The effects of expressive modeling experiences on the observational learning of generative language by children with severe mental retardation was investigated. All six children (aged six-nine) demonstrated observational learning of responses modeled by their peers. Organizing the modeling experiences according to matrix-training principles…

Three mentally handicapped students (aged 13, 36, and 40) with maladaptive speech received training to answer questions with verbal labels. The results of their cues-pause-point training showed that the students replaced their maladaptive speech with correct labels (answers) to questions in the training setting and three generalization settings.…

A behavioral consultation approach was effectively used to reduce problem behaviors in 2 field studies with 3 students (ages 10-14) having severe or profound mental retardation and their teachers. Intervention involved extinction of inappropriate behaviors, reinforcement of appropriate play behaviors, and teaching verbal skills functionally…

Two individuals with severe mental retardation, participants in a supported employment program, were taught to use self-instruction in combination with multiple exemplar training to solve work-related problems. Use of the combined strategy resulted in generalization of self-instruction statements and correct responses to untrained problem…

Parents of four nonverbal and four echolalic autistic children, aged five-nine, were trained to increase their children's speech by using the Natural Language Paradigm. Following training, parents increased the frequency with which they required their children to speak, and children increased the frequency of their verbalizations in three…