Past research has demonstrated that pictorial preference assessments can predict subsequent reinforcement effects for individuals with developmental disabilities only when access to the selected stimulus is provided contingent on a pictorial selection. The purpose of the present investigation was to assess more comprehensively the feasibility of…

Sight-word instruction can be a useful supplement to phonics-based methods under some circumstances. Nonetheless, few studies have evaluated the conditions under which pictures may be used successfully to teach sight-word reading. In this study, we extended prior research by examining two potential strategies for reducing the effects of…

Tactile defensiveness, characterized by behavioral hyperresponsiveness and negative emotional responses to touch, is a common manifestation of aberrant sensory processing in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and other developmental disabilities (DD). Variations in tactile defensiveness with the properties of the stimulus and the bodily site of…

A dysfunction in predictive motor timing is put forward to underlie DCD-related motor problems. Predictive timing allows for the pre-selection of motor programmes (except "program" in computers) in order to decrease processing load and facilitate reactions. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), this study investigated the neural…

We reviewed 14 experimental studies comparing different preference assessments for individuals with developmental disabilities that were published in peer-reviewed journals between 1985 and 2012. Studies were summarized based on the following six variables: (a) the number of participants, (b) the type of disability, (c) the number and type of…

We evaluated a self-instructional training manual for conducting multiple-stimulus without replacement stimulus preference assessment. The manual was compared to a method description, adapted from the method sections of previous published research articles, in an unbalanced crossover design with 18 undergraduate university students, randomly…

To evaluate evidence for motor impairment specificity in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Children completed performance-based assessment of motor functioning (Movement Assessment Battery for Children: MABC-2). Logistic regression models were used to predict group membership. In the models…

We evaluated the discrimination acquisition of individuals with developmental disabilities under immediate and delayed reinforcement. In Experiment 1, discrimination between two alternatives was examined when reinforcement was immediate or delayed by 20 s, 30 s, or 40 s. In Experiment 2, discrimination between 2 alternatives was compared across an…

We live in a multisensory world and one of the challenges the brain is faced with is deciding what information belongs together. Our ability to make assumptions about the relatedness of multisensory stimuli is partly based on their temporal and spatial relationships. Stimuli that are proximal in time and space are likely to be bound together by…

The present study compared a spelling practice intervention using a tablet personal computer (PC) and picture cards with three students diagnosed with developmental disabilities. An alternating-treatments design with a non-concurrent multiple-baseline across participants was used. The aims of the present study were: (a) to determine if…

Italian developmental dyslexic readers show a striking length effect and have been hypothesised to rely mostly on nonlexical reading. Our experiments tested this hypothesis by assessing whether or not the deficit underlying dyslexia is specific to lexical reading. The effects of lexicality, word frequency and length were investigated in the same…

The purpose of the present investigation was to evaluate the relative effectiveness of three item presentation methods during noncontingent reinforcement (NCR). Four individuals with developmental disabilities and problem behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement were recruited for the study. Single-item stimulus preference assessments were…

The authors compare two methods of identifying job preferences for individuals with significant intellectual disabilities. Three individuals with intellectual disabilities between the ages of 19 and 21 participated in a video-based preference assessment and a multiple stimulus without replacement (MSWO) assessment. Stimulus preference assessment…

Fixed momentary schedules of differential reinforcement of other behavior (FM DRO) generally have been ineffective as treatment for problem behavior. Because most early research on FM DRO included presentation of a signal at the end of the DRO interval, it is unclear whether the limited effects of FM DRO were due to (a) the momentary response…

Williams Syndrome (WS) is a developmental disorder typified by deficits in visuospatial cognition. To understand the nature of this deficit, we characterized how people with WS perceive visual orientation, a fundamental ability related to object identification. We compared WS participants to typically developing children (3-6 years of age) and…