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A Functionally Based Approach to the Treatment of Self-Injurious Behavior

Jerry A. Rea

Nancy G. Schussler

Steven E. Larsen

Willard L. Johnson

University of Kansas, Bureau of Child Research

This study examined the efficacy of basing treatment interventions for self-injurious behavior on data gathered in functional assessment sessions designed to evaluate the environmental determinants that control the rate of responding. Two moderate and one severely retarded school-age children served as subjects in this study. Data from the assessments revealed that Subjects 1 and 2 emitted the highest rates of self-injury under positive reinforcement conditions, while Subject 3 exhibited higher rates during sensory-input alone conditions. Treatments, implemented by classroom teachers, consisted of differential reinforcement procedures that sought to replace the self-injury with functionally equivalent responses. Results of the interventions indicate that self-injury that is maintained by socially mediated reinforcers could be reduced through the training of alternative communicative responses. In addition, self-injury that functioned as sensory stimulation was reduced by the application of a mild restraint and differential reinforcement of incompatible response procedure. These results are discussed in relation to the identified motivational determinants of the responses and the limitations of such assessments.

Behavior Modification, Vol. 12, No. 4, 565-589 (1988)
DOI: 10.1177/01454455880124005


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