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Assessment and treatment of object mouthing in a public school classroom
Author(s) -
Mueller Michael M.,
Kafka Carissa
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
behavioral interventions
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.605
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1099-078X
pISSN - 1072-0847
DOI - 10.1002/bin.201
Subject(s) - psychology , object (grammar) , reinforcement , preference , developmental psychology , social psychology , economics , microeconomics , philosophy , linguistics
Little research has been conducted to evaluate the most effective treatments for object mouthing in school or classroom settings. The current case example illustrates the process for conducting a functional assessment and implementing treatment for object mouthing in a public school special education classroom. Teacher and parent interview, direct observations, and functional analysis were used to determine that the object mouthing of a 4‐year‐old girl with severe developmental disabilities was maintained by automatic reinforcement. Free operant preference assessments determined physical parameters of objects that were highly mouthed. Paired choice preference assessments determined which competing items to use in a treatment evaluation. Initial treatment consisted of fixed‐time delivery of a competing food item that reduced object mouthing to very low levels. To completely eliminate the mouthing, physical response blocking was added. Data are presented demonstrating the success of the treatment for up to 15 weeks of follow‐up after the initial treatment evaluation. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.