FUNCTIONAL COMMUNICATION TRAINING AND NALTREXONE TREATMENT OF SELF-INJURIOUS-BEHAVIOR - AN EXPERIMENTAL CASE-REPORT

The self-injurious behaviour of people with intellectual disabilities, autism, and related developmental disabilities remains one of the mos t difficult behaviour problems to treat clinically. Two promising appr oaches to effective treatment involve teaching the person communicatio n skills that are functionally equivalent to the self-injury or admini stering opiate antagonist medication. Here an experimental case study, in which naltrexone was combined with functional communication traini ng, is reported. Using a within-subject ABCDC experimental design, red uctions in rate of self-injury were observed during the naltrexone alo ne phase as well as during combined treatment phases. The implications of conducting a functional assessment prior to behavioural and pharma cological intervention are discussed.