Abstract
Background: Fear of medical procedures in general and needles in particular can be a difficult clinical challenge to providing effective health care for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Methods: A changing criterion design was used to examine graduated exposure treatment for blood-injury-injection phobia in an adult male with autism and intellectual disability and a history of medical noncompliance. The additional contributions of differential reinforcement and a safety signal were also evaluated during treatment. Results: Compliance with needle-to-skin contact was achieved by the final criterion phase, and the behavior was maintained on follow-up. Differential reinforcement and a safety signal added to the quality of treatment but were successfully faded as treatment progressed. Conclusions: An exposure approach was effective in reducing phobic behavior and may be flexible enough to accommodate component changes and leaner reinforcement schedules applicable to real-world settings.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 344-348 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities |
Volume | 26 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 2013 |
Keywords
- Changing criterion design
- Needle phobia
- Safety signal