The Effects and Side-Effects of Overcorrection Procedures for Self-Stimulatory Behavior Applied by Parents of Severely Emotionally Disturbed Children in Natural Home Settings.

A study of the effects and side effects of overcorrection procedures for self stimulatory behaviors of emotionally disturbed children by parents of four severely emotionally disturbed boys (ages 5 to 11 years) is presented. The literature is reviewed in areas such as the use of parents as treatment resources and the use of overcorrection and its effects and side effects. The Ss and settings are described and the procedures used are outlined. The four behaviors targeted for the study were object rolling, hand wringing, hand flapping, and repetitive verbalizations. For each S three positive behaviors (playing appropriately, head orientation, etc.) and three negative behaviors (throwing, body rocking, etc.) were identified. Findings showed that parents were effective change agents with their children and all four target behaviors decreased when overcorrection procedures were applied. Of the positive and negative behaviors identified, head orientation was most sensitive to changes in the self stimulatory target behaviors; as the target behaviors decreased, head orientation increased significantly. Appended are the information given to parents and the treatment plans for each S. (PHR)