Four autistic children, age 8-15, exhibited fewer correct responses to a stimulus as the number of stimulus components was increased from 1 to 4. Training was effective in producing some generalized increases in responses to complex stimuli. (Author/JDD)

Two studies of three youths (ages 12-14) with severe mental retardation, who used aggression and self-injury to avoid difficult instructional situations, found that simple commands interspersed among more challenging instructional trials were effective at increasing the learners' responsiveness to instructions and decreasing levels of problem…