This is a quiet rant. A request to revisit an article reprinted in this issue prompted it and I focus on context and purpose of the original article, lack of developments in the field since the article was published, and favored directions to take in the future related to the focus of the original work. [This classic article was indexed in ERIC in…

Contends treatment strategies often are premised on modifying either environmental factors or clients' interpretations of the interpersonal environment, but a more complete analysis would take into account the role played by genetic transmission in an individual's personality. Recommends when developing interventions both counselors and clients…

The successful application of functional analysis to problem behavior suggests the need to examine: additional functional properties of behavior involving social avoidance, biological reinforcement, and respondent conditioning; the role of context (including social factors and biological factors); and the multidimensional character of assessment…

A reaction to Sowell's book raises issues about behaviorally based diagnoses, stressing that developmental disorders are behaviorally defined dimensions along a continuum with no crisp partition between normalcy and disorders. It sees developmental disorders as usually the expression of extremely complex, multigenic influences on brain…

This article examines the clinical aspects of etiology-related behaviors in young children with genetic mental retardation syndromes. Discussion of the concept of behavioral phenotype leads to consideration of how interventionists can best provide more focused and more effective interventions for children with different genetic disorders and…

A psychiatrist describes causative factors (e.g., difficult childbirth, cerebral hypoxemy), behaviors (e.g., motor instability, irritability, enuresis), and abilities (e.g., extrasensory perception, telepathy) that he has associated with giftedness but that are not widely recognized. He also advocates the use of ambidextrous training and Losanov…

This paper argues that human agency as a causal factor in behavior must be considered in any model of behavior and behavior disorders. Since human agency is historically tied to the issue of consciousness, to argue that consciousness plays a causal role in behavior requires a plausible explanation of consciousness. This paper proposes that…

This paper reviews the concept of adaptive behavior, the etiology of maladaptive behavioral patterns in learning-disabled individuals, and age-related trends in life adjustment. It advocates the use of adaptive behavior measures to identify homogeneous subtypes of learning disabilities, to predict educational consequences, and to determine…

This article examines the status of behavioral research on genetic mental retardation syndromes and finds that the field continues to struggle with three methodological issues: (1) how to think about control or contrast groups, (2) the interplay of behavioral phenotypes with development and other within-group variations, and (3) the efficacy of…

Attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADHD), which is conceptualized as a lack of behavioral inhibition or self-regulation, is reviewed. The article examines the relationship between ADHD and language delays/disorders, possible language and social-emotional cognitive underpinnings for pragmatic and metacognitive deficits in ADHD children,…

Two papers, one on child abuse and the other on effects of preinstitutional history and institutionalization on the behavior of the retarded, are presented. In the first paper the author stresses the need to document the scope and nature of child abuse in American society and discusses the difficulties in defining where on the continuum discipline…