During DRA sessions, instruction was delivered in routine fashion. DRA sessions
included delivery of the functional reinforcer contingent upon the first occurrence of
an appropriate vocalization following a 30-s absence of any inappropriate
vocalization. Moreover, if an inappropriate vocalization occurred, the reinforcer
was withheld and the 30-s time interval was then reset. All children in this study
engaged in inappropriate vocalizations that were maintained by access to attention.
Therefore, DRA procedures included positive reinforcement presentation of
attention in the form of teacher delivered specific labeled praise and withholding
attention contingent on an inappropriate vocalization. The DRA format in this study
included a 30-s fixed interval (FI) schedule of reinforcement which may be leaner
than DRA schedules of reinforcement commonly reported in the literature.
However, it is important to note that the majority of DRA studies reported in the
literature have included individuals with developmental disabilities engaging in
self-injurious and aggressive responses that occur at higher rates than the relatively
common problem behaviors exhibited by children in this study (Petscher et al.
2009). Additionally, an FI 30-s schedule of reinforcement was considered
appropriate for the settings included in this study (i.e., regular Head Start and
kindergarten classrooms).