For children with the most severe and persistent academic and/or behavioral challenges, parent and family involvement is vital. Student outcome data suggest that the current educational system does not adequately prepare students with the most intensive needs, particularly students with disabilities, for the world of college and work. Although the…

Fourteen profiles of students in kindergarten through grade 8 provide information on characteristic behavior of learning disabled or behavior disordered students. Characteristics are matched up with appropriate strategies from a list of 188 in the back of the book. Profiles include hyperactive, withdrawn, clumsy, friendless, bewildered, and…

Students with learning disabilities and behavior problems need instruction designed to increase active thinking and questioning skills. Described methods for teaching these skills include T. Raphael's question-answer relationships, A. Hahn's questioning strategy, reciprocal teaching, and the "ReQuest" procedure. Practice activities for…

Offers a six-step procedure for developing and implementing a response cost system for changing problem classroom behaviors of students with learning disabilities. Steps described are establishing classroom rules, rewarding compliance, selecting reinforcers, reducing noncompliance through response cost consequences, following through on…

Based on results of work from British schools, this article identifies ten effective ways of responding to challenging behaviors of pupils with severe learning disabilities, including helping the pupil to establish positive relations with one adult, focusing on teaching language and communication, allowing the pupil to opt out of activities, and…

Discusses the difficulties many students with learning and attention-related disabilities have in dealing with classroom transitions. Short case studies are provided to show how behavior problems escalate when effective teaching methods are not utilized to ease transitions, and several transition techniques are suggested. (Author/CR)

Parents can help their children with learning and/or behavior problems adjust to junior high school by implementing a home-school contingency plan in which certain privileges are made contingent on good social or academic behavior at school. Suggestions are offered for establishing, implementing, and terminating (or continuing) a successful plan.…

This article describes a model to assist teachers in solving academic or behavioral problems of students with learning disabilities. The model uses the word PINPOINT as a mnemonic technique to address Problem identification, Importance rating, Noting the behaviors to develop, Possible solutions, Optimal options for the student, Ideal interventions…

Parent-teacher conferences offer an opportunity to cooperatively prevent and solve learning and behavior problems. The phases of a parent-teacher conference include: preconference phase (notification, preparation, agenda planning, and arranging environments); conference phase, which utilizes a problem-solving approach; and postconference phase,…

Many learning-disabled students experience social skill problems which call for training to promote success in school, work, and social settings. Social skill problems fall into three categories: skill deficits, performance deficits, and behavioral excesses. Interventions generally focus on increasing the individual's repertoire of skills, using…

Techniques for developing self-management skills in students with learning and/or behavioral difficulties are explained, including self-monitoring and self-instruction. Development of self-management skills is seen to facilitate mainstreaming and provide prereferral intervention assistance. (DB)

The guide offers parents of young children with learning disabilities a curriculum to remediate behavior problems and social skill deficits. The curriculum focuses on eight social skill problems identified as common by a preliminary needs assessment. Part I provides an introduction to the curriculum with chapters on using the curriculum with your…

The article discusses neuropsychological and treatment aspects of brain behavior disorders in children from the standpoint of terms such as minimal brain dysfunction, learning disabilities, hyperactivity, and hyperkinetic syndrome. (Author/DLS)

Guidelines for effectively integrating learning-disabled or behavior problem students into regular classrooms are discussed. They include meetings between regular and special education teachers, class rules, discipline, clear directions, individualized instruction, direct instruction for skill acquisition, peer tutoring, structured activities,…

Focus is on a conceptualization of initial assessment and consultation, the problem-solving paradigm as a framework for guiding this activity, and a description of procedures and initial data from a demonstration program. (Author/DLS)