Assessment and treatment of foot-shoe fetish displayed by a man with autism.

Matson et al. (2011) worked with an adult man with autism. He had a foot-shoe fetish that happened many times each day.

The team first tried other treatments. None worked. Then they used response-interruption plus brief time-out. They blocked the behavior and moved him to a chair for two minutes.

The fetish behavior dropped to zero in every place they tested. It stayed gone when staff faded the time-out chair.

The whole plan took only a few weeks.

Cividini-Motta et al. (2020) got the same fast drop with public masturbation in youth. They used only hand removal and the word "Stop." Both studies show simple blocking can stop auto-maintained sexual behavior.

Jeglum et al. (2022) went further. They added competing items and had parents run the plan. Skin picking stayed gone for five months. The 2011 case shows blocking works; the 2022 case shows you can add items and caregivers.

Thomas et al. (2023) also added response cost. Parents cut teen pica for a full year. These newer papers extend the 2011 idea: start with blocking, then build a parent-friendly package.

If you face auto-maintained sexual or body-focused behavior, start with response interruption. It can give immediate relief while you design a fuller plan. Watch for generalization and teach caregivers next.