Manual guidance used in a punishment procedure: the active ingredient in overcorrection.
Simple manual hand and arm guidance used in the context of a punishment paradigm can be effective in suppressing the frequency of self-injurious behaviour in severely retarded individuals. The procedure involves a socially more acceptable consequence for self-injurious behaviour than many other treatment approaches; it is quite economical and easy to administer; and, the procedure appears to produce fairly rapid suppression of response rates. Brief periods of manual guidance following self-injurious behaviour may indeed be the most efficacious intervention for use in on-going treatment programmes. Questions relating to the generalisation of effects and the effects of verbal prompts and other behavioural prompts remain for future research.
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000150:complications*; D011678:Punishment; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control*