Functional Analysis of Contextually Inappropriate Social Behavior in Children With Down Syndrome

Background: Children with Down syndrome often engage in contextually inappropriate social behavior, which researchers suggest may function to escape from difficult activities to preferred social interactions. Caregivers may reinforce the behavior, perceiving it only as evidence of the child's social strength, when, in fact, the pattern may also prevent or slow the development of critical skills. Unlike overt forms of challenging behavior, contextually inappropriate social behavior had never been subjected to experimental analysis. Aims: The purpose of the current study was to identify and demonstrate functional control of contextually inappropriate social behavior to caregiver-informed contingencies. Method and Procedures: We interviewed caregivers and subjected contextually inappropriate social behavior to functional analyses for nine young children with Down syndrome. Outcomes and Results: We found sensitivity to the caregiver-informed contingencies for all nine participants with strong functional control and large effect sizes for most. Conclusions and Implications: Caregivers may not perceive contextually inappropriate social behavior as problematic, yet patterns of contextually inappropriate and other problem behaviors suggest decreased engagement and poor task persistence. Assessments that lead to intervention decisions may be more informative when they include questions about social topographies of behavior not typically considered as problematic. Once caregivers are aware of the pattern, they may be better prepared to intervene.