Improving Mealtime Behaviors Through Token Reinforcement

Abstract

In the present study the effectiveness of a token reinforcement program in improving mealtime behaviors of four mentally retarded, behaviorally disordered children was evaluated using the multiple baseline design across behaviors. Participants were residents on an inpatient psychiatric hospital program for children. Target behaviors included appropriate utensil use, appropriate napkin use, chewing with mouth closed, and good posture. Training was implemented in a group setting and consisted of verbal instructions, modeling, manual prompts, and token reinforcement delivered at preprogrammed variable intervals signaled by a tape recording. Results showed acquisition of target behaviors in 20 to 40 sessions. Further, behavioral gains were judged to be clinically significant by a group of independent observers.

Teaching the Skill of Chewing From a Behavior Analytic Approach: A Systematic Review

“…Intervention integrity. Only two of the eight studies (Sisson & Dixon, 1986;Taylor, 2020) collected data on the integrity of the chewing intervention (see Table 3). While Sisson and Dixon (1986) reported a portion of sessions were scored for treatment integrity purposes, the integrity checklist involved just indicating if the feeder provided attention for appropriate behaviors exhibited by the participants.…”

“…All studies except Volkert et al (2013Volkert et al ( , 2014, and Kadey et al (2013) examined generalization of chewing behaviors across settings or foods (see Table 3). For example, Sisson and Dixon (1986) presented data collected during probes in a natural mealtime setting and observed (2020) conducted probes during which parents presented with three foods with varying textures. One of the five studies examining generalization did not provide the data (Eckman et al, 2008), but reported generalization of chewing behaviors occurred from home to school.…”

“…Kadey et al (2013) defined chewing as the jaw making one complete up-and-down motion while food was clearly visible 2014) included a measure of mastication to capture the functionality and safety of chewing. Sisson and Dixon (1986) focused on keeping the mouth shut while chewing.…”

“…Change in chewing behavior. In two of the eight studies (Sisson & Dixon, 1986;Volkert et al, 2013), participants showed some chewing responses in baseline (see Table 4). All eight studies indicated chewing increased following the implementation of intervention (Table 4).…”

Behavioral Management of Feeding Disorders of Childhood

“…Typically, attention from an adult caregiver is the most common method of reinforcement, as attention is easily delivered and highly sought after by children. For older children, the use of tangible reinforcement such as a sticker chart or point system in which points can be accumulated to earn prizes or privileges may be more motivating [40]. For these techniques to be effective, the reward must be motivating enough to change feeding behavior, and the caregivers and the child must understand and follow the reinforcement schedule.…”