DECREASING ATTENTION-DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER SYMPTOMS UTILIZING AN AUTOMATED CLASSROOM REINFORCEMENT DEVICE

Psychologists and physicians are frequently approached by parents and, indirectly, by classroom teachers to diagnose and treat Attention Def icit Hyperactivity Disorder. Requests are also frequently made for psy chostimulant medication to control ADHD behavioral symptoms. One reaso n for such requests is that alternative classroom approaches to treati ng ADHD have focused on positive reinforcement, response cost, and tok en reinforcement programs, all of which can require extensive teacher involvement. One of the major problems with such behavioral approaches is the fact that teachers have limited time to reinforce positive, at tentive behaviors, and/or alternative behaviors to ADHD symptoms. This study examined the efficacy of an automated reinforcement device, the Attention Training System (ATS), in decreasing off-task behavior in a n 11-year-old, fifth-grade student who had been diagnosed as being aff ected with ADHD and had been placed in Special Education Resource Room programming. The Attention Training System provides automated token r einforcement in the form of points on a fixed interval schedule when t he youngster is on-task. When distractible, impulsive, or hyperactive behavior occurs, the Attention Training device can be activated by a t eacher to provide a response-cost consequence of loss of points. The d evice in this study was coupled with a token reinforcement program whe reby points could be exchanged for selected reinforcers at the end of each day. Results indicated that the ATS plus token reinforcement was successful in reducing off-task behavior across classes of three subje ct areas: Science, Reading, and Social Studies. Results have implicati ons for psychologists and physicians in their attempts to assist famil ies and schools in their management of youngsters with ADHD.