This study, with an 11-year-old male with severe mental retardation, investigated the effectiveness of selectively implementing punishment for only the most severe topographies of aggression and property destruction, whereas less extreme behaviors were ignored. Results indicated that severe behaviors were reduced to near-zero levels only when both…

Individuals (n=178) in community sites involved with persons having severe disabilities were surveyed concerning attitudes toward the social acceptability of commonly used training techniques, including antecedent, consequence, and data collection techniques. Groups of respondents differentially rated the social acceptability of the techniques.…

The original authors of an article proposing a new medical model of special education for children with emotional or behavioral disorders respond to comments by considering: (1) the role of psychiatric diagnosis in special education, (2) the relative efficacy of behavioral versus psychopharmacologic treatment, and (3) the nature of…

British parents (n=141) participating in an intensive home-based behavioral intervention for a child with autism completed a questionnaire addressing issues of stress, coping, and support. Results showed that parents' stress levels were predicted mainly by psychological rather than demographic variables. Adaptive coping strategies, informal social…

This article describes the intervention strategies and quantitative analyses used to address the challenging behaviors of a 9-year-old boy with severe disabilities. A collaborative team including his mother designed and implemented functional assessment and hypotheses-based interventions that reduced problem behaviors and increased desirable…

Solution-focused intervention deviates from using negative labels (angry, aggressive, or shy) to describe misbehaving students, and reframes behavior descriptions more positively. Four steps (goal setting, looking for exceptions, visualizing a new life story, and practicing the desired behaviors) are vital to facilitating positive behavior…

This article reviews factors that contribute to and improve selective and sustained attention in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD--the inattentive and combined subtypes). A brief review of interventions for inattention included psychostimulant medication, behavioral consequences, active-learning, practice, and cognitive…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently reported that 16-33% of children and adolescents in the United States are overweight or obese, making this the number one nutritional disease of this group. The prevalence appears to be increasing annually, as are the associated consequences. Moreover, the CDC estimates that less than…

The broad term "pervasive developmental disorder" (PPD) describes a set of symptoms that occur along a continuum of severity; these symptoms are often referred to as "autism spectrum disorders" (ASDs). Little is known about the incidence and prevalence of ASDs among students who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH). Teachers of DHH students, who must…

The relationship between therapeutic alliance, therapist adherence to treatment protocol, and outcome was analyzed in a randomized trial of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and interpersonal psychotherapy for bulimia nervosa. Independent observers rated audiotapes of full-length therapy sessions. Purging frequency was the primary outcome…

The purposes of the study reported here were to investigate the social competence of students aged from six to 12, diagnosed with emotional/behavioral disorders (E/BD) in a public self-contained school setting, and to increase the students' social competence by using a literature-based method that employs multi-age grouping, impersonation, and…

Behavioural family intervention is an effective form of intervention for the prevention and treatment of a wide range of emotional and behavioural problems in children. There is a growing need to address the accessibility of these services. This paper reviews the literature on self-directed interventions designed to help parents manage difficult…

This study employed a multiple probe design to evaluate the effectiveness of a school-based lunchtime oral-sensory/oral-motor/positive reinforcement program on food acceptance behaviors of three youth with multiple disabilities. Overall dramatic gains in food acceptance behaviors of all participants indicated that trained school personnel were…

This paper reviews the recent parent training research in which parents are taught to use principles of operant learning as well as general principles of positive verbal discourse. While this combination of interventions has been shown to have greater impact than the operant guidelines used alone, a rationale for the discourse strategy is not…

Positive behavioral support (PBS) refers to the application of positive behavioral interventions and systems to achieve socially important behavioral changes (Sugai et al., 2000). Implementation of PBS at the classroom level involves all stakeholders--those with interest and experience in that setting (e.g., teachers, paraprofessionals, students,…