Current behaviour policies, which focus around reward and deterrent, have only limited long-term effectiveness. They assume that students can exercise self-control and follow rules, when motivated to do so. Students with special educational needs and disabilities typically have many intrinsic challenges to self-regulation, due to executive…

Cox, Villegas, and Barlow (2018) published a reply to an article in which I (Shyman, 2016) argued that there were fundamental philosophical problems with behavior analytic intervention that prevent it from being considered as a humanistic approach. A number of important points were raised about the argument including criticisms and the need for…

Reece Peterson has published widely on educational policy and the impact on children with significant behavioral challenges. He has served in many roles but always with an emphasis on providing support for children. He is recognized as a national expert on the topics of physical restraints and seclusion procedures. He shares his reflections and…

In this retrospective commentary on "Acceptability of Behavioral Interventions Used in Classrooms: The Influence of Amount of Teacher Time, Severity of Behavior Problem, and Type of Intervention," I first examine the concept of social validity and related measurement challenges per Wolf's concerns about consumers' subjective reactions to…

Systematic screening for behavioral and social-emotional concerns at school is one way to ensure that at-risk children are identified and provided services. School psychologists play a critical role in creating multitiered systems of support that consider universal screening, early intervention, and ongoing progress monitoring to help support…

Beverly (Bev) Holden Johns shares her career as an educator and advocate for children who present challenges in the educational setting. She introduces the reader to "Sally," who illustrates the continual need for advocacy for children. Bev also offers advice for those just entering the field. Her perspective and experiences enrich us…

For this 10th article in the series reviewing recent court decisions concerning appropriate school psychology practice from both professional and legal perspectives, the focus is eligibility under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). For this purpose, the courts have generally agreed that, based on the definitions in the IDEA's…

Richard Simpson is professor of special education at the University of Kansas (KU). Dr. Simpson's duties at KU have included roles of staff psychologist, teaching associate, assistant professor, project director, associate professor, professor, and chairperson for the Department of Special Education. He has directed numerous University of Kansas…

Developing a positive and healthy sexuality is central to being human. Australia is the only country in the world with a funded male health policy, but its publication in 2010 has not filtered through to throw an obvious focus on any health issue, sexual or otherwise, for men with intellectual and developmental disability, who may make…

In their analysis of the accumulated data from the clinically ascertained Simons Simplex Collection (SSC), Hus et al. (2013) provide a large-scale clinical replication of previously reported associations (see Constantino, Hudziak & Todd, 2003) between quantitative autistic traits [as measured by the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS)] and…

Students with disabilities who engage in high rates of challenging behaviors require educators who employ function-based thinking and have a particular sensitivity to the wide range of factors that influence student behavior. In essence, educators working with special needs students need to know what makes their instruction "special"; they must…

The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) is currently being used in clinical and genetic studies of autism as both a screener and as a quantitative measure of autistic traits. This article assesses the influence of nonspecific factors on SRS scores to aid researchers in their interpretations of these scores. In their commentary, Constantino and…

The quality and the prevalence of education are the major indicators of the development of a society. It is a kind of human right to every person living in the society to be educated in a sufficient way. The education of the disabled people, a social reality in Turkey, is not sufficiently carried out. This paper aims at the education of the…

Instruction is the most important variable in special education, but it is often overlooked. Special instruction is what makes special education work, yet it is often neglected. We need to know more about how to teach both academic and behavioral skills more effectively, how behavioral and academic skills are interrelated, and how to choose those…

Six months after the carnage at Virginia Tech last year, the author relates that she studied the steps colleges have since taken to try to prevent suicide and homicide on campus. Here, she discusses some of the observations she gathered from her study. She describes that some faculty members are indifferent, oblivious, or even nasty to their…