Functional analysis and treatment of the bizarre speech of dually diagnosed adults.

Blake M. Lancaster, Linda A. LeBlanc, James E. Carr, Shasta Brenske, Mary M. Peet, & Steven J. Culver (2004). Functional analysis and treatment of the bizarre speech of dually diagnosed adults. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 37, 395-399.

Nine behavior-analytic studies, each reporting data for a single participant, have shown that bizarre speech can be maintained by social reinforcement. In the current study, we controlled for a possible referral bias in this literature by including nonreferred participants with dual diagnoses. Functional analyses identified attention functions for 2 participants and nonsocial functions for the others. Noncontingent reinforcement decreased the bizarre speech of both participants who displayed attention-maintained bizarre speech.

DESCRIPTORS: bizarre speech, dual diagnosis, functional analysis, noncontingent reinforcement