A 4-year follow-up of treatment of self-injury.
Data on the long-term effectiveness of behavioral treatment for self-injurious behavior in individuals with mental retardation is rare. We present 4-year follow-up data on a 28-year-old man whose severe self-injurious behavior was treated with brief contingent electric stimulation via the Self-Injurious Behavior Inhibiting System (SIBIS). Event data collected throughout follow-up showed reductions in head-hitting and head-banging from over 2,600 responses per hour to approximately 1 response per hour during much of the first 31 months of treatment. However, the rate of head-banging began increasing thereafter, with the SIBIS losing its effectiveness to such an extent that it was no longer clinically useful.
Southwest Institute for Developmental Disabilities, Abilene, TX 79604.
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Ricketts
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Goza
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Matese
D000328:Adult; D001348:Aversive Therapy; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*