1. Identifying the reinforcer for the problem behavior
-Reinforcing the absence of the problem behavior would not be effective if instances of the problem behavior continued to be reinforced. If it is not possible to use extinction for the problem behavior, it usually will not be possible to use DRO effectively. An exception would be teh case in which the reinforcer for the absence of the problem behavior is more powerful or potent than the
reinforcer for the problem behavior itself. Payoff for not engaging in problem behavior is bigger than pay-off for engaging in the problem behavior).
2. Identifying the reinforcer to use in the DRO procedure.
-One consequence that is certain to function as a reinforcer for the person is the reinforcer for the problem behavior identified in the functional assessment. If a reinforcing event is maintaing the problem behavior, this reinforcer should be effective in a DRO procedure when it is
made contingent on the absence of the problem behavior.
3. Choosing the initial DRO time interval. DRO involves delivering the reinforcer after an interval of time in which the problem behavior does not occur.
-The length of the interval for delivering the reinforcer should be tied to the baseline rate of the problem behavior: if the problem behavior occurs frequently, the DRO interval will be short; if the problem behavior occurs infrequently, the DRO interval will be longer. As the
frequency of the problem behavior decreases, the DRO intervals can be lengthened gradually.
4. Implementing DRO: elmininate the reinforcer for the problem behavior and deliver the reinforcer for the absence of the problem behavior. The change agent has a stopwatch to time the DRO interval. At the end of each interval, the change agent is cued by the stopwatch to deliver the reinforcer ONLY IF the problem behavior hasn't occurred. For instance, if the DRO interval is 10 minutes, any time the problem behavior occurs, 10 minutes is reset on the stopwatch again. However, if the problem behavior DOESN'T occur in the 10 minutes, the reinforcer is delivered.