A case study of behavioral assessment and treatment of insect phobia.

We assessed the academic performance of a 14-year-old boy with insect phobia in the context of feared stimuli. The dependent measure was math calculation rate across three conditions that varied therapist statements about the presence of crickets and the actual presence of live crickets. Subsequent treatment consisted of graduated exposure and contingent rewards for math problem completion. Assessment results indicated that the boy's performance was consistently low in the presence of live crickets but not when he was spuriously informed that crickets were present (the primary referral concern). Treatment results indicated no effect from exposure alone and a dramatic effect when exposure was combined with contingent rewards

Apparent covariation between child habit disorders: effects of successful treatment for thumb sucking on untargeted chronic hair pulling.

We evaluated the effects of aversive taste treatment of thumb sucking on untreated trichotillomania (habitual hair pulling) in two children who chronically pulled their hair and sucked their thumbs. A combination of withdrawal and nonconcurrent multiple baseline designs showed that, concomitant with the successful treatment of thumb sucking, hair pulling was also eliminated. The results suggest an efficient method for changing behaviors that are difficult to treat directly

"Transitional objects" as establishing operations for thumb sucking: a case study.

This study examines the effects of a "transitional object" (surgical cloth) on the thumb sucking of a 3-year-old boy in two conditions: while sitting in the lap of his physical therapist and while alone in his crib. Sucking occurred when the cloth was present and did not occur when it was absent, regardless of condition. These results are discussed in terms of establishing operations, object attachment, and application

Extended diaper wearing: effects on continence in and out of the diaper.

Diaper use is widespread and possibly even increasing across diverse populations in the United States, ranging from infants to very old adults. We found no reports of an experimental analysis of the effect of wearing diapers on the frequency of urinary accidents and the attainment of continence skills (e.g., urinating in the toilet). In this study, we used a withdrawal design to evaluate the effect of wearing diapers on daily urinary accidents and successful voids for an adult who had been diagnosed with mental retardation. Results indicated that wearing diapers increased the rate of accidents and decreased the rate of successful voids. Clinical implications of these results are discussed