REDUCTION OF FREQUENT STOMACH-ACHE COMPLAINTS BY TIME OUT

Time out was employed to treat a 10-year-old girl's report of stomach pain complaints in the home and at school. Time out involved removing the girl from adult attention and activities for verbal pain complaint episodes. Pain complaint episodes were treated sequentially in a multiple-baseline design across home and school environments. The treatment program rapidly reduced pain episodes over both settings. Follow-ups at 4, 6, and 8 weeks after the program terminated indicated that episodes remained at zero levels. A 1-year follow-up also indicated that there were no further problems with stomach pain episodes. © 1979 Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy.