A Practical Application of Sensory Extinction for Reducing the Disruptive Classroom Behavior of a Profoundly Retarded Child

The reduction of self-stimulatory and other disruptive behavior is often an important goal in classroom settings for severely disturbed children. Several behavioral interventions have been effectively used to modify self-stimulatory behaviors such as rocking, hand flapping, and self-injurious behavior in retarded children,autistic children, and childhood schizophrenics(Harris & Ersner-Hershfield, 1978). The techniques most frequently employed to reduce this type of behavior have been punishment, timeout, overcorrection, and differential reinforcement of other behavior (Drabman, Jarvie, & Hammer, 1979; Forehand & Baumeister, 1976; Harris & Ersner-Hershfield, 1978; Picker,Poling, & Parker, 1979). Although each of these procedures has been effectively utilized,they often require a substantial knowledge of behavioral principles and a considerable time investment by school personnel.