| Abstract: | Behavior therapy procedures, particularly desensitization procedures, have not been used with the retarded, perhaps due to the high demand for verbal skill implicit in the techniques. Twenty mildly retarded subjects who met criterion on a Behavior Avoidance Test for fear of heights or rats were randomly assigned to Contact Desensitization, Vicarious Symbolic Densitization. Systematic Desensitization, Placebo-Attention Control and No-Treatment Groups. Subjects were given up to fifteen sessions of treatment. Posttreatment data on the Behavior Avoidance Test, Fear Thermometer and Behavior Checklist showed that generally Contact Desensitization was most effective and most efficient with this population. Results show that the mildly retarded are able to follow slightly simplified desensitization procedures. |
