Two autistic children (8 and 5 years old) were paired with normal peers who, after pretraining sessions, taught community skills to the autistic children. Results demonstrated that no identified skills were acquired during baseline and modeling conditions. However, direct instruction of each child by a peer tutor resulted in learning and…

Group contingencies with different criteria resulted in high performance averages for 12 elementary-aged learning disabled students. Two of the group contingencies produced significantly more frequent positive social interaction among subjects than that observed during baseline. (CL)

Three moderately retarded students were taught to initiate and expand on conversational topics through actual conversations with nonhandicapped peers. Training generalized to natural contexts. Results were socially validated by undergraduates who rated tapes of two of the students' conversations during training phases as more socially competent…

A study examined effects of a tactile prompting device (the Gentle Reminder) as a prompt for a 9-year-old student with autism to make verbal initiations about play activities. Results indicate that the device serves as an effective, unobtrusive prompt for verbal initiations during play contexts and during cooperative learning activities.…

Eight mothers of developmentally disabled children (ages 2-11) were individually trained in eight skill domains (e.g., preparation, complete communication, clarification, consensus, feedback) to enhance their communication skills with professionals. Each parent acquired the targeted skills during simulated conferences, and correct responding…

This study compared the effects of trial repetition (1 response within 5 trials per word) versus response repetition (5 response repetitions within 1 trial per word) on sight-word acquisition for 3 elementary students, ages 9 and 12, with learning disabilities in reading. Trial repetition resulted in more words mastered. (Author/SW)

This study compared active student response (ASR) error correction and no-response (NR) error correction while teaching science terms to five elementary students. When a student erred, the teacher modeled the definition and the student either repeated it (ASR) or not (NR). ASR error correction was superior on each of seven dependent variables.…

Peers with mild intellectual disabilities taught first aid skills to 4 students (ages 7-11) with moderate intellectual disabilities. Results suggested that the peer teaching program resulted in acquisition of first aid skills, and the participants' skills generalized to the home, to novel simulated-injury locations, and to new trainers.…

A case study of an elementary school child with emotional and behavioral problems illustrates a process of descriptive assessment, functional assessment, and assessment-based intervention. The descriptive information generated hypotheses about variables maintaining the problem behavior which were then tested in the classroom environment.…

This study examined the effects of instructional match and content overlap on the ability of four students (ages 8-12) with mild disabilities to generalize from passage reading instruction. Results indicated that oral reading accuracy/fluency showed the greatest degree of generalization when instructional materials were matched to skill level…

Parents of four nonverbal and four echolalic autistic children, aged five-nine, were trained to increase their children's speech by using the Natural Language Paradigm. Following training, parents increased the frequency with which they required their children to speak, and children increased the frequency of their verbalizations in three…

This study implemented a physical education curriculum focusing on positive social skills in two urban elementary schools. Results showed an immediate increase in student leadership and independent conflict resolution, increased class time devoted to activity participation, and decreased time spent off task or on organizational tasks. Similar…