Brief Component Analysis to Identify the Active Variable in the Maintenance of Tolerance for Delay of Reinforcement Intervention for an Adolescent with Autism

This study adopted a brief component analysis to examine the active variable in a tolerance for delay of reinforcement (TFD) intervention procedure to decrease tangible-maintained problem behavior for a male adolescent with autism. Antecedent-based functional analysis suggested that problem behavior occurred most when access to tangible items or activities was restricted. With the introduction of a TFD intervention procedure using a combination of a general delay cue and an explicit delay cue, the learner’s problem behavior decreased to a low level and he quickly learned to wait for access to preferred items for 10 min with no problem behavior. Two weeks after the learner met the mastery criterion, a component analysis was conducted through a brief ABA withdrawal design, to separate the relative contributions of the general delay cue and the explicit delay cue in the maintenance of the TFD intervention. The combination of general and explicit delay cues resulted in low levels of problem behavior and higher toleration of delays to reinforcement relative to the general delay cue alone. Implications and limitations are discussed.