This article offers a rationale for using a low-intensity support, increasing opportunities to respond, to promote students' academic engagement and decrease disruptive behaviors. A step-by-step guide to implementing this strategy in the classroom setting is presented.

This much-needed guide shows how to implement positive behavior support (PBS) strategies in secondary settings, using a three-tiered approach. The authors adapt the core ideas of PBS to the developmental context of adolescence and the organizational structures of middle schools and junior and senior high schools. With an emphasis on data-based…

The authors discuss the nature, use, and application of behavioral rating scales for students with behavior disorders. An annotated list of eight behavioral rating scales is included. (CL)

This booklet reviews the literature and offers procedures to reduce undesirable behavior in school settings. The following topics are addressed: definition of terms relating to behavior reduction procedures; environmental modification (changing the demands of a task, reducing the complexity of each step, or teaching a new skill); differential…

This article offers suggestions for addressing behavioral infractions by students with disabilities in inclusive classroom settings. Ten questions are offered to help analyze situations that foster disruptive behavior and assist in the selection of appropriate behavior-reduction strategies. (DB)

This guide describes classroom and school interventions intended to meet the needs of students with emotional/behavioral disabilities and those at risk for developing these disabilities. The first section presents "Classroom Interventions," a compilation of 77 interventions which may be used in regular or self-contained classrooms. A brief…

A review of the use of psychotropic medications for people with developmental disabilities is presented. Results suggest that prescribing drugs based on topographical features of the problem behavior, without considering the function the behavior serves for the individual, contributes to variability in clinical response. Functional analysis of a…

Examines the prevention of antisocial behavior in children. It considers which children are at risk for behavior disorders, risk factors and their effects, pressures on schools, the value of early intervention, types of interventions (primary, secondary, and tertiary), and a secondary prevention program for kindergarten students, First Steps to…

This article examines the runaway reaction as it was displayed by Barry, a 14-year-old eighth-grade boy with learning disabilities. It identifies some of the common characteristics of this response and proposes school intervention methods. Functional behavioral assessments and strength-based assessments are encouraged, along with using strategy…

Explains a conceptual model for a comprehensive, multilevel, school-wide discipline program and describes its implementation in one elementary school. Key elements of the program include teaching social norms, a seven-step school-wide classroom management strategy, and targeted, intensive, and comprehensive interventions. (DB)

This guide is designed to assist educators in meeting behavior challenges by focusing on four key areas that impact significantly on behavior in schools: (1) communication: the process of making one's feelings and opinions known to others and discovering the feelings and opinions of others; (2) expectations: the academic, behavioral, attitudinal,…

Using excerpts from structured interviews conducted by teachers, this paper discusses three thought and behavior patterns commonly used by students with behavior disorders to justify behavior teachers consider inappropriate: (1) denial, (2) projection, and (3) rationalization. Suggestions are made about how to respond to these defensive behavior…

This article analyzes variables associated with adherence by parents to recommendations designed to solve common childhood problems and specific corresponding processes that are responsible for poor adherence. Adherence variables include establishing operations, stimulus generalization, response acquisition, and consequent events. (Contains…

This manual is a guide to interventions with commonly encountered behavior problems in the educational environment. Its intent is to provide educators with goals, objectives, and intervention strategies for the behavior problems identified by "The Emotional or Behavior Disorder Scale--Revised." Goals and objectives are suggested for use in…

This article describes various types of allergies, how they are diagnosed medically, and the different forms of medical treatment. It also considers how allergies may affect school learning and behavior, the connection between allergies and learning and behavioral disorders, the impact of allergy medications upon classroom performance, and various…