REDUCTION OF SEVERE PROBLEM BEHAVIOR IN COMMUNITY EMPLOYMENT USING ANHYPOTHESIS-DRIVEN MULTICOMPONENT INTERVENTION APPROACH

Individuals with severe problem behavior typically are excluded from i ntegration efforts involving community employment. This study examined one strategy for reducing severe problem behavior in an employment si tuation. The strategy involved three factors: (a) interventions were c hosen based on hypotheses about the maintaining variables for the prob lem behavior (hypothesis-driven model); (b) a multicomponent intervent ion package was used that included some combination of functional comm unication training, building rapport, making choices, embedding demand s, and building tolerance for delay of reinforcement; and (c) measures of latency to problem behavior and percentage of work steps completed were used instead of the more traditional measure of frequency. The r esults demonstrated both an increase in the time spent in the employme nt situation without problem behavior and increases in completion of w ork steps to maximum. Social validation of these results was provided by employment sire management. The value of this strategy for addressi ng the obstacles to assessment, measurement, and intervention for seve re problem behavior in community employment situations was discussed.