Application of Stimulus Fading and Contingency Management with the Introduction of Clinic-based Behavioral Intervention for a Child with Selective Mutism

Abstract

The current study evaluated the effectiveness of stimulus fading and contingency management with the introduction of behavioral intervention for a child with selective mutism in the educational consultation room at the university. The procedure involved the variation of the activity period and the person who participate in the activity in the playroom, based on stimulus fading. The dependent variables included the level of speech, facial expression, and body movement, under the various conditions; and the speech level was measured based on a five-step checklist. The speech began to increase in the free activity with sub-therapist, and spontaneous speech was observed in the playing school with main-therapist. Facial expression showed increased smiling as the speech level changed. No body movement was observed in any session. The current study was mainly conducted in an educational consultation setting. However, the symptoms of selective mutism improved partially in the kindergarten and elementary school settings. As the speech and facial expression level fluctuated greatly, depending on the activity content, further studies are needed to investigate more effective adjustment of participants and activities.