Top-ranked items were identified during 30-min free-operant preference assessments for 9 individuals. Data from each session were analyzed to identify the item (a) that was engaged with first in each session and (b) to which the most responding was allocated after 5 min, 10 min, 15 min, 20 min, and 25 min had elapsed in each session. The results…

Although there is a growing body of literature on the use of functional analysis in schools, there is a need for more demonstrations of this technology being used during the course of typical instruction. In this study, we conducted functional analyses of disruptive and off-task behavior in a reading classroom setting for 3 participants of typical…

The current study investigated the effects of Social Stories written according to Gray's specifications on on-task behavior in inclusive classroom settings in three children with autism. Using a multiple-baseline design across participants, modest improvements in on-task behavior were associated with implementation of an auditory-visual Social…

Students with emotional and behavioral problems are placed in a variety of classroom settings, presumably where their needs can be best served. Little attention, however, has been dedicated to monitoring their behavioral progress in these settings. This study analyzed data on student engagement, disruption, and destruction during 10 types of…

Children with epilepsy are at risk for problems in daytime functioning. We assessed daytime sleepiness, on-task behavior and attention in 17 children (aged between 7 and 11 years) with epilepsy who visited a school for special education and compared these to 17 children from a control group who visited a regular school. Within the group of…

Two studies examined the validity and factor structure of the Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Checklist, an instrument used to evaluate school-based programs. The checklist is a cost-effective alternative to the original interview format, and the factor structure is consistent across gender, race, age, and time of administration.…

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of percentile schedules as a method of quantifying the shaping procedure in an educational setting. We compared duration of task engagement during baseline measurements for 4 students to duration of task engagement during a percentile schedule. As a secondary purpose, we examined the influence on…

Frequent reprimands, low expectations, and infrequent praise characterize the daily school experiences of many students who display problem behaviors. This review evaluates preference and choice-making as possible interventions for improving these school experiences. Findings from 15 studies suggest that preference and choice-making may improve…

We examined the effectiveness of a tactile self-monitoring prompt to increase on-task behaviors among 3 elementary-aged students in a special education classroom. Students were taught to self-monitor their attention by using the MotivAider (MotivAider, 2000), an electronic beeper that vibrates to provide a tactile cue to self-monitor. An ABAB…

Disobedient pupils, off-task behaviour, and bullying are common problems in schools in many countries; they interfere with teaching, create an unsafe learning environment, and challenge the staff. Effective programs involving entire schools to prevent and reduce such problems have already been designed and implemented. However, most interventions…

Objective: Children with autism often demonstrate distress and oppositionality when exposed to requests to complete academic or household tasks. Errorless academic compliance training is a success-focused, noncoercive intervention for improving child cooperation with such activities. In the present study, the authors evaluated treatment and…

Relative efficiency of hand raising and response cards within the context of an ABAB design when teaching time to middle school students with moderate and severe disabilities was investigated. Effects of the two strategies were assessed on four dependent variables: (a) student active responding, (b) on-task behavior, (c) inappropriate behavior,…

A self-management intervention package was used with preschoolers with developmental delays. Self-assessment of performance resulted in increases in active engagement across all participants during training, but generalization to classrooms was sporadic and short-lived. When recruitment of teachers' contingent praise was added, treatment effects…

This study examined the effects of individual reading tutoring on the time-on-task and student-teacher interactions of students displaying early signs of academic and behavior problems. Participants were 17 students in Kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 2 who were rated by classroom teachers as below average in academic skills and above average in…

This study evaluated the effects of choice making within functional communication training (FCT) to increase the task engagement of two participants with inappropriate behaviour. Pretreatment functional analyses indicated that both participants' inappropriate behaviour was maintained by escape. For one of the participants, inappropriate behaviour…