Abstract
Nationally, professionals in the field of autism have been rocked by the controversy surrounding the use of punishment procedures also called aversives (Singh & Repp, 1993). The techniques in question have generally been discussed in the context of behavior modification strategies or learning-based technology, and psychologists and educators have been the primary groups involved. Behavior modification has had widespread application in the treatment of persons with autism (Van Houten, 1990). However, since the late 1980s the rhetoric surrounding these procedures has intensified. National agencies and policymakers have become involved in the debate over which procedures should and should not be considered acceptable to treat severe behavior problems of handicapped people (AAMD, 1987; Blake, 1988; Keyes, Creekmore, Karst, Crow, & Dayan, 1988; Matson, 1988). Given the broad implications of such a debate, the impact on the field has been considerable. A brief review of some of the major issues, including confusion over definition, conflict between advocates and professionals, concepts as ideologies, data versus testimonials, age appropriateness as ideology, freedom of treatment choice, and professional control versus treatment by bureaucratic rule will be the primary focus of this chapter. Some likely outcomes and future directions of the aversives controversy will also be discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
AAMD position statement on aversive therapy. (1987). Mental Retardation, 25, 118.
Allison, D. B. (1990). On the limits of further empirical evidence for deciding the debate over aversive techniques. The Behavior Therapist, 13, 147–148.
Allison, D. B., & Silverstein, J. M. (1990). Quantifying treatment aversiveness: An empirical approach. Paper to be presented at the meeting of the Association for Behavior Analysis, Nashville, TN.
Azrin, N. H., Belasel, V. A., & Wisotek, I. E. (1982). Treatment of self-injury by a reinforcement plus interruption procedure. Analysis and Intervention in Developmental Disabilities, 2, 105–113.
Benson, B. A. (1986). Anger management training. Psychiatric Aspects of Mental Retardation Reviews, 5, 51–55.
Benson, B. A., Rice, C. J., & Miranti, S. V. (1986). Effects of anger management training with mentally retarded adults in group treatment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54, 728–729.
Blake, A. (1988). Aversives: Are they needed? Are they ethical? Autism Research Review, 2, 1–8.
Brown, G. S., & Shaw, M. (1986). Social skills training in education. In C. Hollin & P. Trower (Eds.), Handbook of social skills training (Vol. 1, pp. 59–78). New York: Pergamon.
Charlop, M. H., Schreibman, L., & Thibodeau, M. G. (1985). Increasing spontaneous verbal responding in autistic children using a time delay procedure. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 18, 155–166.
Coe, D. A. & Matson, J. L. (1993). On the empirical basis for using aversive and nonaversive therapy. In N. N. Singh and A. C. Repp (Eds.), Severe behavior problems in developmental disabilities: Issues in non-aversive therapy.
Cole, C. L., Gardner, W. I., & Karan, O. C. (1986). Self-management training of mentally retarded adults presenting severe conduct difficulties. Applied Research in Mental Retardation, 6, 337–347.
Donnellan, A. M., La Vigna, G. W., Negri-Shoultz, N., & Fassbender, L. L. (1988). Progress without punishment. New York: Teachers College Press.
Emerson, E. B. (1985). Evaluating the impact of deinstitutionalization on the lives of mentally retarded people. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 90, 277–288.
Favell, J., McGimsey, J., & Jones, M. (1978). The use of physical restraint in the treatment of self-injury and as positive reinforcement. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 11, 225–241.
Foxx, R., McMorrow, M., & Mennemeir, M. (1984). Teaching social/vocational skills to retarded adults with a modified table game. An analysis of generalization. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 17, 343–352.
Gardner, W. I., & Cole, C. L. (1988). Conduct disorders: Psychological therapies. In J. L. Matson (ed.), Handbook of behavior modification with the mentally retarded (2nd ed., pp. 225-248).
Gresham, F. M. (1982). Misguided mainstreaming: The case for social skills training with handicapped children. Exceptional Children, 48, 422–433.
Guess, D., Helmstetter, E., Turnbull, H. R., III, & Knowlton, S. (1986). Use of aversive procedures with persons who are disabled: An historical review and critical analysis (Monograph). Seattle: The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps.
Guess, D., Turnbull, H. R., III, & Helmstetter, E. (1990). Science, paradigms, and values: A response to Mulick. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 95, 157–163.
Heffer, R. W., & Kelley, M. L. (1987). Mothers’ acceptance of behavioral interventions for children: The influence of parent race and income. Behavior Therapy, 2, 153–163.
Jordan, J., Singh, N. N., & Repp, A. C. (1989). An evaluation of gentle teaching and visual screening in the reduction of stereotypy. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 22, 9–22.
Kelley, M. L., Grace, N., & Elliot, S. N. (1990). Acceptability of positive and punitive discipline methods: Comparisons among abusive, potentially abusive, and nonabusive parents. Child Abuse & Neglect, 14, 219–226.
Keyes, J. R., Creekmore, W. N., Karst, R., Crow, R., & Dayan, M. (1988). AAMR position statement on aversive therapy: The controversy. Mental Retardation, 26, 314–318.
Koegel, R. L., & Koegel, L. K. (1990). Extended reductions in Stereotypic behavior of students with autism through a self-management treatment package. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 23, 119–127.
Konarski, E. A., Jr. (1990). Science as an ineffective White Knight. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 95, 169–171.
LaVigna, G. W. & Donnellan, A. M. (1986). Alternatives to punishment: Solving behavior problems with non-aversive strategies. New York: Irvington.
Linscheid, T. R., Iwata, B. A., Ricketts, R. W., Williams, D. E., & Griffin, J. C. (1990). Clinical evaluation of the Self-Injurious Behavior Inhibiting System (SIBIS). Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 23, 53–78.
Marchetti, A. G., & Campbell, V. A. (1990). Social skills. In J. L. Matson (Ed.), Handbook of behavior modification with the mentally retarded (2nd ed., pp. 333–350). New York: Plenum.
Matson, J. L. (1988). IARET Newsletter, 1, 1.
Matson, J. L. (Ed.). (1990). Handbook of behavior modification with the mentally retarded. (2nd ed.). New York: Plenum.
Matson, J. L., DiLorenzo, T. M. (1984). Punishment and its alternatives. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Matson, J. L., & Keyes, J. B. (1990). A comparison of DRO to movement suppression time-out and DRO with two self-injurious and aggressive mentally retarded adults. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 11, 111–120.
Matson, J. L., Marchetti, A., & Adkins, J. A. (1980). Comparison of operant and independence training procedures for mentally retarded adults. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 84, 487–494.
Matson, J. L., & Taras, M. E. (1989). A 20 Year review of punishment and alternative methods to treat problem behaviors in developmentally disabled persons. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 10, 85–104.
McGee, G. G., Krantz, P. J., Mason, D., & McClannahan, L. E. (1983). A modified incidental-teaching procedure for autistic youth: Acquisition and generalization of receptive object labels. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 16, 329–338.
Mulick, J. A. (1990). The ideology and science of punishment in mental retardation. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 95, 142–156.
Rogers, C. R. (1951). Client-centered therapy: Its current practice, implications and theory. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.
Senatore, V., Matson, J. L., & Kazdin, A. E. (1982). A comparison of behavioral methods to train social skills to mentally retarded adults. Behavior Therapy, 13, 313–324.
Singh, N. N., & Repp, A. C. (1993). Severe behavior problems in developmental disabilities: Issues in non-aversive therapy.
Slifer, K. J., Iwata, B. A., & Dorsey, M. F. (1984). Reduction of eye gouging using a response interruption procedure. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 15, 369–375.
Van Houten, R. (1990). Emotional problems II: Autism. In J. L. Matson (Ed.), Handbook of behavior modification with the mentally retarded. (2nd ed., pp. 421–437). New York: Plenum.
Van Houten, R., Axelrod, S., Bailey, J. S., Favell, J. E., Foxx, R. M., Iwata, A., & Lovaas, O. I. (1988). The right to effective behavioral treatment. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 21, 381–384.
Wildman, B. G., Wildman, H. E., & Kelly, W. J. (1986). Group conversational-skill training and social validation with mentally retarded adults. Applied Research in Mental Retardation, 7, 443–458.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1994 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Matson, J.L., Sevin, J.A. (1994). Issues in the Use of Aversives. In: Schopler, E., Mesibov, G.B. (eds) Behavioral Issues in Autism. Current Issues in Autism. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9400-7_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9400-7_11
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-9402-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-9400-7
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive