Functional Analysis and Generalized Treatment of Disruptive Behavior During Dental Exams
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Psychology
Date
7-2020
Abstract
Patient disruption during dental visits can impede treatment and may result in invasive approaches to care. The current study evaluated the efficacy of graduated exposure with and without extinction to decrease disruption during dental treatment for 4 young men with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Modified functional analyses confirmed that disruption was maintained by escape from dental demands for all four young men. Initial treatment consisted of graduated exposure, whereby exam steps were initially removed and then gradually reintroduced as disruption remained low; throughout this phase, disruption resulted in a break from the exam. During the subsequent treatment phase, graduated exposure procedures continued and extinction for disruption was added. Graduated exposure alone did not result in sufficient treatment effects; however, the addition of extinction resulted in greater reductions in disruption and increases in exam completion for all 4 young men, and treatment effects generalized to a dental clinic setting.
Recommended Citation
McConnell, Kelly L.; Sassi, Jessica L.; Carr, Lauren; Szalwinski, Julia; Courtmanche, Aimee; Njie-Jallow, Fatoumatta; and Cheney, Wendy R., "Functional Analysis and Generalized Treatment of Disruptive Behavior During Dental Exams" (2020). Student Work - College of Arts and Sciences. 90.
https://digitalcommons.wne.edu/casstudent/90
Original Citation
McConnell, K. L., Sassi, J. L., Carr, L., Szalwinski, J., Courtemanche, A., Njie‐Jallow, F., & Cheney, W. R. (2020). Functional analysis and generalized treatment of disruptive behavior during dental exams. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 53(4), 2233-2249. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.747
