Executive function (EF) skills are the attention-regulation skills that make it possible to sustain attention, keep goals and information in mind, refrain from responding immediately, resist distraction, tolerate frustration, consider the consequences of different behaviors, reflect on past experiences, and plan for the future. As EF research…

An attempt to replicate previous studies showing a positive effect of antecedent exercise on problem behavior found no consistent changes in problem behaviors for six adults with severe mental retardation exposed to either daily jogging or leisure games (attention control). (Author/DB)

This study evaluated the validity of using an earplug so that information is presented to only one ear of children (N=34) in Alberta, Canada, with learning disabilities as a means of improving listening comprehension. Children were asked to recall stories from the Auditory Comprehension Test (ACT) immediately after hearing the story. The children…

Children with mental retardation are particularly prone to failure on relational tasks such as oddity and match-to-sample, suggesting a differential sensitivity to relational information. This paper reports on several studies in which characteristics of stimulus arrays were enhanced. Results demonstrated the theoretical and practical significance…

A social interactive training program that focused on eye contact, joint attention, and motor imitation was implemented during regular classroom activities with three preverbal preschool children with autism. Increases in target behaviors and generalization of eye contact and motor imitation behaviors were observed. Social validation measures by…