The use of 'Positive Greetings at the Door' to increase on-task behaviour in a vocational training centre

Background : Preliminary studies suggest ‘Positive Greetings at the Door’ is a simple, low cost, antecedent intervention, for promoting engagement and reducing the risk of disruptive behaviour at the beginning of lessons. Method and materials : Three single case ABAB reversal designs were used in a vocational training centre for adults with intellectual disabilities. Real time duration recording was used to measure on-task behaviour. Interval recording was used to investigate staff delivery of verbal attention. Functional assessments of off-task behaviour were completed. Results : Results revealed that staff greetings produced increases in on-task behaviour, during the first ten minutes, from a mean of 54% during baseline to a mean of 79% during intervention phases. Staff greetings appear to set the occasion for staff to interact more frequently with participants. Conclusions : ‘Positive Greetings at the Door’ may be an antecedent manipulation that is low cost, technically undemanding, function-independent and effective in improving on-task behaviour.