Non-Contingent Access

Tangible
Providing access to preferred items or activities on a time-based schedule, regardless of behaviour.

Non-contingent access is the tangible equivalent of non-contingent reinforcement for attention. You provide the learner with the items they want on a set schedule, regardless of what they are doing.

You use this when a learner frequently acts out to get a specific toy, food, or activity. By freely giving them access to the item every few minutes, you remove the motivation to grab, hit, or cry for it. If they know the iPad is given to them every ten minutes no matter what, they don't need to engage in problem behaviour to secure it.

Practitioners often make the mistake of using this strategy with items that cannot be easily retrieved once given. If the item is a massive bag of chips, providing non-contingent access will ruin their appetite and the item's value as a reinforcer. You must use small portions or brief durations of access. Another critical challenge is delivering the item when challenging behaviour is actively occurring. To avoid adventitious (accidental) reinforcement, practitioners should briefly delay the delivery by 5 to 10 seconds of calm, appropriate behaviour.

Implementation

  1. Determine the baseline rate of the behaviour maintained by tangible access.
  2. Set a timer for an interval shorter than the baseline rate.
  3. When the timer goes off, provide brief access to the preferred item or a small piece of the preferred edible.
  4. If challenging behaviour is actively occurring when the timer rings, briefly delay delivery (e.g., wait for 5-10 seconds of calm behaviour) to avoid accidentally reinforcing the problem behaviour.
  5. Gradually increase the time interval between access periods.

Common Mistakes

  • Providing too much of the item, leading to satiation.
  • Delivering the preferred item immediately while challenging behaviour is actively occurring, which accidentally reinforces it, instead of applying a brief delay.
  • Using items that cause severe problem behaviour when it is time to remove them.