Modification of psychotic speech with mentally retarded patients

Three chronic schizophrenics who were mild to severely mentally retarded were treated for a wide range of vocalisations characteristic of psychotic persons. Relevance of responses, speech duration, making nonsense statements, and changing the subject were among the behaviours treated in two experiments. Treatment consisted of instructions, performance feedback via audiotapes, modelling and speech rehearsal provided in twenty-five minute training sessions held each day on a one-to-one basis with a therapist. In all cases, treatment resulted in rapid changes of target behaviours in desired directions. Results were particularly significant since all three subjects displayed active hallucinations and delusions while taking large maintenance dosages of antipsychotic medications. Changes generalised across settings and were maintained over two months follow-up.