Background: Patterns of low heart rate, skin conductance and cortisol seem to characterise children with disruptive behaviour disorder (DBD). Until now, the startle paradigm has not been used in DBD children. We investigated whether DBD children, like adult psychopaths, process emotional stimuli in an abnormal way. Method: Twenty-one DBD and 33…

In this article, I examine challenges to better preparing teachers of students with emotional/behavioral disorders (E/BD). Foremost among these challenges is the lack of agreement regarding a conceptual framework upon which to build quality prevention/intervention practices; instead, various authorities advocate disparate approaches, not all of…

Challenging behavior exhibited by young children is becoming recognized as a serious impediment to social-emotional development and a harbinger of severe maladjustment in school and adult life. Consequently, professionals and advocates from many disciplines have been seeking to define, elaborate, and improve on existing knowledge related to the…

This study examined the types of prosocial behavior exhibited by behaviorally disordered and nonhandicapped adolescents. Seventeen behaviorally disordered adolescents were observed in resource room programs and 20 nonhandicapped adolescents were observed in art classes to determine the frequency of their helping, sharing, cooperating, comforting,…

The publication presents five articles dealing with research and methodology for teachers of behaviorally disordered children. In the first paper, R. Gable et al. describe "A Classroom-based Curriculum Validation Process for Teaching the Behaviorally Disordered," which focuses on static and dynamic evaluation of curricular materials. E. Anderson…

Seventeen behaviorally disordered adolescents received training in specific test-taking skills relevant to content area and teacher-made tests. The experimental subjects scored significantly and substantially higher on a posttest of test-taking skills than did untrained matched controls. Deficits on test-taking skills may contribute to observed…

This article describes an approach to reading instruction in which teachers use principles of functional analysis to generate hypotheses for the causes of reading failure, which are then used to guide the selection and implementation of interventions. Five possible causes of reading difficulties are described, and each is accompanied by suggested…

Questionnaire data on 139 undergraduate and 144 graduate special education programs indicated that the ecological approach is included in programs to train teachers of the behaviorally disordered and that the emphasis on course hours and practice is similar for undergraduate and graduate levels. (Author/DB)

Study found differential effects for five types of teacher directions (verbal instruction, nonverbal instruction, verbal instruction with physical assistance, nonverbal instruction with physical assistance, and physical assistance) with 24 severely behaviorally disordered students, aged 9-16. Nonverbal commands resulted in the most appropriate…

Three youths with mental retardation and behavior disorders were taught functional sight words that supported participation in recreation activities in community settings. Direct instruction with in vivo word find activities was demonstrated to be effective in promoting acquisition of functional sight words. Word recognition was maintained at…

Constant time delay procedures were used to teach 15 multiplication facts in 1 hour to a 10-year-old student with mild learning handicaps and behavioral disorders. Correct levels of responding were maintained and generalized across persons and settings up to 8 weeks after training. (DB)

A study assessed the effects of teaching three students (ages 11-14) with severe emotional/behavioral disorders to use a mnemonic to solve basic division fact calculations. Instruction in the use of the technique did increase the percentage of correct basic division facts calculated on independent work samples for all three students. (Contains…

Focus groups with teachers of students with learning disabilities (n=30) and teachers of students with emotional/behavior disorders (n=19) were conducted to examine the the teachers' perspectives about educational research and the extent to which they found research findings to be useful. The study further addressed the ways in which new practices…

Conjoint behavioral consultation (CBC) is an indirect form of service delivery in which parents and teachers collaborate to meet the academic, social, and behavioral needs of children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate CBC as a method of providing behavioral support for two students with emotional and behavioral difficulties (EBD) in…

Learning to write is a complex process that depends on mastering a variety of processes and skills, including how to plan compositions and regulate writing behavior. One approach that has been used successfully to teach both good and poor writers such processes is Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD). With SRSD, students are taught…