This exploratory study addressed the scarcity of research into professional development for school-wide positive behavior support. A train-the-trainer model was designed. These principles were embedded within the recommended guidelines for implementing school-wide positive behavior support. School-based individuals were selected by building…

Six hospitalized mentally retarded-behaviorally disordered children were instructed in three feeding skills through praise, time-out, and behavioral rehearsal. Results indicated positive behavior change in training sessions and in immediately succeeding sessions during which training was withheld. (Author/CL)

This article introduces the use of nonaversive behavior management with persons exhibiting undesirable behaviors. Definitions are suggested and three fundamental elements are explained: (1) a nonaversive set of procedures; (2) social validation criteria emphasizing personal dignity; and (3) the prohibition or restriction of certain aversive or…

The study investigated the efficacy of training three behaviorally disordered elementary grade students to recruit reinforcement and assistance from teachers. The study also investigated the effect of systematically fading external experimenter reinforcement of students for prompting and praising teachers in the regular classroom. The three…

Thirty-two studies, involving 47 discrete experiments, are reviewed on the application of overcorrection to management of self-injurious behavior in intellectually handicapped individuals. The literature supports short-term efficacy of overcorrection. Reservations include the intrusive and restrictive nature of the technique and limited data on…

This report describes a behavior analysis treatment approach to establishing oral feeding in children with multiple developmental disabilities and gastrostomy-tube dependency. Pretreatment screening, functional assessment, and treatment are reported as implemented within a behavioral consultation model. A case study illustrates the sequence and…

This report discusses the outcomes of a study that tested the effectiveness and compared two different approaches of conjoint behavioral consultation using a manual versus a videotape series as the main components of training parents and teachers to treat children's behavioral difficulties. Children (n=68) exhibiting externalizing or internalizing…

Chronic self-injury is a psychopathology which afflicts some persons with severe mental retardation. The self-injurious acts may be carried out to avoid completion of a task, or the behavior may be intrinsically reinforcing. Professional responses have included use of restraints, psychopharmacology, placement in more restrictive settings, and…

In the context of a response to other articles contained in a special issue on social interaction skills of handicapped students, trends in developing social interaction skills of behavior disordered students are discussed, including current training issues and procedures as well as suggestions for future research and program development. (JW)

The effects of two methods of negative reinforcement on three young children (ages two and three) with developmental delays and chronic food refusal were examined. Physically guiding the child to accept food contingent on noncompliance and nonremoval of the spoon until the child ate were tested. Both treatments were effective; however, parents…

The study examined the effects of instruction in new behavior on behavioral change in behaviorally or emotionally handicapped students by comparing Ifd (intensity, frequency, and duration) behavior scores of students who received special behavioral instruction (N=360) with students not receiving this instruction (N=360). The study also…

Evaluation of treatment acceptability was conducted with 78 staff members at a community-based residential facility for youth with severe behavior disorders and mental retardation, where the institutional treatment philosophy was explicitly behavioral. Unlike a previous study, in this setting acceptability ratings were not influenced by severity…

In two studies, severe aggressive and self-injurious behaviors exhibited by two adult men with mental retardation were reduced through the implementation of functional communication training. Reductions came after years of less successful nonaversive and aversive interventions. Behavior changes were generalized across staff, new environments, and…

A literature review of parent training programs on treating young children with behavioral problems indicates most programs used a social learning approach and that overall, the Eyberg and Webster-Stratton models held promise for direct service providers working with behavioral difficulties. Factors that influence a program's success are…

This book offers a British perspective on ways of conceptualizing, assessing, and intervening in the challenging behavior of people with severe learning disabilities, with emphasis on the types of technical support needed. An introductory chapter explains why the term "learning disability" is used rather than mental handicap, mental…