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…

Asperger's Syndrome (AS) is a relatively recent term in education and psychology and has gained more interest since it became a recognized exceptionality in the United States in 1994. It is classified with autism under the term "Pervasive Developmental Disorder" (PDD). The primary criteria for diagnosis include linguistic, social, and behavioral…

Self-esteem has long been a subject of discussion regarding its effects on problem behaviors including crime and recidivism. The current literature suggests that low self-esteem is not related to crime for male offenders and perhaps it is inflated self-esteem that is to blame for violence and crime. The literature on females and crime still…

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,…

This study examined the effects of effective command training with teachers on students' compliance rates and academic engagement. Three target students were selected who were exhibiting compliance rates substantially below peers. The students' teachers were taught how to provide effective commands. Results indicated that students' rates of…

Within the context of a multilayered prevention system, responsiveness to intervention (RTI) integrates increasingly intensive instruction and, at each layer, employs assessment to identify students who are inadequately responsive and who therefore require intervention at the next, more intensive layer in the system. Over the past decade, RTI has…

Research on the treatment of challenging behaviors such as aggression, tantrums, and self-injury expanded significantly over the past two decades. However, despite of the rather impressive numbers of studies, it is still uncertain whether positive behavioral support (PBS) is effective with everyone. To be able to tell family members and…

Objective: Several studies report a possible association of celiac disease (CD) with psychiatric and psychological disturbances, such as ADHD. Method: The authors assess 132 participants from 3 to 57 years of age (M = 19.3 years) affected by CD for the possibility of an associated ADHD-like symptomatology, using the Conner Scale Hypescheme, a…

Child welfare service agencies provide parent training as part of their legally mandated responsibility to provide services to assist families to keep their children at home or to achieve reunification. The use of parent-training programs for families in the child welfare system has undergone relatively little examination. Mental health, special…

The objective of this study is to examine preschool-age correlates of the maternal version of the Attachment Q-Set (AQS) (Waters & Deane, 1985) in order to provide validity data. Concurrent associations between the Attachment Q-Set and measures of separation-reunion attachment classifications (Cassidy & Marvin, 1992), quality of mother-child…

Despite Asperger's Syndrome (AS) becoming a widely recognized disorder on the pervasive developmental spectrum, surprisingly few studies have assessed the utility of psychosocial and/or pharmacological treatments for children with AS. Further, studies have not examined the effects of treatment on disruptive behavior problems commonly exhibited by…

Background: There is frequently great concern about the dangerousness of deinstitutionalized men with intellectual disabilities who have been institutionalized because they are considered to be at high risk for the commission of serious antisocial acts or sexual offending. Unfortunately, there is little information on whether changes in the…

Background: The views of both service users with intellectual disability and their support staff on the use of physical interventions are largely unknown. The research that does exist describes a largely negative pattern of responses. The present study aimed to explore the personal impact of receiving and implementing physical interventions, and…

This study of 282 dyads examines early- and mid-adolescents' perceptions of friendship quality and their association with daily disagreements, self- and mother reports of behaviour problems, and school grades. Actor and partner analyses identify unique associations between perceptions of friendship quality and perceptions of daily conflict. Actor…

Concern about the growth in adolescent problem behaviours (e.g. delinquency, drug use) has led to increased interest in positive youth development, and a surge in funding for "after school programs." We evaluate the potential of youth sport programs to foster positive development, while decreasing the risk of problem behaviours.…