Advance notice, a warning of an upcoming demand or transition, is a common antecedent intervention used to reduce problem behavior and to increase compliance in educational settings. However, research conducted in the past decade has failed to uphold the efficacy of advance notice with either typically developing or developmentally disabled children. This study analyzed the frequency of noncompliance and problem behavior associated with transitions in two preschool children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder by applying advance notice, guided compliance and social praise, and advance notice combined with guided compliance and social praise during consecutive treatment phases. Compliance increased for all participants during phases including an advance notice component; however, problem behaviors increased as well, suggesting that while advance notice may increase compliance for some learners, it may also occasion problem behaviors. / Applied Behavioral Analysis

Tolerating transitions between activities and locations is an essential daily-living skill, as transitions are inevitable in most typical settings. However, for some individuals, requests to transition may occasion problem behavior which can interfere with daily routines and result in a more restrictive lifestyle. The unpredictability of transitions is often assumed to be aversive and functionally related to transition-related problem behavior. As a result, advance notice procedures are often recommended to reduce problem behavior during transitions. However, Brewer et al. (2014) found mixed results for the use of advance notice highlighting some studies where advance notice procedures reduced problem behavior and others where the procedures were inefficacious. In this study, we reviewed the relevant literature between 1994 and 2020, including studies reviewed by Brewer et al. (2014) and extended Brewer et al.’s (2014) review in a number of ways. We first summarized the current literature, including new studies published since Brewer et al.’s (2014) review, which included a total of 28 applications of advance notice published in 14 papers. Next, we identified key features of each study, including the presence or absence of demonstrated functional relations, inclusion of additional antecedent or consequent interventions, and evaluation and control of the effects of pre- and post-transition reinforcers on responding. Then we identified gaps in current knowledge regarding predictability and made research recommendations for addressing these gaps. Finally, we discuss practice recommendations for transition-related problem behavior based on current research.