Augmenting simplified habit reversal in the treatment of oral-digital habits exhibited by individuals with mental retardation

We investigated whether a simplified habit reversal treatment eliminates fi ngernail biting and related oral-digital habits exhibited by individuals wi th mild to moderate mental retardation. Although simplified habit reversal did little to decrease the target behaviors for 3 of 4 participants, simpli fied habit reversal plus additional treatment procedures decreased the beha vior to near-zero levels for all participants. These procedures included re mote prompting, remote contingencies involving differential reinforcement p lus response cost, and differential reinforcement of nail growth. Limitatio ns of habit reversal for individuals with mental retardation along with dir ections for Future research involving therapist-mediated treatment procedur es, particularly those involving remote prompting and remote contingencies, are discussed.