Visual Blocking: Suppression of Excessive Verbalizations 1

Abstract

Visual blocking procedures, which involved briefly holding a paper screen several inches in front of a subject's face contingent upon the emission of an inappropriate target behavior, were effective in decelerating excessive and inappropriate verbalizations. These procedures were applied to a moderately retarded 32-year-old male within a multiple-probe variation of a multiple baseline design across several environmental conditions. Follow-up over four months demonstrated that suppression was maintained in treatment settings but failed to generalize to non-treatment conditions. The results suggested that visual blocking may be an effective treatment for suppression of excessive verbalizations in moderately retarded subjects under specific environmental conditions.