Análise funcional do comportamento autolesivo em uma pessoa com desenvolvimento atípico.

Abstract

This study aimed to functionally analyze and assess a series of treatments for the reduction of self-injurious behavior on a person with development disability. The assignment was carried out in a special education institute in central Goiás, and the subject was a 26-years-old female. Two experimental designs, multiple elements and alternate treatments, were applied. In order to assess the antecedents and consequents of self-injuring behavior, a functional assessment process was used, which included (1) indirect assessment through interview, (2) direct observation, and (3) functional analysis, through the design of multiple conditions using the following: attention, demand, control, and alone. The attention condition was subdivided into three sub conditions: shared attention, attention-reprimand, and noncontingent attention. The demand condition was subdivided into two kinds of academic demand: shape fitting and reading activities. The alone condition was subdivided into: alone with activity and alone without activities. The use of an intervention program through the design of ABCAD alternate treatments was chosen to intervene in self injurious behavior. The results suggest selfinjurious behavior has the role of self-stimulation, i.e., automatic reinforcement. The demand condition as an establishing operation for the emission of these behaviors and negative reinforcement was also discussed. Conditions of 30-seconds fixed-time (B) and differential reinforcement of alternative behaviors (D) resulted in reduction on the frequency of these behaviors. Density reduction of the noncontingent design as the responsible for the increase of self-injurious behavior frequency on condition (C) was also discussed.