The study assessed transfer of visual training for myopia using two different training stimuli and a single subject A-B-C-A design with a male student volunteer. A procedure including stimulus fading and reinforcement (positive verbal feedback) was used to effectively improve performance on both behavioral acuity tests during the training phases…

Two children (ages four and five) with mild developmental delays and no appropriate toy play were trained individually on one topography for each toy. Previously reinforced topographies of toy play were then placed on extinction, resulting in the induction of untrained topographies. (Author/DB)

The performance of four direct service providers in feeding, positioning, and transferring physically disabled patients was measured. Use of written instructions led to slight and usually brief changes in performance. The introduction of feedback, especially a continuous schedule, resulted in marked improvements which were maintained. (Author/JDD)

Findings of the three experiments indicated that normal children can successfully teach social responses (i.e., delayed imitation, cooperative play, and verbalization of positive comments) to withdrawn mentally retarded peers (8 to 13 years old). Effects generalized across stimulus and response conditions, while the levels of responding were…

A systematic sequence of prompt and probe trials was used to teach picture names to three severely retarded children (aged 4). For all children the fixed ratio schedule for correct responses to prompts, combined with the every correct response reinforced schedule for correct responses to probes, generated the best results. (Author/PHR)

Three moderately retarded adults who had minimal ability to tell time were trained to "time-manage." Results indicated that the package consisting of preinstruction, instructional feedback, and picture cues was effective in producing independent time-management responding. (Author)

Two experiments combined the assessment of reinforcer preferences and the functional analysis of behavior to prescribe treatment of self-injurious behavior in two severely handicapped children, aged four and eight. The treatments reduced self-injurious behavior when the child was alone as well as during instructional training activities. (JDD)

A training package consisting of instruction in role-play social behaviors, reinforcement of appropriate behaviors, and a correction procedure was used with 20 children (ages 7-13) with deafness and severe language disabilities. The training package was effective in increasing greeting, turn waiting, initiating interaction, and giving help; and…

Three severely retarded persons displaying self-injury, stereotypy, or aggression were trained to emit a communicative response that solicited reinforcement. Results showed that consequence procedures were required in addition to reinforcement. Treating aberrant behavior through use of functional analysis to identify maintaining contingencies and…

This study found that, in a task context, differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) effectively reduced problem behavior and increased task performance of 2 adolescents with severe disabilities (ages 15 and 19), whereas a time-out procedure was ineffective. In a leisure context, time-out was effective while DRO was ineffective.…

A cues-pause-point procedure was used to train two severely retarded females to remain quiet before, during, and briefly after the presentation of questions and then to verbalize on the basis of environmental cues whose labels represented the correct responses. Echolalia was rapidly replaced by correct responding on the trained stimuli. (Author/JW)

Prompting, modeling, and differential reinforcement were used to teach three nonverbal adults with severe to profound mental retardation to exit their group homes at the sound of the house fire alarm. All three learned to exit independently in less than two minutes in all or the majority of surprise fire drills. (Author/JDD)

We examined some conditions under which a response acquired as a tact might facilitate the establishment of a mand. We taught 3 participants with developmental disabilities to tact the items ranked highest and lowest in a preference assessment and subsequently tested to see if the responses occurred as mands. All participants manded for the highly…

Three individuals with multiple severe disabilities were taught an appropriate response to problem behaviors, but the response was less efficient than the problem behavior on physical effort, schedule of reinforcement, or stimulus-reinforcer time delay. The response did not compete successfully with the problem behaviors until a new, more…