Catatonia is a complex motor condition which, when associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), can severely compromise personal autonomy and the management of daily routines. This single-case study describes an applied behavior analysis (ABA) intervention aimed at increasing independence in the shower routine of a young adult with level 1 ASD and comorbid catatonia living in a residential service. The program combined task analysis, forward chaining and prompting with fading, and introduced a verbal countdown that was gradually shortened to support action initiation and motor continuity. Baseline data showed marked dependence on prompts and very long duration of the shower routine. Across the intervention phases, the number of prompts decreased from about 20 to 8 and the total duration of the routine decreased from approximately 72 minutes to 38–40 minutes, with improved fluency and stability of performance. The results suggest that structured ABA procedures, integrated with motor activation strategies such as a graded verbal countdown, can effectively transform a highly dependent self-care activity into a more autonomous and functional routine, contributing to better quality of life for adults with ASD and catatonia.

Giovanni Luigi Becca is a pedagogist and behavior analyst registered in the ABA-ITA national register, and coordinator of the Autism Center and socio-rehabilitative residential services at Opera Gesù Nazareno in Sassari, Italy. He is completing a Master’s degree in Psychology at the University “Giustino Fortunato” and holds previous degrees in Education, Social Work and Sports Management. He designs and supervises ABAbased programs for adolescents and adults with autism and complex needs, focusing on daily living skills, autonomy and quality of life, and has authored clinical case reports and conference presentations on autism and catatonia.