What is an example of redirection in ABA?

Redirection is a common strategy used by parents. Generally, you’ll distract your child with something safe and appropriate in order to redirect them away from something inappropriate. The Basic Redirect is a common strategy used in ABA therapy that involves taking a child from a problem behavior and then engaging them in a more appropriate behavior than what they were doing but it is still similar. When you see your child about to engage in inappropriate behavior you need to intervene in a positive way. Redirect to something similar, but more appropriate. So when my children are starting to rock around on the couch I’ll say “let’s go jump on the trampoline!” not “let’s go play with blocks” – their behavior tells me they need to get moving right now, not sit quietly with blocks. You will distract your child from the behavior they’re about to engage in, and direct them to a more appropriate behavior that serves the same function. For example, take something to them, or lead them to something else while using positive language, ie say “walking feet please” instead of “don’t run!”

Response Interruption and Redirection (RIRD): Is a Positive Punishment procedure that is a variation of response blocking in that high probability tasks are presented to interrupt stereotypic behavior. Real World Example: Your bestie calls and says she wants to take a ride! When she picks you up you remember that her and her boyfriend were having a hard time, you ask “what’s up with that?”. Your friend immediately changes the subject and asks you about all of your favorite things, the Stranger Things episode, Married at First Sight, going to a friend’s party and how the weather is perfect for a beach day. Clinical Example: Mary has a client that engages in high frequencies of vocal and motor stereotypy. She notices that it is multiply maintained so she hits her books to create an RIRD program for the client. Not only will the intervention interrupt the stereotypy but she hopes that it will regain the client’s focus to the given task at hand. She advises the client’s RBT to present basic mastered tasks when the client engages in stereotypy, such as placing pom poms in a container, taking off velcro popsicle sticks and arranging them on a velcro page, putting coins into a pig and completing 4-6 piece puzzles.