The effects of intermittent drug therapy on stereotypy and collateral behaviors of mentally retarded persons.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted to assess the effects of intermittent drug therapy on stereotyped and collateral behaviors of six profoundly mentally retarded, institutionalized, adult males. The subjects, all of whom had received antipsychotic medication for more than three years, had their maintenance dosages gradually reduced by almost half during the eight-month study. A multiple baseline across subjects design was utilized to assess drug effects on object and body stereotypy and a range of collateral behaviors. While there was individual variation across behaviors and subjects, the main finding was that despite the marked reduction in medication, there were no general changes of clinical significance in any of the behaviors. This finding is of considerable therapeutic importance since a very large number of institutionalized mentally retarded persons receive similar long-term medication for behavior problems and there is some concern regarding the adverse side effects of such treatment.