# Evaluation of Matched and Unmatched Stimuli on the Maintenance of Treatment Effects for Automatically Maintained Self-Injurious Behavior (AUTO)

> **NIH NIH R56** · UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA · 2023 · $496,013

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 Individuals with developmental disabilities, including intellectual disability (ID) and autism
spectrum disorder (ASD), commonly engage in repetitive challenging behavior such as self-injurious
behavior (SIB) that is maintained by automatic reinforcement (i.e., internal sources of
reinforcement). The behavioral intervention literature provides demonstrations of successful
approaches to the treatment of such behavior, including noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) and
differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO). However, these demonstrations are limited in
that they rarely, if ever, describe successful application of intervention strategies over protracted time
periods or the ability to successfully reduce (thin) the schedule of availability for competing sources of
stimulation (i.e., preferred items/activities) from continuously or nearly continuously available. As a
result, little is known about variables that might impact the success of long-term implementation of
NCR and DRO as treatments for automatically maintained SIB. Prior research on treatment of
automatically maintained SIB suggests that both stimuli matched to the putative sensory
consequences produced by automatically maintained SIB and stimuli unmatched to the putative
sensory consequences produced by automatically maintained SIB are effective for reducing SIB in the
context of NCR-based interventions. This finding provides an avenue for exploring variables related to
long-term intervention success, including successfully increasing treatment implementation
durations and thinning the schedule of reinforcement. Thus, the aims of this project are to evaluate
the impact of matched and unmatched stimuli in the context of NCR- and DRO-based intervention on
the ability to both increase intervention time (i.e., treatment longevity) and to reduce the amount of
time spent with the alternative stimuli (i.e., schedule thinning). These aims will be explored in the
context of single-subject research designs within which intervention approaches will be alternated
and compared. The findings have relevance for individuals with intellectual and developmental
disabilities such as ASD who exhibit challenging repetitive behavior such as SIB. Clinically,
understanding how treatment approaches impact intervention success over longer time periods and
improve practicality are important to individuals with ID and ASD. The proposed studies will provide
more information regarding how to construct NCR- and DR-based interventions such that those
treatments will result in increased improvements to long-term outcomes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10729880
- **Project number:** 1R56MH129489-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Joel Ringdahl
- **Activity code:** R56 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $496,013
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-03-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10729880

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10729880, Evaluation of Matched and Unmatched Stimuli on the Maintenance of Treatment Effects for Automatically Maintained Self-Injurious Behavior (AUTO) (1R56MH129489-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-12 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10729880. Licensed CC0.

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