Most definitions of emotionally disturbed youngsters suggest that disturbances in the child's behavior patterns cause academic and social problems which affect the child and his peers. While the process of identification may be facilitated by operational criteria within a definition, these factors are noticeably absent from definitions of…

Fritz Redl (1902-1988) originated the life space model of therapeutic intervention with children who display angry and defiant behavior. His methods were honed by decades of direct work with highly aggressive youth. Redl observed that the same surface behavior could spring from very different underlying problems, thus requiring different…

This report describes the development of a rating scale and direct observation measure to monitor the treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in the home or school setting. The study applied an accuracy-reliability paradigm to validate the newly created rating scale and observation measure. An incontrovertible index using a scripted…

A review of the literature and descriptive examples of peers implementing the "high probability request" (HPR) strategy for changing behavior in young children with behavior disorders are presented. HPR intervention involves delivering three to five high probability requests with positive reinforcement in rapid succession, followed by a…

Education professionals consistently rank disruptive/aggressive student behavior as persistent and troubling, reporting various types of maladaptive behaviors ranging from talking out in class to assault. Researchers suggest that childhood aggression accounts for a high proportion of the referrals to special education for emotional and behavioral…

There is mounting evidence that the majority of severe and chronic problem behaviors demonstrated by school-aged children and adolescents stem from behavior patterns that are established during early childhood. Without early identification and proactive prevention/intervention among young children at risk, problem behavior is likely to continue to…

This monograph examines the special educational needs of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) children and youth who are also diagnosed as having behavior disorders (BD). Following an introductory chapter, chapters 2 and 3 address the specific populations of Asian Americans (usually underrepresented in the BD population) and African…

Recent research in psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience has demonstrated reliable associations between temperament and individual differences in sensitivity and responsiveness to environmental cues and behavioral consequences. Temperament-influenced behavior patterns evident in infancy have also been found to predict behavioral tendencies in…