A study involving 6 children with autism investigated whether self-initiations might be associated with highly favorable post-intervention outcomes. Results found that children who had highly favorable outcomes exhibited more spontaneous self-initiations at pre-intervention. Further study indicated children could learn a variety of…

Solution-focused intervention deviates from using negative labels (angry, aggressive, or shy) to describe misbehaving students, and reframes behavior descriptions more positively. Four steps (goal setting, looking for exceptions, visualizing a new life story, and practicing the desired behaviors) are vital to facilitating positive behavior…

This article presents an overview of the Regional Intervention Program (RIP) and describes ongoing studies to examine the long-term effects of behavioral skill training for parents of preschoolers who engaged in severe forms of aggression and antisocial behavior. Findings from the program indicate positive outcomes for adults and children.…

This article reviews factors that contribute to and improve selective and sustained attention in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD--the inattentive and combined subtypes). A brief review of interventions for inattention included psychostimulant medication, behavioral consequences, active-learning, practice, and cognitive…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently reported that 16-33% of children and adolescents in the United States are overweight or obese, making this the number one nutritional disease of this group. The prevalence appears to be increasing annually, as are the associated consequences. Moreover, the CDC estimates that less than…

The broad term "pervasive developmental disorder" (PPD) describes a set of symptoms that occur along a continuum of severity; these symptoms are often referred to as "autism spectrum disorders" (ASDs). Little is known about the incidence and prevalence of ASDs among students who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH). Teachers of DHH students, who must…

The relationship between therapeutic alliance, therapist adherence to treatment protocol, and outcome was analyzed in a randomized trial of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and interpersonal psychotherapy for bulimia nervosa. Independent observers rated audiotapes of full-length therapy sessions. Purging frequency was the primary outcome…

The purposes of the study reported here were to investigate the social competence of students aged from six to 12, diagnosed with emotional/behavioral disorders (E/BD) in a public self-contained school setting, and to increase the students' social competence by using a literature-based method that employs multi-age grouping, impersonation, and…

Behavioural family intervention is an effective form of intervention for the prevention and treatment of a wide range of emotional and behavioural problems in children. There is a growing need to address the accessibility of these services. This paper reviews the literature on self-directed interventions designed to help parents manage difficult…

This study employed a multiple probe design to evaluate the effectiveness of a school-based lunchtime oral-sensory/oral-motor/positive reinforcement program on food acceptance behaviors of three youth with multiple disabilities. Overall dramatic gains in food acceptance behaviors of all participants indicated that trained school personnel were…

This paper reviews the recent parent training research in which parents are taught to use principles of operant learning as well as general principles of positive verbal discourse. While this combination of interventions has been shown to have greater impact than the operant guidelines used alone, a rationale for the discourse strategy is not…

Positive behavioral support (PBS) refers to the application of positive behavioral interventions and systems to achieve socially important behavioral changes (Sugai et al., 2000). Implementation of PBS at the classroom level involves all stakeholders--those with interest and experience in that setting (e.g., teachers, paraprofessionals, students,…

The epidemiology of unintentional injury and violence, including likely causes and individuals' abilities to respond to risks, are closely related to the stages of human development. The epidemiology and prevention of injury are also influenced by the social contexts (i.e., family, community, and socio-cultural) in which human development occurs.…

Although suicidal behavior is a serious public health problem, few effective treatments exist to treat this population. This article describes a new cognitive therapy intervention that has been developed for treating recent suicide attempters. The intervention is based on general principles of cognitive therapy and targets the automatic thoughts…

This article reviews and comments on the recent Treatment for Adolescents With Depression Study (TADS) that found that cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) was less efficacious than fluoxetine alone and no more efficacious than pill placebo in the treatment of depression in adolescents. Adding CBT to fluoxetine, however, improved treatment response in…