Using backward chaining and a physical guidance delay to teach self‐feeding

Abstract

Many children with feeding disorders lack age‐appropriate self‐feeding without intervention, irrespective of whether refusal is a motivational or skill deficit. When a target behavior is infrequent or absent, multistep tasks can be shaped using chaining by targeting a preexisting step within an individual's behavioral repertoire. Studies suggest when the preexisting response is in the final step of the chain, backward chaining may increase mastery. In this study, we investigated the use of backward chaining to increase self‐feeding of solids of a 4‐year‐old male.