Association for Behavior Analysis International

Noncompliance with basic health care can have profound effects on long term health and well-being for everyone, but especially for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Perhaps the factor most responsible for noncompliance is the fear associated with medical and dental procedures. This presentation will review both the respondent and operant conditioning features responsible for the disruptive behaviors that result and then briefly review the empirical literature to identify the most well supported approaches for preventing and managing distress and noncompliance during medical and dental appointments in the IDD population. Promising alternative and supplemental treatments will be discussed, and then step-by-step practice recommendations will be provided for preventing, managing and resolving noncompliance.

Applied behavior analysts, behavior therapists, behavioral technicians and caregivers who are responsible for direct care or overseeing programs designed to help those with IDD access health care.

Keith D Allen, Ph.D., BCBA-D, is the Director of Psychology and Professor in Pediatrics and Psychology at the Munroe-Meyer Institute and the University of Nebraska Medical Center.  He completed his training in ABA at Western Michigan University and in clinical psychology at West Virginia University.  His clinical and research interests include parent training, pain and stress-related disorders in children, and management of noncompliance with medical/dental routines. He has published over 100 scientific papers and chapters on interventions to address behavioral health problems in children and adolescents and he has published a book on the science and practice of parent training.  He is a Fellow of ABAI, has been awarded research grants from NIH and the US Department of Education and has been recognized as both a Distinguished Researcher and as an Outstanding Teacher of the Year at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.