Restraint and seclusion (R/S) are practices employed by schools to address severe student behavior. Although the use of R/S has been shown to have harmful impact for students, staff, and schools, there is no federal law that addresses its use in schools. A lack of a universal approach leaves each state to determine its own legislation and policy.…

Effectively managing a classroom is crucial in promoting positive student outcomes. Behavior-specific praise is an empirically supported strategy to reinforce desirable student behaviors. Following a review of the literature, we identified tactile prompting and self-monitoring as effective methods to increase teachers' use of behavior-specific…

Functional communication training (FCT) is a commonly used, often recommended intervention that involves teaching a functionally equivalent communicative response to replace challenging behavior. The purpose of this literature review was to evaluate the strength of the evidence for the use of FCT. A systematic review of the literature resulted in…

Classroom pivotal response teaching (CPRT) is an evidence-based practice (EBP) adapted for classroom use. A recent effectiveness trial of CPRT involved training 98 special education classrooms in Southern California. The Exploration, Planning, Implementation, and Sustainment (EPIS) conceptual framework illustrates the impact of inner- and…

In this article, we describe and evaluate the extent to which recent changes to state-level policy are related to seclusion and restraint in schools and detail what components of comprehensive restraint and seclusion policy are indicated. We examined state policy documents and coded them for the presence of specific characteristics related to…

This article examines a critical question for the special education community: What should be the current meaning of "free appropriate public education" (FAPE) in light of not only the Supreme Court's landmark "Rowley" decision in 1982 but also developments in the 30 years since then? After synthesizing what the…

This article addresses the effects of 3-tiered comprehensive reading and behavior interventions on K-3 student outcomes in 7 urban elementary schools with a high prevalence of students considered difficult to teach. Specific features of each level of the implementation are described including screening and tier placement procedures, scheduling and…

Timeout, a behavior reduction technique used with handicapped and nonhandicapped persons, is defined; its parameters (including warning, duration, and timeout schedule) are reviewed; and its procedural aspects (including preconditions and concurrent interventions) are considered. Five basic types are placed along a continuum of restrictiveness.…

Seventeen educable mentally handicapped and learning disabled students (9-12 years old) who participated in a self-instruction (cognitive behavior modification) group scored better than a control group on the operations area of the KeyMath Diagnostic Test. Systematic instructional variables (such as precise assessment and task-analyzed curriculum)…

The out-of-seat behavior of a highly disruptive 4 year old with severe disabilities was substantially reduced using differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior. The boy's in-seat behavior expanded from less than a minute to 20 minutes. The providers' use of physical restraint decreased to near-zero levels, and the boy's appropriate toy…

Four preschool boys learned to conduct self-assessments of their independent work behavior and compare their ratings with teacher ratings. The treatment produced immediate and substantial improvements in child behavior, and it was possible to systematically withdraw each treatment component while maintaining a high level of appropriate child…

The role of archival data in planning intervention priorities is examined and efficacy research focusing on the three types of positive behavioral support (PBS) is evaluated: schoolwide (universal), specific setting, and individual student levels. Overall, findings were positive across all types of PBS, validating implementation of these…

This paper reviews studies that have used instructional variables as nonaversive interventions for problem behaviors of individuals with severe disabilities. These include student choice of task, task variation, pace of instruction, interspersal of high probability tasks, partial versus whole task training, decreasing task difficulty, and a…

A study examined the impact of functional assessment interventions on appropriate and challenging behaviors of 75 typical children (ages 3-6), 60 children at-risk, and 75 children with special needs. Functional assessment procedures resulted in a decrease in challenging behavior and nonengagement and an increase in active engagement and peer…

This study investigated effects of multiple-component behavioral self-management (BSM) interventions on math fluency and engaged time of five fourth-grade students with and without disabilities in general education classrooms. Students increased their math fluency and engaged time, and these continued to improve when the self-management…