Acceptability of a Visual Screening Procedure for Reducing Stereotypy in Mentally Retarded Children: Evaluation by New Zealand Institutional Staff

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Abstract
The acceptability of three treatments for the maladaptive, but not injurious, repetitive stereotyped behaviour of a mentally retarded child was evaluated. Evaluation was conducted by questionnaires to two groups of staff (nurses and teachers) at two New Zealand institutions for mentally retarded people. A differential reinforcement procedure was found to be most acceptable. A visual screening procedure was judged as being more than moderately acceptable by nurses but less than moderately acceptable by teachers. When visual screening and reinforcement were combined in a treatment package and a rationale for so doing was provided, acceptability was increased significantly for both groups of staff. Teachers rated visual screening, when explicitly prescribed with differential reinforcement, as more than moderately acceptable. The implications of the finding of differential rating of acceptability across and within occupational groups was discussed.