A review of research on the adaptive behavior of persons with both mental retardation and autism/pervasive developmental disorder finds the performances of these dually disabled individuals to be particularly poor in the domain of social skills/socialization and somewhat less poor in the communication domain. In addition, autistic mentally…

A treatment package consisting of differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO), token fines, and prompted relaxation was used to reduce the agitated-disruptive behavior of a young adult with autism and mental retardation living in a community group home. DRO procedures were partially implemented by a peer with Down syndrome. Baseline rates…

The appropriateness of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) was investigated with 199 youngsters with dual diagnosis of mental retardation and psychiatric disturbance. With some cautions, the ABC is recommended, based on the robustness of its factor structure, clinically meaningfulness of the subscale scores, and internal consistency of the…

Six adults with both autism and moderate/profound mental retardation were assessed in a controlled environment for changes in frequency of maladaptive and stereotypic behaviors following nonexercise activities, general motor training activities, and aerobic exercise. Although antecedent aerobic exercise reduced undesirable behaviors, general motor…