The experiment assessed, within a multiple baseline design, the possibility of improving the learning of three autistic children (4 to 7 years old) by changing arbitrary response-reinforcer relationships so that the target behaviors became functional (i.e., a direct part of the response chain required for the child to procure the reinforcer).…

Contingent reinforcement was used in training eight severely retarded children (4-14 years old) who were previously judged to be nonimitative. (Author)

The effectiveness of four operant procedures (differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior, omission training, overcorrection, and reinforcement withdrawal) in changing self injurious behavior (SIB) of 16 severely handicapped students was examined. Analysis of correlations between reduction in SIB and subject characteristics, adaptive…

To determine if the deficits in social behavior of retarded persons might be, in part, due to the failure of the environment to maintain that behavior. Inappropriate behavior of 18 institutionalized 12- to 20-year-olds was ignored, and appropriate social behavior was rewarded. (Author/CL)

Two adolescent boys with a history of rapidly increasing obesity participated in a behavioral weight reduction program. The multi-dimensional treatment package consisted of those behavioral techniques most often shown to be effective in treating obese adults (programed behavior management and stimulus control instructions, self monitoring of daily…

The paper describes a special education staff's problems with teaching a severely handicapped institutionalized population and reports on observations of seven multiply handicapped (blind-mentally retarded) students. The students' feeding skills performance in the institution and the school was compared in such terms as diet, utensil use, special…

Available from: Sage Publications, Inc., 275 South Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, California 90212. The effects of parent behavioral training on child noncompliant behavior and on parent behavior and attitude change was examined with 11 children (10 males and 1 female, 3.5 to 7.5 years old) who had been referred for treatment of noncompliance, and…

Contingent vibration was used to train a precommunication response in a spastic/quadriplegic profoundly mentally retarded boy (age 11). The results indicated an increase in the S's eye pointing behavior subsequent to the administration of response contingent vibration. (Author)

Findings showed an interaction between mands (instructional directions) and response type. Only when a mand was given during performance of the sorting task did the frequency of SIB increase. The contingent application of verbal praise had a minor, though systematic, effect in reducing the frequency of SIB. (PHR)