Brief intervention therapy for behaviourally disturbed pre‐school children

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Abstract
A group of children with behavioral difficulties was treated using behavioral techniques and compared with a group of control children. The treated children had various behavioral difficulties including poor concentration, sleep problems and noncooperation with parents. They were treated in the home for periods up to 7 wk, after a 2 wk baseline observation period. Of 9 families that started the treatment, 2 did not cooperate and 1 improved spontaneously. Videotape recordings of the child at play were made lasting 15 min and immediately prior to the psychologist''s visits. The matched control children were investigated similarly. The videotapes were analyzed to assess attention span, mother-child verbal interaction and cooperation. There was considerable improvement in attention span as the treated children''s behavior became similar to the control children in 4-5 visits. The improvements lasted over the 3 and 6 mo. follow-up period. Brief intervention behavioral treatment has considerable potential and is reasonably economical in terms of staff time.

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