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Clinical Outcomes of Behavioral Treatments for Pica in Children with Developmental Disabilities

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Abstract

Pica is a potentially deadly form of self-injurious behavior most frequently exhibited by individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Research indicates that pica can be decreased with behavioral interventions; however, the existing literature reflects treatment effects for small samples (n = 1–4) and the overall success of such treatments is not well-understood. This study quantified the overall effect size by examining treatment data from all patients seen for treatment of pica at an intensive day-treatment clinical setting (n = 11), irrespective of treatment success. Results demonstrate that behavioral interventions are highly effective treatments for pica, as determined by the large effect size for individual participants (i.e., NAP scores ≥ .70) and large overall treatment effect size (Cohen’s d = 1.80).

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Call, N.A., Simmons, C.A., Mevers, J.E.L. et al. Clinical Outcomes of Behavioral Treatments for Pica in Children with Developmental Disabilities. J Autism Dev Disord 45, 2105–2114 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2375-z

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