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Refinements of Functional Communication Training
Stimulus Control Refinements of Functional Communication Training
Who can join
Ages 3 to 17 · All sexes
Full eligibility criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * Boys and girls from ages 3 to 17 * Destructive behavior that occurs at least 10 times a day despite previous treatment * Destructive behavior reinforced by social consequences like attention (FCT is not appropriate for automatically reinforced destructive behavior) * On a stable psychoactive drug regimen for at least 10 half-lives per drug or drug free * Stable educational plan and placement with no anticipated changes during the child's treatment Exclusion Criteria: * Patients who do not meet the inclusion criteria * Patients currently receiving 15 or more hours per week of treatment for their destructive behavior * DSM-5 diagnosis of Rett syndrome or other degenerative conditions (e.g., inborn error of metabolism) * A comorbid health condition or major mental disorder that would interfere with study participation * Occurrence of SIB during study assessments that presents a risk of serious or permanent harm (e.g., detached retinas) based on our routine clinical-risk assessment * Patients requiring drug-treatment changes, but the experimenters will invite these patients to participate if they meet inclusion criteria after drug regimen is stable.
About the study
Although treatments for problem behavior, like functional communication training (FCT), can be highly effective in the clinic, changes in the way the FCT is implemented (e.g., when transferring treatment to the home, when teachers implement treatment with poor fidelity) can result in treatment relapse. The goal of this study is to evaluate whether using treatment signals and gradually introducing materials from natural contexts can help mitigate treatment relapse during context changes and poor treatment-integrity scenarios.
What is being tested
- Trad FCT (behavioral)
- Mult FCT (behavioral)
- Mult FCT + Stimulus Fading (behavioral)
Sponsor: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey · Participants: 24 · Started: May 3, 2021
Contact the study team
- Wayne W Fisher, PhD · Phone: 8488008503
- Serena Claiborne · Phone: 8488008504
Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT04045600
Locations in the U.S.
| New Jersey | Children's Specialized Hospital - Rutgers University Center for Autism Research, Education, and Services, Somerset |
Conditions
From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Sep 30, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.