use interfering behaviors as well as what might be reinforcing their use of these behaviors during particular activities through implementation of a FBA. Once these factors have been determined, teachers/practitioners can then identify particular antecedent-based intervention strategies that can be used to modify the environment or activity so that the interfering behaviors are no longer reinforced. The results of the FBA will guide the selection of intervention strategies and will vary according to the needs of individual learners with ASD as well as the demands associated with particular activities (Kern & Clemens, 2007).

Common antecedent-based intervention strategies include:

  • arranging the environment;
  • changing the schedule/routine;
  • structuring time;
  • using highly preferred activities/items to increase interest level;
  • offering choices;
  • altering the manner in which instruction is provided;
  • enriching the environment so that learners with ASD have access to sensory stimuli that serve the same function as the interfering behavior (e.g., clay to play with during class, toys/objects that require motor manipulation); and
  • implementingpreactivity interventions (e.g., issuing a warning about the next activity, providing information about schedule changes).

Each of these strategies is discussed in further detail in the sections that follow.

Arranging the Environment

The physical arrangement of a classroom or setting provides many stimuli that may cause interfering behaviors from learners with ASD. The goal of this ABI strategy is to arrange the environment so that specific triggers are no longer present in that setting to prompt the learner to engage in the interfering behavior. For example, a learner may engage in a disruptive behavior when he receives instruction in close proximity to peers. The antecedent in this example is the learner sitting close to peers. To reduce the interfering behavior, the teacher would rearrange the environment during instruction so that the learner is no longer seated so closely to peers. By changing the conditions, the teacher removes the stimulus that was prompting the learner to engage in the interfering behavior.

Common preventive solutions that may be used to arrange the environment include:

  • making sure that all learners are easily observed from everyplace in the classroom;
  • arranging learning centers with clear boundaries (e.g., arranging furniture, using tape on the floor);
  • providing a variety of materials at each learning center that address differing ability levels and interests;
  • making changes and additions to learning centers on a regular basis to maintain engagement;
  • using pictures or labels that show where materials belong;
  • using picture posters and schedules to help learners know what to do within or across activities;
  • ensuring that learners have sufficient physical separation to minimize the occurrence of interfering behaviors;
  • marking out areas of the classroom in which different behaviors are expected (e.g., quiet voice during individual work time, talking with peers during small groups, sitting quietly in the book area, laughing and talking in the block area);
  • providing sufficient space to engage in the activity (e.g., sufficiently large carpet area during circle time);
  • arranging the setting where a specific activity occurs (e.g., kidney-shaped table during small-group math instruction, using carpet squares during circle time to mark individual spaces);
  • designing an attractive learning environment (e.g., board displays, plants, aquarium, learner project displays);
  • ensuring that the work environment is neat and orderly (e.g., teacher desk organized, materials stored in appropriate locations);
  • ensuring that needed materials are located near the learning activity or center; and
  • providing study carrels for learners who are easily distracted (Alberto & Troutman, 1999; Grisham-Brown, Hemmeter, & Pretti-Frontczak, 2005).

Courtesy of Kara Hume, Ph.D.

Examples

This example illustrates how learning environments can be arranged using clear visual boundaries. Photo 1 provides an example of how visual boundaries can be created using chairs, a book case and a board to show the area for "circle time". The colored chairs provide an additional visual cue for the students especially if each child has the same chair for each day. A consistent arrangement in a specific area of the room, provides additional order for individual students.

Courtesy of Kara Hume, Ph.D.

Photo 2 provides a work area created using bins, and a specific seating area. This is another example of how visual boundaries can be set up within the classroom. The child has a specific place to sit with the teacher also in a consistent place. The bins are a great environmental organizer and with the colors can be used for breaking up tasks into subcomponent parts for the student. Bins can easily be labeled with activity steps or choices using pictures or words, whichever is most appropriate for the student. Boundaries and labels provide consistency with a clear visual delineation of where the student needs to be in space. For more examples visit the AIM module on Visual Supports!

The arrangement of the classroom will depend upon a number of factors, including what instruction is being provided (e.g., small group, whole group, one-to-one), learner characteristics (e.g., likes/dislikes, specific stimuli that occasion the interfering behavior), and the constraints of the classroom/setting (Alberto & Troutman, 1999).

When the physical environment is arranged so that learners with ASD know exactly what kinds of behaviors are expected of them, interfering behaviors decrease and appropriate behaviors increase. However, it is important to remember that even subtle changes may cause anxiety in some learners with ASD. Therefore, teachers/practitioners should arrange the environment in a gradual fashion by focusing on the function of the interfering behavior and particular solutions (described above) that can be used to address specific stimuli in the environment that may be eliciting the interfering behavior.

Changing the Schedule/Routine

Many learners with ASD engage in interfering behaviors during transitions from one activity to the next because they do not know what is expected of them. The antecedent stimulus that causes the interfering behavior often is the transition itself. For example, a learner might begin engaging in an interfering behavior as soon as the transition begins. The goal is to change the transitions themselves so that they no longer prompt learners to engage in interfering behaviors.

One way to prevent or reduce interfering behaviors during transitions is to design predictable schedules that offer a balance of teacher-directed and learner-initiated activities. Unpredictable or inconsistent schedules often causes interfering behaviors because learners cannot anticipate what will happen next. Therefore, when teachers/practitioners change the schedule so that learners understand what comes next, they remove the factors in the environment that were maintaining the interfering behaviors. A predictable schedule is one of the most effective ways to prevent interfering behaviors from occurring in the first place (Grisham-Brown et al., 2005). Furthermore, the use of a predictable routine often helps learners with ASD transition more independently from one activity to another (Wolery, 1994).

Courtesy of Division TEACCH

Although a predictable schedule/routine is highly effective, many learners with ASD need additional supports to help them transition from one activity to the next. For example, visual schedules and objects often are used to help learners with ASD move across the school day. Please refer to the AIM module on visual supports for more information about this practice.

These types of supports provide learners with ASD with the visual or written information they need to understand what is expected of them and where they need to go next. The combination of a predictable schedule and the use of visual supports changes the conditions within in the environment so that specific factors (e.g., too much verbal interaction, unpredictable schedule) no longer prompt learners to engage in interfering behaviors.

The example to the right illustrates how objects and visual schedules may be used to transition learners across the day.

In addition to the use of visual supports, teachers/practitioners may also structure the daily schedule/routine to prevent or reduce interfering behaviors by:

  • balancing activities across the day, activity, or class (e.g., quiet/noisy, active/passive, large group/small group, adult-directed/learner-directed);
  • minimizing the number of transitions, particularly those that require all learners to make transitions at the same time;
  • implementing the schedule consistently;
  • teaching learners the schedule and expectations related to it;
  • alerting learners about upcoming transitions;
  • telling learners when there will be changes in the schedule;
  • using individually designed schedules.;and
  • structuring transitions so that learners do not spend a significant amount of time waiting with nothing to do (Grisham-Brown et al., 2005).

Often, classroom staff can be assigned to particular areas and activities (called zones) throughout the day to assist learners in making transitions as well as to help them get and stay engaged in the next activity. This is particularly useful in early-childhood and elementary settings where learners with ASD stay mostly in one classroom across the day. Zone assignment drastically reduces wait time, which decreases the likelihood that learners with ASD will engage in interfering behaviors (Noonan & McCormick, 2006). One way to accomplish this is to create a "zone chart" that displays the daily schedule and identifies each staff member's responsibilities across the day. The picture to the right provides an example of a zone chart or schedule. In addition, the Zone Chart in the module documents, illustrates an example "zone chart" for early childhood.

This video illustrates how a zone schedule can be implemented to increase engagement and prevent interfering behaviors from occurring during routines and activities across the day. In this example, classroom staff are assigned different roles during this circle time activity. You will notice that one staff member is preparing lunch while the teacher and another staff member are facilitating a circle time activity. Also, another staff member is cleaning up the previous activity. When a zone schedule is used in this way, children are more engaged in the activity and less likely to use interfering behaviors. They also receive the support needed to participate in the activity.

Additionally, teachers/practitioners can prevent or reduce interfering behaviors in particular routines or activities by changing what learners do in them (Wolery, 1994). For example, a learner with ASD may scream during circle time because he lacks the skills needed to participate in the activities. Teachers/practitioners can adjust routines so that learners with ASD are taught the skills they need to take part in the activity/routine. For example, if a young child engages in hand flapping during circle time, the teacher/practitioner might focus on teaching him how to imitate the motions in the song, "The Wheels on the Bus" rather than removing him from the activity. With adequate support, the learner with ASD may learn these types of skills so that he can participate in circle time more fully without engaging in interfering behaviors.

Structuring Time

As previously mentioned, implementing a predictable schedule is a highly effective strategy that organizes learners' routines so that they can anticipate what activity is next and what behaviors they can expect when they enter that environment. Within these environments and activities, it often is necessary to further organize learners' schedules by structuring their time when engaging in particular activities. Learners with ASD often engage in interfering behaviors during activities because they do not know what is expected of them. This, in turn, can produce anxiety for some learners because they are uncertain when the activity is going to end and what is going to happen next.

Structuring the time within specific activities helps learners understand what is expected of them as well as which activity they will engage in next. By structuring the time within learning activities, teachers/practitioners change the factors in those contexts that have cause interfering behaviors in the past. For example, a kitchen timer is particularly helpful because it helps learners keep track of how long they have to complete a particular activity. The timer also may be used to define activity times during the day or during a certain class. The ticking of the kitchen timer may help keep learners on task, while the beeping alarm signals to them that the activity is complete.