The long term successful treatment of the aggressive/destructive behaviors of a preadolescent with autism

Abstract

A program was developed for reducing the aggressive/destructive behavior of a 13-year-old boy with autism. All previous interventions had been ineffective. The program included a high density of positive reinforcement, tokens, choice making, response cost, overcorrection, and physical restraint. Treatment occurred in a self-contained classroom at a school for children with special needs. All of the boy's aggressive/destructive behaviors were reduced to at or near zero levels and these effects have been maintained for over a year. He has made excellent progress in a number of academic areas.

Treating aggression in persons with autism spectrum disorders: A review

“…Thus, the range of participant numbers across studies varied from one to 218. Thirteen of the papers reported on the treatment of one or two individuals (Braithwaite & Richdale, 2000;Davis et al, 2013;Falcomata, Roane, Muething, Stephenson, & Ing, 2012;Fisher, Lindauer, Alterson, & Thompson, 1998;Foxx & Garito, 2007;Foxx & Meindl, 2007;Hittner, 1994;Kern, Carberry, & Haidara, 1997;Kuhn, Hardesty, & Sweeney, 2009;Luiselli, Blew, Keane, Thibadeau, & Holzman, 2000;Matson, LoVullo, Boisjoli, & Gonzales, 2008;Robertson, Wehby, & King, 2013;Sigafoos & Meikle, 1996), and two studies involved 100 or more people Silverman et al, 2014). The higher number of participated studies involved drug treatments (Arnold et al, 2003;Hellings et al, 2005;King & Davanzo, 1996;Marcus et al, 2009;McDougle et al, 1996;McDougle, Kem, & Posey, 2002;McDougle et al, 1998;Owen et al, 2009;Silverman et al, 2014;Troost et al, 2005), while the low number studies were largely psychologically based interventions.…”

“…Two papers that used punishment procedures (i.e., overcorrection, physical restraint) were papers by Foxx and colleagues (Foxx & Garito, 2007;Foxx & Meindl, 2007). Both studies treated one child (12 and 13 years old).…”

“…Sixteen of the reviewed studies used psychologically based therapies; one paper employed music (Lundqvist et al, 2009) while the other 15 papers relied on ABA principles and procedures (Braithwaite & Richdale, 2000;Davis et al, 2013;Falcomata et al, 2012;Fisher et al, 1998;Foxx & Garito, 2007;Foxx & Meindl, 2007;Fulton, Eapen, Walter, & Rogers, 2014;Hanley, Jin, Vanselow, & Hanratty, 2014;Hittner, 1994;Kern et al, 1997;Kuhn et al, 2009;Matson, LoVullo, et al, 2008;Robertson et al, 2013;Silverman et al, 2014;Sigafoos & Meikle, 1996). Two papers that used punishment procedures (i.e., overcorrection, physical restraint) were papers by Foxx and colleagues (Foxx & Garito, 2007;Foxx & Meindl, 2007).…”

Analysis of risk factors and early predictors of challenging behavior for children with autism spectrum disorder

“…This indicates that ABA is associated with the ability to decrease challenging behavior. Theses results are not surprising as this method of teaching is empirically validated and has been demonstrated to be highly effective in managing challenging behavior (e.g., Foxx & Meindl, 2007;Foxx & Garito, 2007). Research has determined that behavioral interventions, which focus on the particular behavior in question and its function, can be very successful in decreasing problem behaviors.…”

Effectiveness of Medication Combined with Intensive Behavioral Intervention for Reducing Aggression in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…However, no group studies have examined the effect of IBI on reducing aggressive behavior in ASD. The majority of data comes from well-controlled, single-case designs demonstrating strong efficacy in reducing the frequency and intensity of aggressive behavior in individuals with ASD (Belcher 1995;Foxx and Meindl 2007;Matson et al 2008). To the authors' knowledge, no previous studies have concurrently examined the effectiveness of IBI and the combination of IBI with medication in the treatment of aggression in individuals with autism.…”