We attempted to determine the effects of instructions, goal setting, and reinforcement, in isolation and combination, on the letter naming proficiency of 2 underperforming Kindergarten students. During a no-intervention baseline, both students' accuracy was low or declining. Instructions alone produced increases over baseline responding, but the…

The principle of motivation has resurfaced as an independent variable in the field of behavior analysis over the past 20 years. The increased interest is the result of the refinements of the concept of the motivating operation and its application to the learning needs of persons with developmental disabilities. Notwithstanding the increased…

Educators often exclude socially maladjusted children (SMA) from a proper education due to serious disruptive behavior. Never the less, these children are entitled to services under section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act. While SMA children are indeed difficult to educate, review of the associated literature suggests that methods to…

Video modeling is a well-validated intervention documented in the behavioral sciences. It has been used to target a variety of behaviors across many areas of functioning including language, social behavior, play, academics and adaptive skills. The methodology appears particularly efficacious for children with autism. In this review of research…

Discrete trial training (DTT) is a well-established intervention for teaching skills to children with autism; however, few published guidelines are available for determining whether a child's rate of learning a particular skill is satisfactory and, if not, what to do. We assert that progress within 8-10 teaching sessions usually is evidence of…