Considers the research in addressing how society should reasonably invest in the treatment of violent juvenile offenders. The authors first examine the problems of evaluating interventions with violent youth, then explore various intervention options. The use of multisystemic therapy is offered as a cost-effective program for reducing juvenile…

Questionnaires completed by parents of 40 patients with Lesch-Nyhan disease provide information on developmental history, life course, management, medication, variability, and topography of self-injury. Analysis indicated that patients could not inhibit self-injury but could predict it and request restraints; self-injury was strongly related to…

A review of the literature and descriptive examples of peers implementing the "high probability request" (HPR) strategy for changing behavior in young children with behavior disorders are presented. HPR intervention involves delivering three to five high probability requests with positive reinforcement in rapid succession, followed by a…

Thirty-one primary caregivers at group homes for clients with developmental disabilities completed a one-week workshop in behavioral theory and treatment techniques. Trainees showed increased treatment skills, but preworkshop and postworkshop observations indicated no evidence that the workshop had any effect on group home client functioning.…

Three children (ages 4-5) with autism and mental retardation were treated for deficits in self-initiated speech. A treatment package employing visual cue fading was compared with a graduated time-delay procedure. Both treatments included training multiple self-initiated verbalizations using multiple therapists and settings. Both treatments were…

Attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADHD), which is conceptualized as a lack of behavioral inhibition or self-regulation, is reviewed. The article examines the relationship between ADHD and language delays/disorders, possible language and social-emotional cognitive underpinnings for pragmatic and metacognitive deficits in ADHD children,…

The promise of behavioral community research remains vibrant today, but behavior analysts are reminded that there are differences among advocacy, application, and research; there are many forms of research; knowledge alone is often insufficient to foster long-term change; and the complex environments of most community work involve multiple and…

This paper expresses concerns about implementing the behavior analysis values for community intervention expressed by Stephen Fawcett in EC 602 711. Concerns include inclusion of participants in selecting research goals, methods, and outcome measures; research impact on public policy; tension between research requirements and research settings;…

This study used a self-management treatment package to teach three children with autism to play appropriately in the absence of a treatment provider. Results indicated appropriate play skills were learned and generalized to new settings, and two of the children maintained gains at one-month followup. In addition, self-stimulatory behaviors…

The use of cognitive behavior modification is suggested to remediate problems of illiteracy with deaf students. The discussion focuses on the costs of illiteracy among deaf youth; intervention to improve academic performance; self-efficacy and academic achievement; Vygotsky's zone of proximal development and the concept of scaffolded instruction;…

In this case study, music was applied noncontingently and contingently across four settings with an adolescent male with autism, to reduce aberrant, repetitive vocalizations. The intervention was associated with dramatic reductions in the primary aberrant behavior and reductions in two other aberrant behaviors. Task performance was differentially…

Reviews diagnosis, developmental progression, and etiology of oppositional defiant and early-onset conduct disorders (ODD/CD) in children. Describes family and school behavioral programs for helping these children. Notes that most successful programs will be those which target multiple symptoms of ODD/CD across risk factors, multiple settings…

Describes the use of functional assessment for behavior-support planning with students having chronic behavior problems. Focus is on a functional assessment method that includes the student as an important information source. Following a definition of functional assessment, six steps for developing a comprehensive behavior support plan are…

Describes strong empirical support for the efficacy of behavioral interventions for ADHD and much less than expected support for cognitive behavioral interventions. Asserts that literature suggests that children with ADHD are better suited to highly structured, teacher-centered, well-managed classrooms. Describes reluctance of some teachers to…

This article discusses the contributions of applied behavior analysis (ABA) in effective instruction of students with autism spectrum disorders. Emphasis is on the use of antecedent interventions and curriculum-based assessment. It also notes that the principles and methods of ABA are being integrated into routine educational procedures, including…