Sensory Treatment for the Reduction of Stereotypic Behaviors in Persons with Severe Multiple Disabilities

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of excitatory and inhibitory multisensory stimulation for reducing instances of stereotypic behavior (STB) in a severely multiply disabled population. Thirty-six subjects were randomly assigned to three groups (excitatory stimulation, inhibitory stimulation, and control groups), and the two experimental groups received a treatment intervention for 30 days. The multisensory stimulation consisted of vestibular, tactile, auditory, and visual input designed to be either excitatory or inhibitory. STB was measured before, after, and 2 months after the intervention period. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between tests, but not between groups. Propositions are set forth and examined for factors that could have influenced the results.

Keywords

behavioral symptoms behavior therapy environmental stimulation sensory integration

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Azrin

N. H.

Kaplan

S. J.

Foxx

R. M.

(1973). Autism reversal: Eliminating stereotyped self-stimulation of retarded individuals. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 78, 241–248.

Bonadonna

(1981). Effects of a vestibular stimulation program on stereotypic rocking behavior. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 35, 775–781.

Bright

Bittick

Fleeman

(1981). Reduction of self-injurious behavior using sensory integrative techniques. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 35, 167–172.

Farber

S. D.

(1982). A multisensory approach to neurorehabilitation. In Farber

S. D.

(Ed.), Neurorehabilitation: A multisensory approach (pp. 115–177). Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders.

Forehand

Baumeister

A. A.

(1970). Body rocking and activity level as a function of prior movement restraint. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 74, 608–610.

Gold

M. S.

Gold

J. K.

(1975). Autism and attention: Theoretical considerations and a pilot study using set reaction time. Child Psychology and Human Development, 6, 68–80.

Hutt

S. J.

Hutt

(1968). Stereotypy, arousal and autism. Human Development, 11, 277–286.

Kinsbourne

(1979). The neuropsychology of infantile autism. In Lockman

Swaiman

Drage

J. S.

Nelson

K. B.

Marsden

H. M.

(Eds.), Workshop on the neurobiological basis of autism. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Koegel

R. L.

Covert

(1972). The relationship of self-stimulation to learning in autistic children. Journal of Applied Analysis, 5, 381–387.

10.

Lindsley

D. B.

Wendt

R. H.

Lindsley

D. F.

Foxx

S. S.

Howell

Adley

W. R.

(1964). Diurnal activity, behavior and EEG responses in visually deprived monkeys. Annals of the New York Academy of Science, 117, 564–588.

11.

Lovaas

D. I.

Mann

Litrownik

(1971). Response latencies to auditory stimuli in autistic children engaged in self-stimulatory behavior. Behavior Research and Therapy, 9, 39–49.

12.

Ornitz

E. M.

Ritvo

E. R.

(1976). The syndrome of autism: A critical review. American Journal of Psychiatry, 133 (6), 609–619.

13.

Ornitz

E. M.

Sorosky

A. D.

Ritvo

E. R.

(1970). Environmental modification of autistic behavior. Archives of General Psychiatry, 22, 560–565.

14.

Ritvo

E. R.

Ornitz

E. M.

LaFranchi

(1968). Frequency of repetitive behaviors in early infantile autism and its variants. Archives of General Psychiatry, 19, 341–347.

15.

Schroeder

S. R.

Schroeder

C. S.

Smith

Dalldorf

(1978). Prevalence of self-injurious behaviors in a large state facility for the retarded: A three-year follow-up study. Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia, 8, 261–269.