Part III: Life hacks for the parent new to ABA therapy: Understanding extinction

Extinction is a procedure that takes place when reinforcement of a specific behavior is withheld so that behavior will decrease in the future. It’s important to understand what is reinforcing a behavior so we know what to withhold. No reinforcement equals a behavior decrease. Extinction is not a punishment procedure and is used when wanting to decrease inappropriate behaviors. The reinforcement must go extinct if we want the behavior to decrease. Extinction is not always appropriate to use especially when dealing with severe behaviors. The way extinction is implemented varies depending on how the behavior is reinforced. Behavior has three primary types of reinforcement: positive reinforcement, Negative Reinforcement, and Automatic Reinforcement.