The use of behavior therapy and physical therapy to promote independent ambulation in a preschooler with mental retardation and cerebral palsy.

This study investigated the effectiveness of an instructional program designed to promote independent walking in a mentally and physically handicapped pre-schooler involving a collaborative effort between a behavior therapist and a physical therapist in an interdisciplinary setting, a public school. By letting the youngster experience a treatment package culminating in listening to a dishwasher operating for a few minutes contingent on walking increasingly longer distances, he eventually ambulated 150 feet during treatment. Independent walking transferred to nonexperimental settings in the school, home, and community. Follow-up observations at two and 32-month intervals indicated long-lasting treatment effects. Results are discussed in terms of the natural consequences that maintained walking, including response efficiency and social reinforcement, as well as a treatment model that incorporated both the form and the function of the response.