Management of maladaptive social behavior of a brain injured adult

This study examined the effectiveness of an individualized behavior point system for reducing the frequency of surplus maladaptive social behaviors of a severely brain injured adult. Treatment, given during meal periods, was applied in a multiple baseline design across three behaviors: loud verbal outburst, interruptions, and nonsensical talk. Generalization of treatment effects was assessed in informal community restaurants. The results revealed that each of the target behaviors declined with the introduction of the point system, although loud verbal outbursts and interruptions were more responsive to treatment than nonsensical talk. Some evidence was found for skill generalizations to untrained settings.