Using Behavioral Interventions to Decrease Coprolalia in a Student with Tourette's Syndrome and Autism: A Case Study

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the behavioral techniques that would be most effective in decreasing coprolalia for a student diagnosed with autism and Tourette's syndrome. The study involved a young female who was enrolled in a public school special education classroom for children with behavior and communication disorders. Four behavior-management strategies were used: (a) time-out, (b) differential reinforcement of other behavior, (c) differential reinforcement of other behavior paired with differential reinforcement of alternative behavior, and (d) intermittent differential reinforcement of alternative behavior. All interventions showed a reduction in the number of profane words used by the subject. The least effective behavior strategy was the independent implementation of time-out. The fewest occurrences of coprolalia occurred during the use of intermittent differential reinforcement of alternative behavior.