Linscheid and colleagues (1990) reported the empiricaltesting of a device called SIBIS - (Self-Injurious Behavior Inhibiting System),which provides a mild and brief electrical stimulation after each occurrence ofSIB [self-injurious behavior]. They presented the results of SIBIS in thetreatment of five cases of SIB, selected from the most severe in terms ofmagnitude and frequency of self-injury, and that had proved refractory to othertreatment modalities. One of the participants was about to lose his sight dueto the chronicity of SIB. Another participant showed about three thousand self-injuriousresponses per day. According to the authors, the effects were immediate, withalmost complete elimination of SIB. Both anecdotal information as follow-ups offour of the five participants suggested the continuation of benefits and lackof harmful side effects. It should be mentioned that the use of positive reinforcement procedures were associated with theuse of SIBIS. According tothe authors, the SIBIS should not be considered as a substitute for thefunctional assessment or for programs of positive reinforcement for increasingappropriate behaviors. The authors also pointed out explicitly that there is aneed for strict supervision of qualified professionals in the use of SIBIS.Iwata (1988) reported in detail the contexts of theemergence of SIBIS, and the reasons that led him to join the development projectof the device technology. The rudimentary precursor of the SIBIS was designedby Leslie and Moosa Grant, parents of a girl with a severe autism spectrumdisorder in an attempt to get effective treatment for the intractable SIB oftheir daughter, who was hitting head and face to the point of producinglacerations that affected bone and came near to mutilate her ear. Her parentshad tried a lot of treatments with recognized professionals, without success.After years of trying ineffective treatments, the Grant's came to know thebasics of what was then called behavior modification, and learned that the useof contingent electric shock were an effective way to eliminate the SIBrefractory to any other form of treatment. They then built a device equippedwith an accelerometer that activated electrical stimulation automatically afterdetecting rapid movements directed to the head. Although cumbersome andimpractical, the device quickly eliminated their daughter's SIB, which had beenongoing so chronic for fifteen years.Understandably, the Grant's wondered why they were,for many years, subjecting their daughter to repeated ineffective treatments, andwhy devices such as their own built device could not have been previouslyavailable. They began to look for people who could build a better device fortheir daughter, and also for others affected by similar problems. Then they madecontact with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), where they foundengineers who were able to build a prototype. These engineers realized theywould need the help of doctors and behavior analysts, and then asked Tom Linscheid,who, in turn, invited Gary Pace, Michael Cataldo and Brian Iwata to join theproject.For four years, the team of engineers, doctors andbehavior analysts worked on the development of the device, which was augmentedwith response and stimulation provided counters, a tone that precededelectrical stimulation, the possibility of activation via remote control, andmost importantly, the possibility of application of positive reinforcementschedules through tones after specified periods without occurrence of SIB. Theuse of electrical stimulation procedures of