Evaluation of a treatment package to reduce rapid eating

We replicated and extended treatment procedures described by Lennox, Miltenberger, and Donnelly (1987) designed to reduce rapid eating. The participant was a 17-year-old girl with developmental disabilities who engaged in dangerously high rates of food ingestion. The procedure involved an adjusting differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate-responding (DRL) schedule, response blocking, and prompts. We evaluated a continuation of the treatment despite initial negative side effects that were similar to those reported by Lennox et al. Results showed that the treatment package was effective and negative side effects eventually decreased.