Using food aversion to decrease severe pica by a child with autism.

Food aversion was shown to be effective in the reduction of plastic pica by a 4-year-old boy with autism. The participant was suffering from digestive complications due to the ingestion of plastic from a variety of toys. The intervention was initially conducted in the child's preschool classroom during instructional periods and was systematically generalized to the entire preschool classroom, and eventually to both classrooms within the preschool and across 25 teachers. The success of the intervention in decreasing pica was enhanced by its achievement in not reducing interactions with toys, considering appropriate play skills were a target goal.