Reducing Escape-Maintained Challenging Behavior in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder through Visual Activity Schedule and Instructional Choice

Children with autism tend to engage in challenging behavior more than other children, which impacts their ability to engage appropriately with instructional tasks. Existing literature has established that visual activity schedules are effective for maximizing on-task behaviors and reducing challenging behavior in individuals with autism. However, in some cases challenging behavior may not be effectively reduced, especially when the visual activity schedule includes a less preferred task. This study aimed to address this need by (a) examining the effects of a treatment package consisting of a visual activity schedule and instructional choice on escape-maintained challenging behavior of children with autism during less preferred tasks and (b) comparing the effects of the treatment package with a visual activity schedule only treatment. Results suggest the treatment package effectively reduced challenging behavior during less preferred tasks and had more consistent effects than the visual schedule only treatment on the reduction of challenging behavior.