Evaluation and treatment of swimming pool avoidance exhibited by an adolescent girl with autism

doi:10.1016/S0005-7894(05)80058-9

Behavior Therapy

Volume 36, Issue 1, Winter 2005, Pages 101-105

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7894(05)80058-9 Get rights and content

We evaluated and treated swimming pool avoidance that was exhibited by a 14-year-old girl diagnosed with autism. In part, treatment involved blocking for flopping (dropping to the ground) and elopement (running away from the pool) and access to food for movements toward a swimming pool. Treatment also involved reinforcement for exposure to various depths of water. Generalization of treatment outcome was demonstrated by showing sustained effects with her mother without food reinforcement and, subsequently, by replicating these effects with her mother in an untrained setting.

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^*: Portions of the present study and manuscript preparation were funded by NICHD Grant #HD38698 to the second author.

²: John Rapp is now at the Texana Behavior Treatment and Training Center, Richmond, TX.

³: Alyson Hovanetz is now at the Marcus Behavior Center, Atlanta, GA.

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Case Study And Clinical Replication SeriesEvaluation and treatment of swimming pool avoidance exhibited by an adolescent girl with autism*

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry

Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry

Case Study And Clinical Replication Series
Evaluation and treatment of swimming pool avoidance exhibited by an adolescent girl with autism*