Reduction of feces smearing in a profoundly retarded resident through contingent behavior-specific restraint and reduced attention
✍ Scribed by William I. Pappadake; Franklin Kirby
- Book ID
- 101712165
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1987
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 481 KB
- Volume
- 2
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1072-0847
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
A 20-year-old profoundly retarded male resident of a state institution with a 12-year history of feces smearing (FS) was treated using an A-B design employing response contingent elbow restraint and reduced attention. The rate of FS dropped sharply after the first week of treatment and then declined steadily until stabilizing at a relatively low rate. Incidental behaviors indicated that aversive effects of the treatment procedure were both mild and behavior specific. Procedures and results are compared with other behavioral approaches to treatment of self-injurious behavior.
Institutions with a large number of severely and profoundly retarded residents are likely to have some cases involving feces smearing (FS). Although infrequently encountered, FS is one of the most repulsive and socially isolating forms of maladaptive behavior. Direct overt physical injury may not always result from smearing, but it does seem justified to classify smearing as selfinjurious behavior (SIB). The injuries created by FS are not as readily observable as those resulting from SIBS such as head banging or face scratching, but include rectal distention, bleeding, tissue damage and infection while secondary effects include disease and infection to both the smearer and those coming in con-*The authors express appreciation to the entire staff of Building 10, Unit 111, for their diligent, round-the-clock efforts in carrying out treatment and recording procedures. Reprints may be obtained from William I. Pappadake, Psy.