TO DEVELOP A PROPOSAL FOR POSITIVE EMPLOYEE STIMULATION, A STUDY WAS MADE OF MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS AMONG ATTENDANTS AT INSTITUTIONS FOR MENTAL RETARDATES. ATTENDANTS AT SUCH INSTITUTIONS ARE SUBJECTED TO A GREATER AMOUNT OF CULTURE SHOCK AND SOCIAL DEPRIVATION THAN OTHER EMPLOYEES. OVER LONG PERIODS OF TIME THIS CAUSES A DETERIORATION OF…

Direct care staff were taught via picture programs to transfer nonambulatory, severely mentally retarded men between their beds and wheelchairs. The still color photographs illustrated procedures and the addition of study guide questions increased the program's effectiveness. (Author/DB)

Three booklets provide fire safety information for staff of residential facilities serving people with developmental disabilities. Booklets focus on: (1) preventing fire death and injury, (2) conducting a fire drill in a group home, and (3) the role of fire safety experts. The first booklet stresses the elimination of the following dangers:…

Videotapes from a behavior modification training program for five ward attendants in an institution for the mentally handicapped show these personnel tend to depend too much on verbal prompts and physical guidance. (JG)

Evaluation of a combined "hands-on" and videotape training package used to teach direct care staff in an Intermediate Care Facility to conduct daily activities for profoundly mentally retarded persons indicated staff performance improved after the training and was maintained at three-week follow-up. (Author/DB)

The study confirmed previous research indicating that workshop training by itself is an ineffective method of increasing direct care staff compliance to treatment prescriptions, and that providing direct staff supervisors with a training and management tool (prescriptive checklists) may be an effective alternative for serving multihandicapped…

The fourteen brief articles in this theme issue all examine challenges in the development of direct support staff working with people who have developmental disabilities. The articles also include the views of direct support providers and people with developmental disabilities themselves, as well as examples of strategies used by provider agencies…

Evaluated with 18 attendants in an institution for the mentally handicapped were several teaching formats: modeling, instructions, videotape feedback, or film, videotape modeling, filmed modeling, or live modeling, or control. (Author/DB)

Evaluation of a training procedure to improve staff skills in the preventative and reactive management of severely challenging behaviors in a small residential treatment unit found reduced (though not statistically significant) behavioral incidents, use of major reactive strategies (restraint and emergency medication), and staff and resident…

Evaluation of the effectiveness of a training program for behavioral aides providing individualized support for adults with severe disabilities and challenging behaviors in a day treatment center found all five participants were able to show marked increases in their clients' social and physical community integration. The training program focused…

This study reports the characteristics, career intentions, and professional development needs of staff from a wide variety of services for people with a disability in New South Wales (Australia). Staff were predominantly female; male staff were unlikely to regard their career futures as being in the disability field; and employers were providing…

Describes prescription behavioral intervention projects to help two American Indian female paraprofessional trainee dorm attendants at a Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding school modify behavior of six female secondary students experiencing trouble during non-school hours. Demonstrates that given proper support systems, effective behavioral…

A program to teach the techniques of behavior modification to attendants working with severely and profoundly retarded institutionalized residents has been developed and tested. (Author)

A study of 16 individuals with severe and profound mental retardation and 16 direct-care staff from a residential facility investigated changes in interactive behaviors between clients and staff. Results found that, after staff training, there were slight positive increases in staff interactions with the residents. No consistent change was found…