The use of overcorrection in the treatment of irregular enuresis in developmentally disabled persons

• Main Author: Barmann, Barry Carrol
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholarly Commons 1979
• Subjects: Enuresis; Toilet training; Developmentally disabled; Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Online Access: https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/1993; https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2992&context=uop_etds

Havlng evaluated previous attempts to toilet train developmentally disabled indtviduals, Foxx and Azrin (1973) developed a treatment package designed to produce and maintain independent toileting in institutionalized retardates. The training procedure is divided into two phases. The first phase is the bladder training procedure, which is then followed by the self-initiation training. Foxx and Azrin note that, regardless of previous toileting behavior, all trainees should receive the same sequence of training in the toilet training program, i.e. , bladder training, followed by selfinitiation training. The authors do not differentiate between various types of enuresis, nor do they suggest that a specific type of treatment be utilized for a specific type of enuresis. Without first identifying which children have self-initiated prior to training (irregular enuretics), it is impossible to evaluate if a specific treatment is more beneficial for a particular type of enuresis. Although Foxx and Azrin (1971; 1973) have included overcorrection as part of a total treatment package, the effects of overcorrection, as the major treatment component, in the treatment of a particular subgroup of enuretics, has yet to be established. The purpose of the present study was to test the efficacy of.an overcorrection procedure, combined with verbal praise, for toilet training developmentally disabled children who display irregular enuresis (Yates, 1970). Four developmentally disabled children with irregular enuresis were administered an overcorrection procedure contingent upon each toileting accident. Verbal praise was also administered for the absence of "accidents." Results indicated that the training procedure was successful in" eliminating incontinence in three of the four subjects on whom the training was administered. The reduction of incontinence generalized outside "the children's home environment and was mainted during a one month follow-up.