Reducing abnormal drinking patterns in the severely disabled: A multiple baseline study

The therapeutic effectiveness of an adapted cup combined with a programme of differential reinforcement was examined in three individuals with severe developmental disabilities. A multiple baseline design across subjects was employed. The intervention programme produced a partial improvement in drinking ability for two of the subjects. One subject with extensive oral motor dysfunction did not exhibit any positive response to the intervention. The argument is made that single subject strategies can assist rehabilitation specialists in documenting clinical change for individual patients and that future research should focus on the investigation of subject characteristics that influence treatment outcome.