Which behavioral procedure would be most effective to include in a behavioral support plan for a student like Desmond with escape and avoidance needs?

The most effective choice to include in a behavioral support plan for a student like Desmond, who exhibits escape and avoidance behaviors, is stimulus control. This procedure can help modify the environment to reduce the chances of triggering those escape and avoidance responses. By managing the environment and providing clear signals about expectations and reinforcers, educators can create a structured setting that encourages appropriate behaviors and minimizes the chances for the student to engage in escape or avoidance.

Stimulus control can implement consistent cues and reinforcement strategies that signal when it is expected to engage in particular behaviors. This consistency helps the student understand when the opportunities for escape are available and when they are expected to participate, which can reduce anxiety around the unpredictability and foster engagement.

Functional communication training, while helpful in teaching the student effective ways to communicate their needs, may not directly address the environmental triggers contributing to the escape and avoidance behaviors. Extinction involves removing reinforcement for maladaptive behaviors, which may not always be effective if the student is motivated to escape. Response interruption and redirection could be beneficial in some cases, but they do not provide the proactive framework that stimulus control offers to prevent the unwanted escape and avoidance behaviors from occurring in the first place.