Behavioral ratings by mothers and teachers of 94 children with Down's Syndrome (between 8 and 14 years of age) indicated general support for the amiable personality stereotype, but ratings of low persistence were associated with maternal impressions of difficulty. There was little agreement between mothers and teachers regarding individual child…

The behavior of each of 120 students in grades 9-12 was rated by 2 of the student's teachers using the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist. Results indicated a generally low to moderate degree of relationship among teacher ratings. It is recommended that clinicians collect behavioral ratings from many raters before reaching diagnostic conclusions.…

A simultaneous presentation procedure to select reinforcers was implemented with two four-year-old twin boys who were developmentally delayed, noncompliant, and mute. Use of the procedure quickly and efficiently identified preferred reinforcers which were then used in an instructional task. (DB)

The process of "functional assessment" is recommended to establish a basis for individualized behavior management programing for students with special needs. The approach is based on identifying the functions of the challenging behavior and involves systematically collecting information about the behavior and developing an intervention…

This case study demonstrates the use of functional assessment with a 17-year-old student with severe intellectual disabilities. The case focuses on the importance of identifying setting events associated with problem behaviors and, when these events occur, making appropriate scheduling or programing changes to prevent difficult situations from…

A content analysis, consisting of 24 items covering behavior specification, objectives, program procedures, data collection, and quality assurance, was applied to 141 written behavior reduction programs of 2 large residential institutions for individuals with developmental disabilities. Use of the content analysis is recommended for program…

Examined relationships among cigarette use, alcohol use, marijuana use, delinquency, and sexual intercourse in 1,271 seventh and 966 ninth graders in urban school system in which most students were African American and from low-income families. Measures of problem behavior frequency were positively correlated with each other and negatively…

A technique is presented for teaching deaf students self-discipline along with useful idiomatic expressions. Idioms selected for study (such as "top dog,""in the doghouse,""sitting pretty," and "in hot water") are related to school rules, depicted on a bulletin board, and used to track classroom behavior.…

A study involving two children, ages two to three found that experimenter-selection of rewards was a more effective procedure for modifying behavior than was self-selection, though a study of four first graders indicated no significant differences between self-selection and experimenter-selection of rewards. (Author/JDD)

The behavior of 120 children (grades 9-12) was rated by 2 groups of teachers using the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist. The correlation coefficients obtained indicate low to moderate relationship between teacher ratings of the same child, with the strongest correlations for the subscale Attention Problems-Immaturity. (Author/JDD)

Compared mothers' ratings of childhood problems of 4- to 9-year-old Sudanese children. Compared to children in extended families, children in nuclear families had more conduct, emotional, and sleep problems; exhibited poorer self-care and greater overdependence; and were less likely to be breastfed and have grandmothers involved in their care. (BC)

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…

Assessments of marital interaction during conflict resolution obtained when children were five-years-old predicted teachers' ratings of children's internalizing and externalizing behaviors when the children were eight-years-old. In particular, the "Mutually Hostile" marital interaction pattern correlated with later marital dissolution…

In this Netherlands study, 41 deaf boys (ages 6 to 11) were compared to hearing children using the Child Behavior Checklist. The deaf boys appeared to have more internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems but were no more often disturbed than their hearing counterparts. Younger deaf boys showed more behavioral problems than older deaf…

The original factor structure of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist was cross-validated with a U.S. sample of 470 persons with moderate to profound mental retardation (27 percent nonambulatory). Results replicated previous findings, suggesting that the original five factors (irritability, lethargy, stereotypic behavior, hyperactivity, and…