This quasi-experimental study explored the effects of sensorimotor strategies on improving attention and in-seat behavior of preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Using a single subject, B-A-B-A design with a sensorimotor phase (B) and non-sensorimotor phase (A), duration of attention and in-seat behavior were recorded and analyzed…

Stereotyped, repetitive, ritualistic, obsessive, and compulsive behaviors are a common feature for many individuals with autism, and multiple topographies of such behavior exist. Previous reviews have discussed treatments for stereotypy and repetitive behaviors; however, to date, none have systematically evaluated the efficacy of such treatments.…

Purpose: Early onset of behavioral disorders is predictive of long term adverse outcomes. There are some indicated and selective early prevention programs for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), one of the most common behavioral disorders in childhood and adolescence. The purpose of this paper is to present a universal preschool…

The purpose of this study was to describe reflections of nine American parents on the strengths, challenges, and strategies in parenting young children newly adopted from another country. Eight mothers and one father with an adopted child aged less than 3 years and home for less than 3 months completed standardized assessments measuring the…

This study examined the effectiveness of Sensory Stories on "circle time" behaviors in preschool children with autism. This single-system ABA design with a convenience sample of four participants consisted of one week for each A phase and two weeks for the B phase. The intervention phase (B) consisted of reading a Sensory Story from one…

Two experiments were conducted to assess the relative effectiveness of stimulus shaping and "traditional" prompting procedures with six low-functioning retarded children (one-six years old). Stimulus shaping procedures required less training time than to criterion, resulted in fewer errors, required fewer and less intrusive therapist's prompts,…

The author reviews recent literature dealing with teaching autistic children acceptable behaviors. Using E. Ornitz and E. Ritvo's description of autism, teaching procedures to overcome weaknesses in perceptual difficulties, bizarre movement, and problems in relating are discussed. (CL)

Background: There is a need to develop and adapt therapies for use with people with learning disabilities who have mental health problems. Aims: To examine the performance of people with learning disabilities on two cognitive therapy tasks (emotion recognition and discrimination among thoughts, feelings and behaviours). We hypothesized that…

Describes two experiments that examined whether the amplitude of the human eyeblink by a mild tap between the eyebrows can be increased if a brief tone is presented simultaneously with the tap and how these effects change from newborn infants to adults. (HOD)