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Training autistic children to urinate in the toilet through operant conditioning techniques

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of operant conditioning techniques to toilet train children in an autism ward of a hospital for developmentally disturbed children. Five profoundly retarded males with clear clinical manifestations of autism were selected as subjects. Records of the urination behavior of these subjects were kept during a baseline period and throughout the application of procedures. Appropriate urination behavior was immediately followed by positive reinforcers, such as candy, verbal praise, and physical affection. Inappropriate urination behavior was immediately followed by negative reinforcers, verbal as well as physical. The results of this study show that operant conditioning techniques can be used to change the urination behavior of profoundly retarded autistic children even where other methods have failed. Factors requiring further investigation for their possible impact on the effectiveness of these procedures in toilet training autistic children are also discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aichi Prefectural Colony, Central Hospital, Kamiya-Cho, Kasugai, 480-03, Aichi, Japan

    Haruhiko Ando

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  1. Haruhiko Ando
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This study was supported in part by Foundations' Fund for Research in Psychiatry Grant No. 71–500, and by a special grant from the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare for Research on Children with Abnormal Behaviors. The author wishes to express his sincere appreciation to Dr. E. James Anthony for his direction and guidance on this study, and for his helpful comments regarding the manuscript.

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Ando, H. Training autistic children to urinate in the toilet through operant conditioning techniques. J Autism Dev Disord 7, 151–163 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01537726

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