As a member of Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders (CCBD) for over 40 years, and having served on the Executive Committee (EC) for over 10, this author is firmly bonded to the organization, and appreciates the EC's efforts to address the challenges facing it today. Obviously, foremost among these challenges is a substantial decline in…

Potential hazards and dangers of using the token economy approach to behavior change with head injured individuals are identified and it is suggested that the injured person's active awareness of reinforcement contingencies may sometimes be deleterious. (DB)

Recipients of treatment designed to change their behavior have the right to a therapeutic environment, services whose overriding goal is personal welfare, treatment by a competent behavior analyst, programs that teach functional skills, behavioral assessment and ongoing evaluation, and the most effective treatment procedures available. (Author/JDD)

This article discusses the need to concentrate more educational research into efficacy studies on the effectiveness of specific preventive and treatment interventions targeted at disruptive behavior disorders. Other research needs are highlighted such as underlying mechanisms by which aggressive behavior develops, involvement in gangs, positive…

This paper examines empirical evidence and arguments for full inclusion of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. It reports a lack of empirical evidence supporting inclusion of this population and identifies problems in the arguments of full inclusion proponents. The paper also summarizes evidence contradicting the position that "more…

In this comment to a paper by S. Braaten (EC 210 835), in which the Regular Education Initiative (REI) was described as a "patent medicine" for students with behavioral disorders, it is argued that such students are not misidentified or inappropriately placed and that the REI has been misinterpreted and may work. (JDD)

This rejoinder to EC 230 272 defends the original paper (EC 210 835) and argues that the critique reflects a misunderstanding of the nature of the Regular Education Initiative, the inclusion of students with behavioral disorders in reform proposals, the seriousness of the problems of these students, and the nature of patent medicine. (JDD)

This article highlights key features of Multisystemic Therapy (MST), a treatment designed to empower caregivers with the skills and resources needed to address behavioral problems and to teach coping skills to youth. The supervisory, consultation, and program practices that support therapist implementation of MST in community-based settings are…

Explores several topics related to advocating for students with emotional and behavioral disorders, including the role of teachers. Various misdirected advocacy positions are critiqued and a new advocacy agenda proposed that focuses on program appropriateness, qualified personnel, least restrictive environment, and meaningful classification and…

This article examines the role of school climate in guiding programs designed to reduce academic failure and antisocial behavior among students defined as "at risk". Suggestions are offered for improving such educational programs in a manner consistent with research on school climate and effective schools. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

This commentary discusses study results that indicate the nonselective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) clomipramine is more efficacious than the relatively selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor desipramine and placebo in treating repetitive or ritualized behaviors in children with autism. The need for concurrent genetic and biochemical…

As an illustration of cases where existing programs and facilities do not meet individual special needs, the article traces the chronology of a behavior disordered male from special class placement in elementary school through his eventual incarceration in the Nebraska penal system. (JW)

The "Ziegarnik effect," a learner's tendency to recall uncompleted tasks longer than completed ones and to remember failures more easily than successes, is applied to improving programs for the subgroup of students with emotional/behavioral disorders who show little benefit from special education interventions, and to teacher…

This article discusses three major purposes of observation in functional behavioral assessment: to describe and help analyze the classroom events leading to challenging behaviors, to develop and evaluate the accuracy of hypotheses about these triggers, and to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions for challenging behavior developed from the…

This article examines the social skills training research-to-practice process and argues that a logical and attendant line of rigorous study is lacking. Areas of social inquiry are drawn from to discuss the need for conceptual frameworks to guide investigation and offer a way for research to be designed and interpreted. (Contains references.)…