Results of a naturalistic, observational analysis of 43 self-contained classrooms serving severely handicapped students indicated that during designated instructional periods, slightly less than half of all student time was spent on-task. When students were on-task, almost two-thirds of their time involved nonfunctional instructional tasks.…

Behavioral rating scales were completed by teachers on 1,078 behaviorally disordered students assigned to resource rooms in public schools, self-contained classrooms in public schools, psychiatric hospitals, residential treatment centers, and state training schools for the adjudicated. Data indicate that some differences do exist across settings…

The study examined the behavior and characteristics of 33 children in a self-contained unit for autistic children in a multidisciplinary framework involving psychiatric, neurologic, psychological, social, and educational parameters. Results of a comprehensive evaluation indicated the following primary diagnoses: early infantile autism, atypical…

While total ontask behavior distinguished institutionalized children from children in community schools and special classes, it did not differentiate retarded children in community based classrooms from one another. (Author/SB)