Examined direct and indirect influences of marital discord on behavioral and emotional adjustment of 154 children and adolescents 2 years after parental filing for divorce. Found that marital conflict contributed to problematic emotional and behavioral child adjustment, largely indirectly through poorer mother-child relationships. Disputing…

Ways that preschool environments can be organized to avoid behavior problems are discussed, along with the implications of these arrangements for students with disabilities who are making the transition from preschool to elementary school settings. Also noted is the relationship between environmental arrangement and direct contingency management…

Describes application of Mental Research Institute brief therapy model for working with school children who either do not want to change or feel they cannot change their problematic behavior. Describes assumptions which undergird this approach along with specific working procedures. (Author/ABL)

Parent reports of behavioral and family functioning for 59 learning-disabled (LD) boys and 65 nondisabled boys aged 6-12 years found higher incidence of behavior problems among LD boys. Families of LD boys more frequently exhibited disturbed family functioning, although the boys in those families showed no more behavior problems than boys of other…

Boswell Center Psychotropic Medication Efficacy Graphs were developed to monitor the longitudinal effects of psychotropic medication on individuals with mental retardation, with less reliance on anecdotal recollections. Levels of maladaptive and prosocial behaviors, medication side-effects, and psychotropic medication were considered…

In missing point of "Swimming against the Mainstream" Bill Thomas provides occasion for focusing educators' efforts on bringing special education model to every child. Original article concerns not only problematic Ronald Doe but all other John and Jane Does with rights to equal educational opportunity. Through perseverance, Ronald received help…

Administration of the Dexamethasone Suppression Test (DST) for three groups of institutionalized patients with severe/profound mental retardation found that the 12 depressed patients more frequently (though not significantly) had positive DSTs and significantly higher cortisol levels compared with nondepressed patients with and without other…

Examined predictive associations among family interaction patterns assessed prior to kindergarten and children's externalizing behavior problems among 165 kindergarten and first-grade children and their families. Externalizing problems were more strongly predicted by summary ratings than by event-based measures; negative-coercive patterns than by…

This article offers suggestions for addressing behavioral infractions by students with disabilities in inclusive classroom settings. Ten questions are offered to help analyze situations that foster disruptive behavior and assist in the selection of appropriate behavior-reduction strategies. (DB)

A study compared the effects of extinction (EXT) and fixed-time (FT) schedules as treatment for the severe problem behaviors of three individuals with developmental disabilities. During EXT, the reinforcer maintaining problem behavior was withheld. During FT, the reinforcers were presented response independently at preset intervals. FT schedules…

Discusses the difficulties many students with learning and attention-related disabilities have in dealing with classroom transitions. Short case studies are provided to show how behavior problems escalate when effective teaching methods are not utilized to ease transitions, and several transition techniques are suggested. (Author/CR)

Discusses the "communication hypothesis" of problem behavior and describes methods for determining the communicative functions served by problem behavior. Reports on application of functional assessment and functional communication training with toddlers. (DB)

Minor disagreements can quickly escalate when a child feels threatened with losing face or fears retaliation. Peer-mediation programs can help students refocus their energies while learning communication skills they can use in other situations. The benefits of an Oregon elementary school's peer-mediation program are discussed. (MLH)

Describes collaborative behavioral contracting as applied to the reintegration of students with disabilities, using as an example the case of a 13-year old who had been in a self-contained program for students with emotional and/or behavioral disorders. Covers the development of a behavior management plan, writing the collaborative behavioral…

Presents a "Decision Tree" process for structuring team decision making and problem solving about specific student behavioral goals. The Decision Tree involves a sequence of questions/decisions that can be answered in "yes/no" terms. Questions address reasonableness of the goal, time factors, importance of the goal, responsibilities, safety,…