🧸 Tangible Extinction

🔍 What It Is

Tangible extinction is a behavioral intervention where a person no longer receives access to a desired item or activity following a behavior that previously earned it. It’s used to reduce “tangible-maintained behaviors” by making sure the behavior no longer results in getting something.

It’s often used when someone screams, hits, cries, or begs to get snacks, toys, electronics, or activities—and those things are then intentionally withheld.

📹 “What Happens When You Take the Reward Away?” – Extinction in Real Life (YouTube)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH4pUG5YAYw

🎯 Intended Use

Used for:

  • Demanding or grabbing toys/snacks/screens

  • Tantrums when told “no”

  • Aggression or self-injury when denied preferred items

  • “Meltdowns” when a transition means losing access to something

📄 Behavior Babe – “Extinction: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly”
https://www.behaviorbabe.com/extinction

📄 Autistic Self Advocacy Network – “Real Support vs. Forced Compliance”
https://autisticadvocacy.org/2021/09/real-support/

⚙️ How It’s Implemented

  • Caregivers or staff withhold the desired item when the problem behavior occurs

  • The person is ignored or blocked from accessing the item

  • The item is only delivered after “appropriate behavior” or not at all

  • Sometimes paired with other extinction methods (e.g., attention or escape extinction)

📄 Practical Functional Assessment – Hanley et al.
https://practicalfunctionalassessment.com/

📄 Lerman & Iwata (1995) – “Side Effects of Extinction”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7707837/

🧪 Evidence Base

  • Pros: Can reduce problem behavior tied to item demands

  • Cons: High rates of emotional escalation and “extinction bursts”

  • Often combined with other extinction types, which increases trauma risk

  • Studies rarely include self-reports or trauma measures

📄 Iwata et al., 1990 – Extinction Effects in Applied Settings
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ415674

📄 Kupferstein, 2018 – ABA & PTSD Symptoms
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-018-3521-2

✅ Reported Benefits

  • Suppression of specific behaviors (e.g., grabbing or screaming for an item)

  • Can increase tolerance for delays or denied access if paired with strong communication supports

📄 Tiger et al., 2008 – Preference Assessments and Tangible Reinforcement
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18468293/

📹 “Why Reinforcement Without Extinction Matters” (PFA Model)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpwJB1iBS2I

⚠️ Potential Side Effects / Harms

  • Escalation into meltdowns, aggression, or self-injury

  • Distrust of caregivers who appear to "bait and switch"

  • Teaching that emotional expression leads to rejection or loss

  • Increased masking, learned helplessness

  • Triggering past trauma tied to deprivation or neglect

📄 Neurodivergent Rebel – “The Problem with Withholding”
https://neurodivergentrebel.com/2022/06/13/the-problem-with-withholding/

📹 “ABA & PTSD – What the Research Shows”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOeXMy6AYhY

📄 Ditch The ABA – Lived Experience and Harm from Tangible Denials
https://www.ditchtheaba.com/lived-experience

🧠 Ethical Considerations

  • Often lacks consent, especially when the item is therapeutic or regulating

  • Can be traumatic when used with food, sensory tools, or special interests

  • May teach that desires and needs must be hidden

  • Over-relies on adult control instead of co-regulation

📄 Devon Price – “Withholding Belongings as Control”
https://devonprice.medium.com/withholding-as-a-form-of-behavior-control-dbb38e0ad85b

📄 PDA Society – “Understanding Demand Avoidance”
https://www.pdasociety.org.uk/what-is-pda/strategies/

📄 ASAN – “Informed Consent in Behavioral Interventions”
https://autisticadvocacy.org/2020/11/informed-consent/

🤝 Informed Consent Questions to Ask

  • Is the item being withheld a basic need or sensory regulation tool?

  • How is the person supported emotionally when access is denied?

  • Has the person agreed to this plan?

  • What supports are in place to teach communication and reduce distress?

  • How do you know it’s not retraumatizing?

📄 Assent-Based Consent Checklist
https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/SDT/documents/2020_RethinkABA.pdf

📄 Trauma-Informed Alternatives – Ditch the ABA
https://www.ditchtheaba.com/trauma-informed-practices

🔄 Alternatives to Tangible Extinction

  • Offer predictable access through schedules or token boards

  • Use first-then visuals to prepare for loss of access

  • Allow access in safe ways (e.g., partial, preview, or shared access)

  • Teach self-advocacy scripts (e.g., “Can I have that in 5 minutes?”)

  • Increase trust by honoring “no” and validating wants

📄 Practical Functional Assessment site
https://practicalfunctionalassessment.com/

📄 Lives in the Balance – Collaborative & Proactive Solutions
https://www.livesinthebalance.org/

📄 PDA Society – Low Demand, Proactive Support Strategies
https://www.pdasociety.org.uk/what-is-pda/strategies/

📚 Resource List