Positive Behavior Support Case Summary

Summary: The purpose of this case study was to describe the behavior treatment - Positive Behavior Support (PBS) that helped the caregivers of a 2-year-old child to use behavior management strategies and improve his eating behaviors. The child in the case was a two-year-old boy Derrick who had many troubles with his eating and non-compliance both in the mealtime and outside the mealtime. Before implementing the PBS program, preparation steps were conducted: collecting the child’s medical and behavioral information, carrying out a mealtime functional behavior assessment with a parent interview and in-home observation during mealtime, and discussing with Derrick’s parents about their family’s priorities, motivations, readiness and commitment …show more content…
at least seven bites of new age-appropriate foods in the first three months, and later then broadened to compliance in both mealtime and outside the mealtime. The feeding intervention strategies included preventions, replacement behaviors, and modified responses. In particular, preventions included appetite manipulation, and daily liquid intake control; replacement behaviors were having a new food accompanied with three currently accepted foods in a meal, a consistent mealtime and snack routine, timer to assist transition to mealtime, family meal together and at the table only, and specific meal duration set at maximum 15 minutes; and modified responses referred to new reinforcement such as clear directions, immediate presentation of food, positive attention, and planned ignorance together with some use of “gentle physical prompts (i.e. tap on his cheek) without any verbal statement to increase eating pace” (p.3). The strategies to improve compliance in mealtime and other daily activities included clear directions, immediate and specific praise (upon compliance), planned ignorance (of minor refusal behaviors), minimal physical guidance, clear, specific step-by-step scripted guidance