CONDITIONING CHILDREN WHEN REFUSAL OF ORAL MEDICATION IS LIFE THREATENING

Abstract

Two 18- to 24-month-old girls who refused oral medication were subjected to a conditioning program designed to elicit their cooperation. Both patients had a disease which would be life threatening in the absence of medication. Their refusal to take medicine was further complicated by regurgitation of any substance placed in their stomachs by means of gavage. One patient responded promptly and completely to conditioning and thereafter accepted the necessary oral medication. The other child required the use of successive approximations or shaping, which resulted in her acceptance of the medicine when offered in candy. The conditioning techniques employed by the experimenters were successfully transferred to hospital staff and eventually to the parents in both cases. The techniques for conditioning and shaping are described.