Evaluation of a protocol for assessing leisure choice skills of seven older adults with severe disabilities involved either presentation with pairs of objects or pictures representing choices. Five participants demonstrated skills in making choices using objects and two demonstrated making choices using pictures. (Author/DB)

This study describes the development of the Active Treatment Client Rights checklist (ATCR), which was designed to facilitate the assessment, monitoring, and implementation of readily observable client active treatment services for adults with developmental disabilities. The ATCR was found to be highly reliable, valid, and useful in enhancing…

This study evaluated the reliability of the Child Behavior Checklist with 42 children and youth with mild mental retardation. Use of kappa coefficients and intra-class correlations at item and syndrome levels indicated that the Child Behavior Checklist may not always represent a reliable checklist for the assessment of psychopathology in this…

This study evaluated a method for assessing the behavioral function of severe self-injury in four adults with severe/profound mental retardation. Initial assessment included analyzing within-session trends and fluctuations in rates of self-injury by plotting the frequency within each minute of the session. (DB)

This article discusses clinical application of functional analysis in developmental disabilities, reviewing issues related to treatment logic and development. The article then approaches functional analysis as a research method, reviewing three areas of research: analysis of diverse response topographies, analysis of basic behavioral processes,…

This paper reviews the literature on functional assessment in the behavioral treatment of aggression in persons with mental retardation or developmental delays. Increased use of functional assessment and skill training is noted but no concomitant decrease in the use of intrusive procedures. (Author/DB)

This study examined the social validation of using microswitches versus interaction/stimulation conditions with persons with multiple disabilities. Teacher-assistant trainees and rehabilitation staff (n=72) were shown videotapes comparing the two methods and then scored both approaches. The microswitch condition was viewed as generally more…

Time-based lag sequential analyses were conducted on 23 topographies of challenging behavior shown by 5 young people with severe mental retardation across 2 settings. Potential behavioral functions were identified for 21 of the 23 behaviors. Response classes were identified for four participants. Cross-validation with brief experimental analyses…

The Verbal Interaction Analysis System is presented as an assessment of initial, dyadic conversations. Application of the VIAS to two case studies featuring mildly to moderately intellectually disabled adults shows how the VIAS provides an index of competence and assists in the development of specific treatment strategies. (Author/JDD)

Fifty-six teachers of students with moderate/profound disabilities viewed task analytic data in one of three forms: graphed, ungraphed, or both. The data's form did not produce different teacher judgments of student progress or different program recommendations. Three factors (trend, variability, and frequency of data collection) had significant…

A content analysis, consisting of 24 items covering behavior specification, objectives, program procedures, data collection, and quality assurance, was applied to 141 written behavior reduction programs of 2 large residential institutions for individuals with developmental disabilities. Use of the content analysis is recommended for program…

Parent and teacher ratings on the Aberrant Behavior Checklist with an outpatient sample of 110 children, adolescents, and young adults with mental retardation found that the 5-factor structure of both parent and teacher data corresponded very well with the 5 factors originally obtained from staff ratings of mentally retarded inpatients. (Author/DB)

Two studies replicated and refined a program for evaluating and improving residential treatment services during group leisure periods in living units for persons with severe developmental disabilities. Results indicated that provision of leisure materials and interaction with clients decreased maladaptive client behavior. The monitoring system…

The study examined the frequency with which specified prediction-related and skill-deficit vocational assessment procedures were administered by 55 secondary level teachers of students with disabilities and 64 employment training specialists. Although both types of procedures were used, the more contemporary skill-deficit procedures were used more…