Comparison of response interruption and redirection, variable ratio RIRD, and signaled RIRD for stereotypy in children diagnosed with ASD

Stereotypy has been defined as repetitive vocal or motor behaviors that occur throughout the day with no apparent function to the related activity (Martinez, Betz, Liddon, & Werle, 2016). It has been identified as one of two major destructive behaviors, second to self-injurious behavior, due to its impact across areas of functioning, such as education and social (National Institute of Health, 1989). Research has suggested that response interruption and redirection (RIRD) is an effective intervention to decrease stereotypy in children diagnosed with ASD. Although the basic RIRD arrangement has been demonstrated to be effective in numerous studies, the results of some previous studies have suggested that the intervention may be effective with adaptions that might ultimately increase the generality of the intervention (e.g., signaled RIRD; intermittent application of RIRD). Thus, the purpose of the current study is to evaluate the relative effects of the standard RIRD procedure, RIRD implemented on a variable ratio schedule, and signaled RIRD (i.e., discrimination training with RIRD) on stereotypy exhibited by children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder who engage in automatically maintained stereotypy.