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“I just don't want to walk”— overcoming refusal to walk by means of reinforcement procedures
Author(s) -
Lalloway Eithne,
Walsh Peter G.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
journal of the british institute of mental handicap (apex)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.633
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1468-3156
pISSN - 0261-9997
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-3156.1990.tb00565.x
Subject(s) - psychology , walk in , plan (archaeology) , reinforcement , social psychology , medicine , alternative medicine , archaeology , pathology , history
Refusal to walk, whilst not a particularly frequent problem presented by people with mental handicaps, can when it occurs severely curtail the level of a person's interaction with the environment. The present study describes a behavioural reinforcement procedure that was used to overcome refusal to walk by a young woman with a severe mental handicap and a severe visual impairment. The procedure was effective in that she will now walk willingly in the company of staff. The study highlights the need, when introducing behavioural programmes, to plan for generalisation and long‐term maintenance of effects.