Background. This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the shaping and differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) method to eliminate hitting-chest behavior when feeling upset and form stroking-chest behavior as an alternative behavior in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The hitting-chest behavior that participant displayed has become part of the self-injury behavior. Self-injury behavior defined as an action that causes or potentially cause redness, bruising, or other injuries to the body. Children with ASD perform self-injury behavior to seek attention, escape or avoid something they do not like, get what they want, and for self-stimulation. The participant of this study is a 10-year-old boy with ASD and below average intelligence. He performed self-injury, especially by hitting his chest. The hitting-chest behavior that he displayed made his chest was reddish. He also felt pain and blown.

Methods. This research used single case subject A-B design. In the implementation, the shaping and DRA methods were divided into 9 sessions (2 shaping sessions and 7 DRA sessions). One session lasted for 90 minutes. The shaping method is given at the beginning of the intervention to elicit a stroking-chest behavior. Thereafter, the DRA method was given to change the hitting-chest behavior to be stroking-chest behavior. During the sessions, the mother's participant was involved to monitor and record the hitting-chest behavior and stroking-chest behavior on the task sheets. The measurement of behavior is conducted by observing and recording the behavior using the interval recording method (whole-interval time sampling). The presence of hitting-chest and stroking-chest behavior during each session was recorded. Afterward, the changing of participant’s behavior in hitting-chest and stroking-chest behavior throughout the sessions was compared using graphical form. The intervention will be effective if the percentage of hitting-chest and stroking-chest behavior reach 0% and 100% respectively.

Results. The shaping session for forming stroking-chest behavior lasted for two days. The physical and verbal prompt was applied to form this behavior. The DRA session takes 16 days until the participant did not show anymore the hitting-chest behavior (0%), and only performed the stroking-chest behavior (100%). There were repeated sessions because the percentage of the presence of target behavior in the session was not met, even though the percentage of hitting-chest behavior was still decreased and the percentage of stroking-chest behavior kept rising. In general, the percentage of hitting-chest behavior decreased by about 1-6%. On the contrary, the percentage of stroking-chest behavior increased in the same number.

Conclusions. The shaping and DRA methods were effective to eliminate the hitting-chest behavior and forming the stroking-chest behavior as an alternative behavior in a child with ASD and below average intelligence.

Added-Values. Using the shaping and DRA method in this study have changed child’s behavior to be more adaptive (from hitting- to stroking-chest behavior) without disregarding child’s need to conduct repetitive behavior (from repeated hitting to repeated stroking) and his preoccupation to the area of the body (chest).

Contribution to the society. The result of this study are expected to add the method can be used for modifying a behavior, especially hitting-chest behavior, in a child with ASD.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder; shaping; differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA); hitting-chest behavior; stroking-chest behavior