Therapist- and self-monitored DRO contingencies as a treatment for the self-injurious skin picking of a young man with Asperger syndrome.

The use of differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) has decreased, at least partially due to the development of less effortful alternative behavioral interventions (e.g., noncontingent reinforcement; Vollmer, Iwata, Zarcone, Smith, & Mazaleski, 1993). The effort associated with DRO contingencies may be lessened by incorporating self-monitoring components in which clients are responsible for the delivery of reinforcers for their own behavior. The current study evaluates the effectiveness of DRO in the treatment of self-injury when implemented first by the therapist and subsequently by the client.