For most children, the developmental stage of exploring the world by putting everything, food and non-food items, in or around the mouth begins at birth and ends around 18 months of age. However, for those with developmental disabilities, this tendency may last into adulthood with the ingestion of non-nutritive, non-food items, a disorder called…

Severe behavior disorders are among the most perplexing conditions encountered by clinicians, and as a front page article in the past Christmas Day's "New York Times" illustrates ("Parents defend school's use of shock therapy"), treatment options remain a topic of contentious debate. Not all that long ago physical restraint was the only option,…