Noncontingent access to preferred sensory stimuli as a treatment for automatically reinforced stereotypy

Researchers have previously suggested that interventions designed to decrease stereotypic behavior are most effective when they include access to stimuli that are matched to the specific sensory consequences hypothesized to maintain the stereotypy. In an attempt to replicate this finding, we used stimulus preference assessments and a reversal design to evaluate the effectiveness of noncontingent access to highly preferred stimuli that were matched to the specific sensory consequences hypothesized to be maintaining the stereotypic behavior of an individual with developmental disabilities. The participant was also given noncontingent access to a highly preferred edible stimulus as a control condition. Results indicated that noncontingent access to a matched sensory stimulus produced consistent decreases in aberrant behavior while access to a highly preferred edible stimulus did not. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.