Functional analysis and intervention for chronic rumination.

We conducted a functional analysis and treatment evaluation of chronic rumination in a 19-year-old man with intellectual disabilities. Outcomes of the functional analysis suggested that rumination was maintained by automatic reinforcement. Results of the intervention evaluation suggested that (a) noncontingent access to food after meals reduced rumination more effectively than did noncontingent access to inedible stimuli, (b) a particular type of food was associated with lower levels of rumination than other types of food, and (c) both presession and continuous access to food reduced levels of rumination more effectively than did fixed-time access to food.