The study evaluated a reinforcement theory of stereotyped behavior with six autistic students (ages 9-16). Three students evidenced decreases in stereotypy and increases in responding in the presence of usual reinforcers, while the other three students required external suppression of stereotypy before increases in responding were shown.…

Comparison of two response prompting procedures--progressive time delay and system of least prompts--to teach three severely handicapped students (ages 8-16) identification of functional objects indicated that both procedures were effective but that the time delay procedure required fewer sessions, trials, errors to criterion, and minutes of…

Two studies compared the effectiveness of two procedures (multiple examples across trials and within trials) in teaching 10 students (ages 10-20) with moderate disabilities functional word discriminations. The first procedure was superior in acquisition; the latter procedure, however, was better under generalization for most participants.…

Evaluation of two methods, Stimulus Manipulation and Delay Feedback Only, for teaching four mildly handicapped students (ages 9-13) to solve missing minuend problems found both methods to be effective. However, systematic differences in error rate and long-term retention were observed, favoring the Stimulus Manipulation procedure. (Author/DB)

The paper reviews 26 studies using the delayed prompt procedure in applied and laboratory settings with developmentally disabled children and adults and others. Results suggest that the delayed prompt procedure is an efficient teaching strategy, with subjects typically acquiring discriminations within a few training sessions or limited number of…

The paper proposes teaching travel skills to developmentally disabled persons based upon the principles used to teach orientation and mobility to blind people. The approach emphasizes success orientation, sequencing, fading, individualized instruction, and in vivo instruction. Content includes environmental concepts, recovery techniques,…

This review shows that mentally retarded children can produce problem-solving strategies if they comprehend the task requirements, share the experimenter's goal, and construct an optimal problem-solving representation. Instruction with multiple exemplars of a task can induce generalized strategy use, and nonvolitional mechanisms play a role in use…

This study examined the social validation of using microswitches versus interaction/stimulation conditions with persons with multiple disabilities. Teacher-assistant trainees and rehabilitation staff (n=72) were shown videotapes comparing the two methods and then scored both approaches. The microswitch condition was viewed as generally more…

This review identifies five themes of child language intervention: (1) development of augmentative and alternative communication systems; (2) provision of language stimulation to take advantage of observational learning; (3) teaching of various language functions; (4) teaching of language as a means of environmental and self-control; and (5) study…

Two experiments with moderately mentally retarded students found that (1) adequate verbal instruction had a modest but significant effect on the subjects' ability to blend consonant sounds, and (2) training without pictorial prompts resulted in better blending than training with pictorial prompts. (Author/DB)

Sixteen individuals (ages 7-18) with moderate or severe mental retardation were taught to identify 2 comparative discriminations by a static or dynamic presentation procedure. No differences in percentage of unprompted correct responses were found between the two procedures in training, generalization, or maintenance. (Author/JDD)

Two experiments investigated whether six individuals (ages 7-64) with developmental disabilities or autism would demonstrate stimulus classes after observing another individual demonstrate the prerequisite conditional discriminations. Results found that stimulus class technology, coupled with observation, may be an economical and efficient means…

Reports of 36 studies using the constant time delay procedure with discrete behaviors of special needs students were analyzed. Results are described in terms of demographic variables (e.g., type of subjects, settings, behaviors, instructors, and instructional arrangements), the procedural parameters of the strategy, strategy effectiveness, and…

A study involving 58 adults with mental retardation and mental disorders found few correlations between the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and the Assessment of Dual Diagnosis (ADD). The major exception was the Mania scale of the MMPI, which correlated moderately well with the ADD Schizophrenia and Dementia scales. (Contains…

This article describes a method of assessing individuals with mental retardation that operates within financial and human constraints using informant-based measures that assess adaptive and maladaptive behaviors, psychiatric disorders, behavior function, and medication side-effects. Integrating the assessment results for treatment planning is…