The academic and social challenges facing public schools are enormous. For example, the pressure to meet the demands of the current high-stakes testing environment and reach adequate yearly progress (AYP) goals has arguably never been greater (Luna & Turner, 2001; Sanders, 2003). The energy devoted to academics has supplanted the little time spent…

D. Smith replies to L. Polsgrove's criticisms of Smith's earlier article (EC 133 830) on seclusionary timeout for children with emotional/behavioral problems. Smith suggests that in several studies timeout was seen by the children as a way of relieving the classroom's stimulus overload. (CL)

The use of restitution (requiring the child to compensate for damage he/she causes) and timeout for destructive behavior was investigated with 21 emotionally disturbed children (9 to 13 years old) in a residential school and treatment program. Staff were instructed to interrupt destructive behavior as quickly as possible and use the restitution…

The author replies to an earlier contention of D. Smith (EC 133 830) that seclusionary timeout for behavior disordered children actually constitutes extinction rather than aversive control. The author cites methodological flaws in Smith's studies. (CL)

A firm physical restraint procedure (physically holding the child from behind until all verbal and physical aggressions had ceased for 30 seconds) was effective in significantly reducing the aggressive responses of a 6-year-old severely emotionally disturbed male in a self-contained special education class. (Author/CL)

The author discusses the legal and administrative concerns, best professional practices concerns, and political concerns related to the use of physical restraint and time out procedures with seriously behaviorally disordered children. Among the points made are that the courts may consider such approaches to be cruel and unusual; that direct…

The use of punishment and time-out with 54 severely emotionally disturbed and behavior disordered children (7-13 years old) in a residential school and treatment program was examined. Both exclusion (E:TO) and isolation (I:TO) varieties of time-out were applied. In E:TO, the student was placed in a portion of the room not being used or in the…

Literature is reviewed on the use of timeout as exclusion and isolation with behavior problem children. Considerations in designing timeout procedures are noted, and the effectiveness of timeout when viewed as a punishment is discussed. Legal challenges to behavior modification uses are briefly addressed. A longitudinal study involving 29…

This paper reviews the literature on several popular behavior change strategies that have been implemented in classrooms or other educational settings with students with severe emotional disturbances. Each strategy is first described and then data on its effectiveness are reviewed. The strategies reviewed are: (1) timeout; (2) self-evaluation; (3)…

The effects of a warning procedure signaling exclusionary timeout as a consequence for inappropriate behavior during contingent observation timeout was evaluated with nine elementary students having emotional and behavioral disorders. The use of warnings was associated with a decrease in appropriate contingent observation timeout behaviors,…

Outlined are behavior management strategies for emotionally disturbed students who are partially mainstreamed. Appropriate behavior outside the classroom earns the child stamps. Inappropriate behavior inside the classroom results in warnings, penalty points, and time-out. On-task behavior is also rewarded with stamps, which may be accumulated for…

An interdependent group-oriented timeout ribbon procedure was effective in decreasing the inappropriate verbalizations of two groups of resource room students (grades 1-3). A timeout ribbon was removed for one minute following inappropriate verbalizations, during which time the group lost the opportunity to earn tokens for activity or tangible…

Six teachers of students with emotional/behavioral disorders were observed during reading instruction and interviewed. Three teachers provided some reading instruction that was documented as effective and designed to meet students' needs. Controlling student behavior through isolating students, providing extensive time for worksheets, and negative…

This collection of 13 author-contributed papers addresses various aspects of programming for students with behavioral disorders. Papers have the following titles and authors: (1) "System Support and Transition to Adulthood for Adolescents with Seriously Disordered Behaviors: Orchestrating Successful Transitions" (Eugene Edgar); (2) "Targets for…