This paper explains the brief stimulus preference procedure (SPA), which is designed to identify efficiently the effective reinforcers for children with autism and other developmental disabilities. SPA involves presenting the child with four items he/she generally responds well to plus one new item. After allowing the child to pick his preferred…

Three studies investigated environmental correlates of self-injurious behavior in seven developmentally disabled children and adolescents which were then later used for treatment. Correlates investigated included positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, automatic reinforcement, and control. "Escape extinction" was successfully…

Analysis of videotapes of training procedures with 12 developmentally disabled adults in a horticultural day work program found an overall staff emphasis on selectively attending to workers' successful behavior with evidence of both efficiency and effectiveness of this approach. (Author/DB)