Teaching self-feeding skills to patients with Rett syndrome.

Few studies have examined the extent to which functional hand-use may be taught to girls with Rett syndrome after those skills have been lost. In this investigation, five females with classic Rett syndrome were taught to feed themselves using a method of prompting and reinforcement. All patients demonstrated improvements in their self-feeding skills. The results are discussed in terms of the factors that may influence the acquisition of skills in girls with Rett syndrome, and directions for future research and proposed.