Restraints and other aversives continue to be an active area of legal activity, particularly for students with disabilities. The March/April 2016 issue of Communiqué provided an update of the case law specific to school district use of restraints (Zirkel, 2016). Since then, various sources have provided successive snapshots of state restraint and…

At least 60% of children with disabilities have multiple disabilities including visual impairments (VI). Because the visual system is neurologically based, any problems of the neurological system will also likely affect vision. The estimated number of students with VI and additional disabilities has increased significantly over the years. Since…

A case study focuses on the characteristics and physical management of a 15-year-old with Prader-Willi Syndrome, a birth defect associated with hypotonia, insatiable appetite, hypogonadism, central nervous system dysfunction, and abnormal growth and development . A literature review addresses studies dealing with behavior modification of obesity…

The authors describe behavior modification treatment procedures applied by direct-care staff in a residential school to conrol severe aggression and self-injury in two developmentally disabled, visually handicapped students. Techniques included positive practice overcorrection, verbal command, and response immobilization. (Author/CL)

The case study demonstrates the use of negative reinforcement for initial response conditioning of a seven-year-old deaf, blind, physically handicapped boy. A systematic procedure for reinforcer sampling failed to identify items for positive reinforcers. A procedure for removal of an aversive stimulus (negative reinforcement) was then successfully…

The paper reports on a program to change behaviors of six blind multihandicapped adolescents with severe behavior disorders at the New York Institute for the Education of the Blind. Examples are drawn of the program's effects on a 17 year old male, Joe. Program principles include reduction of stressful situations for the students, expansion of…

The article discusses the uses of mechanical vibration for stimulating, rewarding, and suppressing behaviors of multiply handicapped blind children. Suggestions for further research and refinement of the techniques are made. (Author)

Techniques for training a severely retarded blind client to exit his living unit during a fire drill used a combination of negative and positive reinforcement. Following a shaping procedure, the client learned to leave his living unit from any internal point through generalization training and subsequent test probes. (Author/CL)

This article offers an example of how teachers may successfully use a process for addressing problem behaviors in the classroom. The process includes (1) framing critical questions, (2) collecting relevant data, (3) taking well-researched actions, and (4) reflecting on the impact of these actions. Guided by these steps, the inappropriate comments…

The article describes a training program which effectively taught a profoundly retarded and blind nine-year-old boy to use a walker. One year follow-up indicated maintenance of treatment gains. Ambulation training was correlated with a significant reduction in stereotypic behavior. (Author/DB)

A self contained behavior management classroom, an intensive program for children with multiple behavior impairments, is described. The classroom is designed to transfer the student back to the special education classroom for severely and trainable mentally impaired and autistic children. Typical behavior problems are considered, along with…

The paper describes a special education staff's problems with teaching a severely handicapped institutionalized population and reports on observations of seven multiply handicapped (blind-mentally retarded) students. The students' feeding skills performance in the institution and the school was compared in such terms as diet, utensil use, special…

This case study reports use of ignoring, positive reinforcement, passive restraint, and time-out in treatment of a 10-year-old girl with profound retardation and disruptive behaviors in home and classroom. Time-out was the most effective intervention with all three target behaviors, with improved behaviors maintained for at least six months.…

The Teaching Parents Program at a center for moderately retarded students (5 to 13 years old) who may also be visually handicapped, multiply handicapped, or emotionally disturbed allows parents to learn principles of behavior modification, task analysis, and data collection while working with a child in the classroom. Materials used in the program…

Room management is described as a behavioral strategy developed in Great Britain and designed to increase the percentage of time that handicapped children are engaged in independent, constructive activity. Used with severely multiply handicapped children, least responsive children were unlikely to be engaged unless receiving individual attention.…