Multicomponent parental treatment of firesetting in a six year old boy

The case is presented of a 6-yr-old developmentally-disabled boy who was referred for the treatment of home firesetting behavior. The mother was trained to implement an intervention program consisting of negative practice with corrective consequences and token reinforcement in order to satiate and teach proper control of the behavior. This intervention was associated with the elimination of the firesetting behavior and suppression of another problem behavior, namely, fighting with the sister. Both of these behavioral improvements were maintained at 15-month follow-up. The benefits of multicomponent behavioral interventions and change agents in the natural environment are discussed.