Behavioral intervention to increase compliance with electroencephalographic procedures in children with developmental disabilities

The EEG, or electroencephalogram, is a neurophysiological technique used to detect and record electrical activity in the brain. It is critical to the diagnosis and management of seizure disorders, such as epilepsy, as well as other neurological conditions. The EEG procedure is often not well tolerated by children with developmental disabilities because of anxiety about unfamiliar equipment, difficulty inhibiting motion, and tactile defensiveness. The inability of children with developmental disabilities to tolerate an EEG procedure is especially problematic because the incidence of epilepsy is considerably higher in children with disabilities. This clinical outcome study sought to determine the efficacy of using behavioral intervention to teach children with developmental disorders to cooperate with an EEG procedure. The behavioral training employed modeling, counterconditioning, escape extinction, and differential reinforcement-based shaping procedures. Results indicated that behavioral training is successful in promoting EEG compliance without restraint, anesthesia, or sedation.