In the kindergarten classroom during center time, Ms. Kang ran over to the train set to stop Alex from bothering a classmate again. After being put in time out, Alex returned to the train center and initiated play by shoving a train track into the classmate’s hand. Then he grabbed a train from another peer. Alex was a bright student, verbal and compliant to teacher requests; however, his behaviors during peer play restricted interactions. Ms. Kang and Alex’s mother agreed that teaching Alex to play would help reduce aggressive behaviors and facilitate social interactions with others. For step 1, select a socially relevant behavior, aggression was operationalized as unsolicited physical contact with peers (i.e., pushing, pulling, and/or forceful grabbing, excluding tripping or falling onto peers). The long-term desired behavior was to ask, wait, and accept the answer “no”; however, the short-term behavior included appropriate peer social interactions using skills such as getting a peer’s attention, asking peers to play, and sharing objects for one minute.
For step 2, measure the behavior, an event-recording data sheet was used during the most problematic routine, center time. Appropriate peer interactions were task analyzed into teachable steps and measured as the number of correct steps completed (see Appendix). Ms. Kang and the instructional assistant, Ms. Sanchez, used the operational definition and data-collection sheet to observe so that they both agreed that the behavior was measured accurately. Next, both observed the social interactions of four boys during the train center time using an antecedent-behavior-consequence data sheet to identify predictable hypotheses such as, when the train track is started by others, Alex will engage in aggression to obtain items (i.e., remove the tracks), to start another track he designed. A reinforcer assessment indicated trains as the highest reinforcer and the absence of a train track at home strengthened the value of this reinforcer.
The next step was to select an evidence-based treatment. A differential reinforcement of alternative (DRA) procedure was used to decrease aggressive behaviors through extinction (i.e., aggressive behavior no longer resulted in access to item) and appropriate social interactions was reinforced with access to trains. The task analysis of peer play with trains was directly taught. The ten steps were printed and cut out so that Alex could sequence the steps. He then watched a teacher and then peer model each step. A backward chaining instructional model was used so that the teacher prompted the first nine steps and Alex completed the last step independently. This continued until he mastered all ten steps.
In addition, the entire class was taught what respecting property and others looked like during center time and the rules were reviewed before center times. To neutralize the antecedent, each center activity was postponed until all peers were in the group. The absence of aggressive behaviors (i.e., one-minute intervals) resulted in a train sticker and the accumulation of train stickers allowed additional time in the train centers.
To measure implementation with fidelity, Ms. Kang and Ms. Sanchez agreed to both take data for one session during five sessions available using the data sheets located in the same secured location. The staff teaching steps were laminated and both teachers reviewed the steps and the data during Thursday morning planning times. Prior to baseline, the average number of aggressive occurrences was seven, and afterward, when peer skills were directly taught through a DRA procedure, the number of aggressive occurrences was zero. During baseline, the correct number of steps completed was 10%, and after instruction, Alex maintained 80% or higher for five consecutive days.
Last, the ABA program was evaluated for effectiveness and generalization. Based on the data, Ms. Kang continued with the DRA intervention and focused on generalization of peer skills to other center areas. A checklist of the peer-interactions task analysis was sent as homework for Alex’s mother to work on with Alex and his other peers.
