Why reinforcement plans fail outside the clinic

The most common report from families is that the plan "stopped working". Almost always, it never started. Reinforcement depends on three things holding at the moment of delivery: immediacy, consistency, and that the reinforcer is genuinely reinforcing right now. A clinic controls all three. A kitchen at 6pm controls none of them. This is why parent coaching is not an optional add-on to a behaviour plan — it is the plan. A technically excellent schedule delivered inconsistently produces intermittent reinforcement, which is precisely the schedule that makes behaviour most resistant to change. When you review a plan that has stopped working, start with delivery data before touching the design.