Behavioral treatment of incontinence in a profoundly neurologically impaired adult.
A 27-year-old woman was hospitalized with encephalitis, basal ganglia damage, and profound cognitive and motor involvement secondary to acute carbon monoxide poisoning sustained during a suicide attempt. She was treated with a comprehensive behavior modification program including in vivo exposure, contingent reinforcement and shaping, to reduce urinary and fecal incontinence, to increase toilet usage, and to decrease screaming and combative behavior when undressed and/or accompanied to the toilet. Results provide encouragement regarding the usefulness of behavioral interventions with severely neurologically impaired individuals.
D000328:Adult; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D002493:Central Nervous System Diseases / Q000150:complications; D004660:Encephalitis / Q000150:complications; D005242:Fecal Incontinence / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D014039:Toilet Training; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*