Stop a high-probability request sequence when the person withdraws, distress or safety concerns appear, the goal is complete, benefit is weak, requests lose their high probability, burden grows, implementation remains unreliable, or another support fits better. Address immediate safety first. Record the trigger, final date, client and family feedback, access conditions, unresolved health or clinical questions, transition, and whether any follow-up measurement is useful.
Know when to stop high-probability request sequence use
Predeclare immediate stop triggers and review triggers. Immediate triggers can include medical concern, serious distress, loss of communication access, unsafe partner behavior, or clear withdrawal. Review triggers can include declining request probability, low integrity, weak target change, excessive time, or a finished goal.
Respond to withdrawal
Pause the sequence and use the person's accessible communication route. Confirm what they want next, follow governing consent and assent processes, and protect unrelated services and ordinary access. A stop message is outcome evidence, not a request to overcome.
Use sources within scope
The Ethics Code addresses assent when applicable, medical needs, risk, evaluation, discontinuation, and transition. ASHA supports continued AAC access. The BACB outline supplies examination content for data-based decisions and unwanted effects.
Close the evidence cleanly
Applied findings from the medical study and variant-sequence study came from small, defined samples and procedures. They do not require continued use after a poor individual fit. Summarize exposures, implementation, later-request results, client reports, withdrawals, and side effects.
A practical example
Leena's sequence is delivered in 9/10 planned trials, but the later response stays at 2/9 and Leena selects stop in three trials. The predeclared review rule activates. The team ends the sequence, keeps the communication supports, and tests a redesigned task with Leena's input.
Questions families can use
Which trigger occurred? Who can stop immediately? Does withdrawal change the plan? Are ordinary supports preserved? Which data close the episode? Is follow-up needed for health, access, or another goal?
Sources
- Behavior Analyst Certification Board, BCBA Test Content Outline, 6th edition
- Shillingsburg and colleagues, Increasing Compliance With Medical Examination Requests Directed to Children With Autism
- Davis and Reichle, Variant and Invariant High-Probability Requests
- Mace and colleagues, Effects of Reinforcer Quality on Behavioral Momentum
- Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Augmentative and Alternative Communication
Finni resources
