Function based interventions for heterolesive behaviors: a literature review

Abstract

ASD is a disorder whose dominant characteristics are deficits in social communica­tion and patterns of behavior and/or restricted interests. People with ASD can have behavior problems. The Applied Behavior Analysis proposes some interventions that aim to reduce these problems. Such interventions are performed after the identification of the problem behavior function, via functional analysis. The objective of this study was to review papers that presented intervention procedures based on applied behavior analysis used to reduce aggressive behavior in people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) between the period 2001 to 2021. Based on inclusion criteria, 20 articles were selected in total, all published in Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA). The topographies of aggressive behaviors that appeared most were hitting, kicking, pushing, and biting. The most frequent treatments were differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA), non-contingent reinforcement (NCR) e extinction.