Elimination of habitual rumination through the strategies of food satiation and fading: A case study

✍ Scribed by Li-Zen Yang

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1988
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 592 KB
• Volume: 3
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1072-0847
• DOI: 10.1002/bin.2360030306

✦ Synopsis

Food satiation and fading were employed to eliminate habitual rumination of a 17.5-year-old spoon-feeding and profoundly retarded male who displayed rumination for several years. Two phases were implemented in the study: In Phase I, food satiation decreased rumination sharply and quickly, and in Phase 11, fading of additional food maintained the effect of prior treatment and eventually decreased rumination. At an 84-day (12 week) follow-up no rumination was observed. Weight was also closely monitored during the study and indicated an increase. The results are discussed with reference t o other studies of elimination of rumination. The advantages of food satiation over other techniques are also discussed.

Habitual rumination is defined in DSM-I11 (1 980) as a frequent behavior in which partially digested food is brought up into the mouth without nausea, retching, disgust, or associated gastrointestinal disorder, and then is either ejected from the mouth, or chewed and reswallowed.

Because there is no organic or neurological pathology, the origin of habitual rumination is still unknown (Lang & Malamed, *The author expresses sincere appreciation to the entire staff of Building 9 of Unit 111 and Food Services Department for their outstanding efforts in implementing the program, to Dr. John Bruner for his precious comments regarding this article, and to Agnes Yang for her patience and encouragement during the study. Reprints may be obtained from Li-Zen Yang, Psychologist,