Positive side effects in the treatment of SIB using the Self-Injurious Behavior Inhibiting System (SIBIS): implications for operant and biochemical explanations of SIB.

Johnson et al. (1994) used a small device called SIBIS. It gives a quick shock right after a person hits their own head.

The team watched one client. They tracked head-hitting and the client’s mood for a full year.

Head-hitting dropped fast. The shock stopped it.

Surprise: the client smiled and laughed more, not less. The good mood lasted the whole year.

King et al. (1990) showed the same device almost wiped out SIB in five people. That paper did not look at mood.

Taub et al. (1994) followed one case for six years. SIB stayed low even after the shock stopped at 30 months.

van der Miesen et al. (2024) pooled many later studies. Caregivers at home got the same big drops in SIB as clinics. None of those studies used shock, yet the gains matched the 1994 SIBIS result.

Together, the papers say: early, brief shock can work fast, but long-term control can later be kept without it.

You now know that a short, well-monitored SIBIS program can cut severe head-hitting and may lift mood. If you ever use it, pair the device with strong reinforcement and plan to fade the shock. Track happiness, not just injury. One year—or even six—of data beats a quick fix.