| Abstract: | The pica of a 6‐year‐old girl diagnosed with autism was initially shown to persist in the absence of socially mediated consequences. In an attempt to provide a competing source of oral stimulation, we used a stimulus preference assessment to identify food items that were subsequently presented noncontingently. However, the noncontingent schedule could not be thinned to a practical variation while still maintaining reductions in pica. A subsequent multielement evaluation of response blocking and verbal reprimands demonstrated that neither intervention both produced and maintained low levels of pica. Verbal reprimands were then used in conjunction with noncontingent food presentation, but this intervention did not produce significant reductions in pica. Suppression of pica was ultimately obtained in both a clinic setting and in the child's natural environment using contingent, varied auditory stimulation. The results are discussed in the context of the ‘least restrictive alternative’ model of treatment selection. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
