Reducing chronic noncompliance in an individual with severe mental retardation to facilitate community integration

Behavioral techniques facilitated the community integration of a young adult with severe mental retardation, which was jeopardized due to his noncompliance and severe aggression. Positive reinforcement and nonexclusionary timeout were employed to address noncompliance in his school and home environments. At school positive reinforcement was provided whenever the client walked a specified distance while either entering or leaving the school building without sitting down. If the client did sit down inappropriately, he was placed in a 5-minute nonexclusionary time-out. A similar procedure was carried out at home by the client's mother. Results showed that inappropriate sitting decreased and eventually reached a zero level. The program also reduced his aggression, which was prompted by physical carrying by others.