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Use of stimulus fading procedures in the treatment of situation specific mutism: A case study

1974; Elsevier BV; Volume: 5; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/0005-7916(74)90026-3

1873-7943

Rex D. Conrad, John L. Delk, Cecil Williams,

Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

An 11-yr-old American Indian child who had never spoken a word in a reservation classroom during the entire 5 yr of her schooling was treated by behavioral therapy which employed stimulus fading procedures. Success of treatment was enhanced by reinforcing the desired verbal behavior in several situations which successively approximated the classroom setting, and by the use of an indigenous mental health worker who successfully served as a positive stimulus and reinforcer. A 1-yr follow-up check showed that the girl continues to respond verbally to her teacher in routine classroom interactions.