SELF INJURIOUS BEHAVIOR IN MENTALLY RETARDED INDIVIDUALS: CAUSES AND INTERVENTION STRATEGIES

Self Injurius Behavior (SIB) in mentally retarded children is a frequent but a not enough studied behavior in special education. When causing harm to himself is assumed, SIB is considered as a frequent severe behavior problem. As in all behavior problems, SIB may be derived from social reinforcements and it may be possible to reduce the frequency of these behaviors by instructional strategies. Besides these strategies, numerous medical treatments take place in reducing SIB. However, these medical treatments have no clear effects and have several side effects blocking the positive effects. As a result, it can be said that, SIB can mostly reduced by instructional strategies. At this point, author of the study suggest that, specialists working with mentally retarded children must be aware of fuctional analysis and be able to apply appropriate behavior modulation methods.