A 4-YEAR FOLLOW-UP OF TREATMENT OF SELF-INJURY

Data on the long-term effectiveness of behavioral treatment for self-i njurious behavior in individuals with mental retardation is rare. We p resent 4-year follow-up data on a 28-year-old man whose severe self-in jurious behavior was treated with brief contingent electric stimulatio n via the Self-Injurious Behavior Inhibiting System (SIBIS). Event dat a collected throughout follow-up showed reductions in head-hitting and head-banging from over 2,600 responses per hour to approximately 1 re sponse per hour during much of the first 31 months of treatment. Howev er, the rate of head-banging began increasing thereafter, with the SIB IS losing its effectiveness to such an extent that it was no longer cl inically useful.