Function-Based Treatments for Severe Problem Behavior

Many individuals, especially those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, display problem behavior in the form of aggression, self-injurious behavior, and disruption, among others. Treatments based on the function or reason the problem behavior occurs produce better outcomes than those selected arbitrarily. The current chapter presents seminal and current literature on common function-based treatments for problem behavior, including but not limited to extinction, differential reinforcement, and antecedent interventions. This chapter also includes research and recommendations for approaches to make function-based treatments more feasible for interventionists in the long term. Finally, future research directions in the area of function-based treatments are presented.