FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS AND TREATMENT OF ELOPEMENT

Elopement is a dangerous behavior because children who run away may encounter life‐threatening situations (e.g., traffic). We conducted functional analyses of the elopement of 3 children who had been diagnosed with developmental disabilities. The results identified a maintaining reinforcer for the e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied behavior analysis 1997, Vol.30 (4), p.653-672
Main Authors: Piazza, Cathleen C., Hanley, Gregory P., Bowman, Lynn G., Ruyter, John M., Lindauer, Steven E., Saiontz, Deborah M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior disorders
Behavior Modification
Behavior Problems
Behavior Therapy - methods
Behavior Therapy - standards
Child
Child, Institutionalized
Child, Preschool
Children & youth
concurrent operants
Developmental Disabilities
Developmental Disabilities - rehabilitation
Disability
Elementary Education
elopement
functional analysis
Functional Assessment
Humans
Intervention
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Reinforcement
Reinforcement (Psychology)
reinforcer assessments
Runaway Behavior
Runaways
Self-Injurious Behavior - therapy
Student Evaluation
Treatment Outcome
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Summary:Elopement is a dangerous behavior because children who run away may encounter life‐threatening situations (e.g., traffic). We conducted functional analyses of the elopement of 3 children who had been diagnosed with developmental disabilities. The results identified a maintaining reinforcer for the elopement of 1 child, but the data were difficult to interpret for 2 of the children. Subsequent reinforcer assessments were used to help to clarify the reinforcers for elopement for these 2 children. Results of the functional analyses and reinforcer assessments then were used to develop successful treatments to reduce elopement. The findings are discussed in terms of (a) the application of functional analysis methodology to elopement, (b) the use of reinforcer assessments to identify potential reinforcers when standard functional analyses are undifferentiated, and (c) the utility of assessment‐based treatments for elopement.
ISSN:0021-8855
1938-3703
DOI:10.1901/jaba.1997.30-653