A comparison of NCR and DRA with students with severe disabilities in inclusive school settings

Decades of research have highlighted the benefits of inclusive education to students with disabilities. Per special education law, students with disabilities have the right to be educated with their peers without disabilities. However, there are multiple barriers to creating successful inclusive experiences for all students. Specifically, teachers have noted problem behavior as a key reason for segregating students into more restrictive environments. Training teachers and school personnel to implement function-based interventions (FBI) for students with disabilities can help overcome this barrier to inclusion. Previous research has compared specific FBI, such as, noncontingent reinforcement (NCR), and differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA). However, there have been no previous studies comparing NCR and DRA in an inclusive school setting with students with severe disabilities. The purpose of the current study was to compare the effects of NCR and DRA in inclusive school settings with students with severe disabilities using an alternating treatments design. NCR and DRA were effective at reducing problem behavior from initial baseline levels for all three participants. DRA was slightly more effective for two of the three participants. Further, NCR and DRA were effective at increasing on-task behavior from initial baseline levels for all three participants although DRA was slightly more effective for two of the three participants. All four participating paraprofessionals preferred DRA over NCR according to a social validity questionnaire. The results of the study provide implications for practitioners and direction for future research.Special Educatio