Play versus alone conditions as controls during functional analyses of self-injurious escape behavior.

We compared the effects of continuous reinforcement (play) and alone conditions as controls during functional analyses for 66 individuals whose self-injurious behavior (SIB) was maintained by escape. In every case, SIB was lower during both control conditions than it was during the test (demand) condition. However, SIB was lowest during the alone condition more often than it was during the play condition. Circumstances under which the alone condition might serve as an alternative or more suitable control for escape-maintained problem behaviors are discussed.