We investigated the effects of response effort on the use of mands during functional communication training (FCT) in a participant with autism. The number of links in a picture exchange response chain determined two levels of response effort. Each level was paired with a fixed ratio (FR3) schedule of reinforcement for aggression in a reversal…

This case report describes two children who developed hyperammonemia together with frank manic behavior during treatment with a combination of valproic acid and risperidone. One child had been maintained on valproic acid for years and risperidone was added. In the second case, valproic acid was introduced to a child who had been treated with…

As more mothers of young children work, concerns about child care have gained prominence. Analyses of this topic typically address availability, safety, and costs of care, or the impact of care on children's "outcomes." When providers' input is included, it is generally used as an assessment tool to reinforce the researcher's conceptual framework.…

Background: Past research has determined that fear of violence is often "irrational" in relation to the actual level of risk presented. This has been found to exacerbate the negative effects of exposure to work-related violence. Aims: This study investigates fear of assault in relation to exposure to challenging behaviour. The extent to which a…

A functional analysis with a 13-year-old girl who had autism documented that her problem behavior was maintained by escape from instruction. Additional assessment revealed that certain types of requests and specific practitioners were associated with the highest frequency of problem behavior. In a subsequent intervention evaluation, response…

Background: Reliable measures of aggressive challenging behaviour are required if interventions aimed at reducing this behaviour among people with intellectual disability (ID) are to be formally evaluated. The present authors examined the reliability of the Modified Overt Aggression Scale (MOAS), an instrument not yet formally tested in those with…

Previous studies have identified peer provocation as a challenging class of situations for youth. The work presented here builds on previous methods of assessing peer provocation by (a) increasing the contextual detail of the vignettes; (b) developing a reliable, descriptive coding system of the range of youth responses to physical, verbal, and…

This study integrates and applies theoretical models linking parent cognitions to maternal engagement in a parenting program to prevent child aggression and conduct problems. African American and European American mothers of preschoolers (N = 347) reported on their child's behavior, family demographics, and parental cognitions (i.e., parenting…

The safest place for children should be their own home and family, but the facts place this assumption in doubt. According to data of Russian statistics, 2,000-2,500 children die every year as a result of domestic violence; about 2 million minor children up to the age of fourteen are beaten by their parents, more than 50,000 children run away from…

Our study of 477 children with autism (1-15 years, IQs 9-146) showed that parent reported sleep problems are found in most children with autism and are not significantly related to age, IQ, gender, race, parent occupation, neuropsychological functioning, and learning ability. However, sleep problems increased with severity of autistic symptoms and…

The objectives of the study were to examine the characteristics of non-referred children with behaviour difficulties (BD) (such as verbal and physical aggression towards children and objects), aged 9-12 years and attending mainstream schools, and to compare them with children with no BD. The second objective was to evaluate the contribution of a…

A teacher describes her efforts to deal with an 11-year-old severely emotionally impaired girl in a classroom with other acting out, aggressive students. The girl's behavior problems included breaking, tearing, spitting, swearing, running, and sexual aggression. A positive reinforcedment system was found to be primarily responsible for success in…

Verbal Situation Exercises composed by Rosenzweig showed degrees of adjustment or maladjustment to frustrating situations. Mixture of Socially-accepted and non-accepted class disruptors from grades 3,6,9 participated. More maladjusted behavior choices were elicited from rural children in comparison to their urban counterparts. Very little…

Hand Test and Rorschach variables significantly differentiated two subgroups of aggressive and nonaggressive alcoholics. The aggressive group was characterized as hostile and impulsive. The predictor variables that emerged have practical value for recognizing the potential acting-out alcoholic. (Author)

The author describes an approach used to deal with "bullying--aggression" and hostility--in special day schools for maladjusted children in Britain. A children's court composed of two justices effectively metes out punishment for such behavior. (CL)