Date of Award

Spring 4-19-2019

Thesis Type

Open Access

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Applied Behavior Analysis and Clinical Science

Department

Health Professions

Committee Member(s)

Sarah Slocum Freeman, PhD, BCBA-D

Kara Wunderlich, PhD, BCBA-D

Ashley Matter, PhD, BCBA-D

Supervising Faculty Member

Dr. Kara Wunderlich

Abstract

Research has shown antecedent interventions might be effective for treating food selectivity in the absence of consequent manipulations; however, escape extinction is the most commonly implemented intervention in feeding research. Escape extinction in the treatment of feeding disorders is an intrusive procedure that might not always be considered socially valid or feasible; therefore, it is important to evaluate other interventions prior to escape extinction. This study describes a methodology of evaluating antecedent and consequent interventions for subjects with food selectivity, progressing from least to most response effort and/or intrusiveness. For each subject, we moved through each intervention until acceptance increased to clinically significant levels. Results showed subjects’ responsiveness to each intervention was idiosyncratic, with different procedures being more effective for different individuals. That is, one subject’s acceptance increased as a result of an antecedent intervention, one subject’s acceptance increased when an extinction component was added, and one subject’s acceptance never increased to clinically significant levels. This advancement-based approach provides a means of identifying the least-intrusive yet effective intervention for subjects with food selectivity.

Rights Holder

Angela Van Arsdale

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