Habit Reversal Training to Treat Tics in a Young Boy Diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome

Abstract

Tourette's Syndrome is a neurological disorder. Habit Reversal Training (HRT) (Azrin & Nunn, 1973) is a multi-component behavioral treatment package for suppressing nervous habits and tics by creating awareness of the behavior and engaging in an incompatible behavior, or competing response, to replace the nervous habit or tic. The competing response (CR) can also be described as a self-administered punishment; therefore, operant conditioning can reduce tic frequency (Miltenberger & Fuqua, 1985). Self-monitoring each tic occurrence (Awareness Training) is a type of dissimilar competing response that may function as a punisher for the tic (Sharenow, Fuqua, & Miltenberger, 1989). The current study systematically evaluated the effectiveness of the Awareness Training component of HRT to treat tics in a 9-year-old boy diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome. Tic rate per minute was measured across baseline, treatment and reversal to baseline conditions.