Twelve severely and profoundly mentally retarded individuals with life-threatening self-injurious behaviors were exposed to electrical aversion treatment usingSelf-injurious behavior (SIB) poses a severe threat to one's mental and physical health and creates heavy stress with parents and caretakers. The long-term effects of SIB can hardly be overestimated due to the often (hundreds of) thousands of hits and bangs against the head. Neurological and ophthalmological damages are likely to emerge, not to speak of injuries of surface tissue. The need to treat such behaviors is acknowlegded, although therapists often disagree with respect to the nature of intervention, especially regarding aversive stimuli. Although the debate on the acceptability of aversive stimuli to decreaseThe authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Stichting Behandeling en Onderzoek van Zwakzinnigen.Requests for reprints should be sent to Pieter C. Duker,

Chronic food refusal is a common problem among young children with developmental disabilities. Children with chronic food refusal may require supplemental tube feedings or parental feedings. A multicomponent treatment package consisting of escape–avoidance extinction, shaping and positive reinforcement was effective in establishing a normal oral feeding pattern with a 1.5 years old developmentally disabled child who was fed by gastrostomic tube. Treatment effects generalized to the home setting and were maintained during follow‐up. After treatment, tube‐feeding was discontinued. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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