Treatment effects of a total behavior modification program with five autistic children

Five autistic children were studied intensively to devise effective treatment procedures with the goal of eventual return to their homes. An experimental-clinical approach was used to design behavior modification programs specifically for each child. All children made varying degrees of progress, but thier learning deficits continued to interfere with learning all new responses, necessitating continuation of a structured home or institutional existence to maintain the treatment gains. Retardation remained a characteristic of all children, retrieval of previously decelerated referral behaviors was problematic at date of discharge, and response acquisition did not appreciably facilitate learning of more complex behavior on the same response hierarchy.