Reducing Self-Stimulatory Behaviors in Children with Autism through use of Matched and Non-Matched Sensory Sessions

The purpose of this study was to reduce self-stimulatory behavior in children with autism through use of sensory sessions which provided sensory stimulation. Sensory sessions were hypothesized to produce satiation of self-stimulatory behaviors. An alternating treatment design was utilized to assess differences between the effects of implementation of matched and non-matched sensory sessions. During matched sessions, participants were given sensory stimuli that provided the same sensory consequence as the inappropriate self-stimulatory behavior. During non-matched sessions, participants were given stimuli that did not provide the same sensory consequence as the self-stimulatory behavior. Self-stimulatory behavior was recorded for 5 minutes following the sensory stimulation sessions. The average percent of intervals with self-stimulatory behavior during baseline was compared to the average percent of intervals with self-stimulatory behavior during the observation periods following sensory sessions. Results indicated that the sensory stimulation sessions were not effective. A slight decrease in self-stimulatory behavior during intervention occurred for participant 1, but the behavior was inconsistent and did not decrease to zero levels. Participant 2 showed a slight decrease in self-stimulatory behavior during non-matched sensory sessions. Results of the study indicated that providing sensory stimulation did not decrease the incidence of self-stimulatory behaviors.