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Use of a multicomponent treatment for food refusal
S W Kahng1, J Tarbox, A E Wilke
1Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA. Kahng@kennedykrieger.org
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis
|April 25, 2001
Abstract:
We examined the use of a multicomponent treatment for food refusal exhibited by a 5-year-old boy who had been diagnosed with mild to moderate mental retardation. Treatment consisted of access to highly preferred tangible items, which were removed contingent on problem behavior or not accepting a bite, and differential reinforcement of alternative behavior. Treatment resulted in an increase in food acceptance to 100% of bite offers and near-zero rates of problem behavior. In addition, the participant's caregivers were successfully trained to implement the treatment.