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, SIE was lower during both control conditions than it was during the test (demand) condition. However, SIE 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.