The diets of three individuals with profound mental retardation and histories of coprophagia (ingestion of feces) were supplemented with a nutritionally complete elemental diet called Vivonex, resulting in decreases in the frequency of coprophagia in all three cases. (DB)

The efficacy of the atypical antipsychotic risperidone was evaluated in the treatment of aberrant behavior (e.g., aggression, self-injury) in 20 individuals with developmental disabilities. The study, a double-blind crossover design, identified 50 percent of participants as responders. Naturalistic observations of five participants showed that…

In this paper the course of the therapy of an adopted latency-aged girl is described in some detail. There was considerable improvement outside the sessions while within sessions she remained a not-very-vocal child and continued to play in the way that a younger child might. The clinical material is examined in a discussion of the possible…

This study reports on an intervention involving massage, yoga and relaxation delivered to young children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Children (n = 126) were invited to participate in the Self-discovery Programme (SDP) with parental consent. A total of 107 children aged 8-11 years completed the SDP and all measures. Children were…

Research shows that after training in the philosophy and practice of mindfulness, parents can mindfully attend to the challenging behaviors of their children with autism. Parents also report an increased satisfaction with their parenting skills and social interactions with their children. These findings were replicated and extended with four…

A study, involving four developmentally disabled children who exhibited a variety of disruptive behaviors such as self-injury and tantrums, was conducted to assess the influence of task demands and adult attention on children's behaviors. The three experimental conditions were the "EASY 100" which consisted of an easy task on which children could…

The following behavior modification procedures were studied with hospitalized alcoholics: videotaped self-confrontation of drunken behavior, discrimination training for blood alcohol concentration, aversion training for overconsumption, discriminated avoidance practice, alcohol education, alternatives training, and behavior counseling. Some…

Discussed is the application of behavior management techniques to problem behaviors of normal children in the home or school. Examples are given of such techniques as behavioral contracting between child and adult, reduction of undesirable behaviors through withdrawal of reinforcers ("bother sticks" and "temper tickets"), the use of a timer to…

The usefulness of an approach to reduce impulsive behavior in 11 institutionalized behavior disordered boys (10 to 16 years old) was investigated. Ss were taught to use five steps to solve cognitive problems. Steps involved task analysis, were modeled by the experimenter followed by reinforcement of verbalization of the rules, and included active…

A teacher describes her efforts to deal with an 11-year-old severely emotionally impaired girl in a classroom with other acting out, aggressive students. The girl's behavior problems included breaking, tearing, spitting, swearing, running, and sexual aggression. A positive reinforcedment system was found to be primarily responsible for success in…

Presented is the final report on the Behavior Recycling Program (BRP) which was designed to return socially maladjusted mentally retarded adolescents to public school classes. It is explained that behavior change data was gathered through a series of questionnaires given to students, teachers, probation officers, and parents. The author suggests…

Described is a short term resource program to help emotionally disturbed children achieve acceptable classroom behavior. It is explained that cooperation between the regular teacher and the resource teacher is achieved through flexible scheduling, use of assignments from the regular teacher in the resource situation, and various feedback…

This document discusses state-designed workshops which have provided training in behavior analysis techniques to parents. Through information gained from bimonthly meetings and frequent monitoring by workshop leaders and graduate students enrolled in the Special Education Area of the University of Vermont, parents have developed and implemented…

Reality therapy methods in the classroom were examined via a four-group experimental design. The groups were as follows: (a) pretested reality therapy, (b) unpretested reality therapy, (c) pretested placebo, and (d) unpretested placebo. Findings were not supportive of reality therapy methods as applied in the classroom. (Author)

Describes an approach to behavior modification employing gradual stages and beginning with the enhancement of positive behavior. Major emphasis is placed on accelerating prosocial behavior rather than decelerating antisocial behavior. (CM)