Pica involves the persistent ingestion of nonfood and nonnutritive substances and may result in harmful consequences such as choking, poisoning, and even death. Most commonly, pica is observed in individuals diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) where the cause is oftentimes reported as related to automatic reinforcement or the sensory consequences of ingesting substances.
Objectives:
In the IDD population, several well-established behavioral treatments are available for pica. Less often reported in the literature are cases of pica in typically developing individuals, in which case, medical interventions are more prevalent despite mixed reports of their success. The current study describes the behavioral treatment of pica for a typically developing 3-year-old female.
Method:
After a pretreatment functional assessment indicated that pica was maintained by attention from caregivers, a multiple baseline across settings single-case experimental design was used to demonstrate the effects of differential reinforcement, extinction, and a token economy treatment package to decrease rates of pica.
Results:
Reductions in pica were observed across all settings. Caregivers implemented the final treatment package, with high integrity, which continued to produce low rates of pica.
Conclusions:
This case report demonstrated that behavioral treatments may lead to reductions in pica in typically developing children when medical interventions are not effective.
Implications for Impact Statement
Treatments for pica in typically developing children usually involve medical interventions to address nutritional deficiencies (e.g., iron) that may be the cause of pica. This case report describes the successful use of behavioral assessment and treatment technology, commonly used for children with development disabilities, for a typically developing child when a medical intervention failed to resolve pica.
