ABSTRACT
Consultation was sought because Fay, for almost a year, had been scratching herself until she bled. The scratching behavior had resulted in large sores and scabs on her forehead, nose, cheeks, chin, and one arm and leg. Some of the problem behaviors modified in accordance with the attention of adult social reinforcement contingencies included regressed crawling, socially isolate behavior, excessive crying and whining and deficits in motor skills. The mother was given much social reinforcement by the investigator for her careful maintenance of the program. When the mother expressed eagerness to cooperate, an appointment was made for her to bring Fay to the Laboratory Preschool the following week, after laboratory school hours. The mother declared that she had come to dislike the child so intensely and to be so repelled by her appearance that she felt it might be better if Fay were placed outside the home to live.
