Spitting is a socially and hygienically unappealing behavior displayed by some persons who have intellectual and developmental disabilities. In the present study, we conducted a test‐only functional analysis, intervention evaluation, and maintenance assessment with a 12‐year‐old child who had autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and displayed spitting among staff and peers in a special education classroom. Based on hypothesized automatic reinforcement of spitting, intervention combining differential reinforcement and nonexclusionary time‐out was evaluated in an A‐B‐A‐B reversal design. Intervention reduced and eliminated spitting with effects maintained several months after the study. Results support use of nonmatched (social) stimuli in treating automatically reinforced problem behavior and compared to previous research on spitting, the study featured intervention that was informed through functional analysis, implemented beyond brief simulated sessions, and associated with extended response maintenance.

中文翻译：

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自闭症谱系障碍儿童随地吐痰的行为治疗：功能分析，干预评估和维持评估

随地吐痰是一些有智力和发育障碍的人表现出的对社会和卫生没有吸引力的行为。在本研究中，我们对一名12岁患有自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）并在特殊教育教室中表现出同事间随地吐痰的孩子进行了仅测试的功能分析，干预评估和维持评估。基于假想的自动吐痰加固，在A‐B‐A‐B反转设计中评估了将差分加固和非排他性超时相结合的干预措施。干预减少并消除了随地吐痰，并在研究后数月保持了效果。结果支持使用不匹配的（社会）刺激来治疗自动强化的问题行为，并且与先前关于吐痰的研究相比，