The paper stresses that, in teaching language handicapped children, the natural reinforcement of language as means of communication, of obtaining wants, is of more value than reinforcers (such as candy) often used in clinical settings. (PHR)

This article on the use of applied behavior analysis with students who have autism focuses on discrete trial training (DTT) to develop new forms of behavior, new discriminations, advanced skills, and manage disruptive behavior. Cautions include the need to combine the method with other interventions, provide intensive DTT during early phases of…

This article discusses social skills training for students with emotional or behavioral disorders who have difficulty building social relationships. It addresses problems with current social skills instruction program, the lack of generalization data, and strategies to program systematically for generalization and maintenance of trained skills.…

This paper reviews the rationale and behavioral interventions commonly used for teaching compliance to individuals with mental retardation and the role of ethics in the use of such interventions. The paper examines issues in deciding whether compliance is an appropriate objective for an individual and whether interventions designed to achieve…

This guide is designed to increase the financial counselors' awareness of the counseling field and to provide material which may be used by them in forming a personal counseling approach. Several approaches and techniques of counseling are presented as well as their potential application to financial counseling including the rationale approach,…

This manual presents a course designed for persons who have direct contact with youth, on an individual or group basis, in a service capacity. The intent of the course is to train youth workers to develop a basic framework for understanding adolescent development, acquire intervention and decision-making skills, and facilitate the growth of…

This article introduces the use of nonaversive behavior management with persons exhibiting undesirable behaviors. Definitions are suggested and three fundamental elements are explained: (1) a nonaversive set of procedures; (2) social validation criteria emphasizing personal dignity; and (3) the prohibition or restriction of certain aversive or…

Elective mutism in children is discussed including its incidence, possible explanations, treatments, and guidelines for intervention. Two case studies illustrating recommended principles and practices are also provided. (DB)

This booklet explains a system for prevention of and intervention with behavior problems in individuals with mental retardation and autism. The underlying premise is that all behaviors are an effort at communication and that by deciphering the communicative intent or function, one can guide an individual to a more acceptable mode of communication.…

The article offers guidelines to educators evaluating controversial therapies and applies them to four such therapies: tinted lenses as a cure for dyslexia; orthomolecular treatments for learning disabilities; pharmaceutical intervention for dyslexia; and visual training for children with learning disabilities. (DB)

This paper reviews research on disturbances of children with developmental delays and handicaps in responding to complex stimuli, suggesting that such disturbances may deleteriously influence behavioral/neurophysiological development. Intervention programs for teaching children with autism a generalized set to use in responding to complex…

This book introduces "facilitated communication," a method of assisting people with autism to communicate by means of physical assistance in typewriting. The book is organized as a kind of a story around the author's own experience using the facilitated communication method, with examples of fieldwork using qualitative research to…

This book offers guidance on teaching behavior to children with behavior problems, based on the premise that a small percentage of children need one-to-one modeling and rehearsal to enable them to "recover" the behaviors that those in the typical range have established already. The behavior recovery program emphasizes the whole-school nature of…

This monograph aims to assist parents in dealing with behavior problems of children with disabilities. It begins with a case history of an 8-year-old girl with learning disabilities, emotional problems, and behavior problems and her parents' advocacy efforts to obtain an appropriate educational environment for her. Aversive interventions are…

The paper reviews music therapy, the educational background of music therapists, music therapy's various settings, and its use as an intervention with girls with Rett Syndrome. Sample music therapy programs for three girls (aged 5, 14, and 20 years) with Rett Syndrome are presented. The sample programs provide: student descriptions; the girls'…