This article reviews general classes of variables which help to maintain aberrant behavior including attention seeking, sensory and perceptual consequences, and access to materials or activities. Suggestions for a methodology providing a comprehensive functional analysis are offered which include descriptive analysis, hypothesis forming,…

Described are the principles and procedures of Project ADVANCE (Alternate Design for Vocational and Necessary Cognitive Education), a behavior modification program for severely emotionally disturbed children (14 to 20 years old). Among program components are contingency management contracts, a highly structured token economy, the educational team…

An operant-conditioning technique was used to teach three handicapped children (three to five years old) exhibiting echolalia to respond appropriately to a series of questions. (Author)

Eight disruptive children attended an after school reading tutorial program one hour a day for 72 days. After baseline, the children evaluated their academic and social behavior. A token program was instituted in which points and backup reinforcers were made contingent upon accurate self-ratings. This program was then gradually modified. (Author)

While few would disagree that token economies are effective in bringing certain positive and negative target behaviors under contingent control, the recent past has witnessed increased concern over choice of targets as well as back-ups, voluntary versus involuntary client participation, as well as the effectiveness of such programs in meeting…

In this paper, self-control strategies are conceptualized as existing on two intersecting continuums of more or less individual control and increasing complexity depending on individual need. Behavioral self-control strategies for young children require external supports to assist children in learning the skills necessary to practice and implement…

The paper addresses behavior management strategies for developing new behaviors in special needs learners, strategies for changing existing behaviors, and strategies for developing behavioral generalization. An introductory overview identifies five basic principles of behavior management. Fourteen behavioral terms are then defined (e.g.,…

A study of 4 youths (ages 11-18) with autism examined the effectiveness of teaching appropriate affective behavioral responses. Participants were described by teachers as having flat and inappropriate affect. Treatment consisted of modeling, prompting, and reinforcement. The combination of an error-correction procedure and contingent delivery of…