Background: There is relatively little published data that report the experiences and views of family carers of people with intellectual disabilities who display challenging behaviour who are prescribed psychotropic medication. Materials and methods: An online structured questionnaire was created by the Challenging Behaviour Foundation, a UK…

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), particularly the a7 nAChR, are implicated in the pathophysiology of both autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and aggressive behavior. We explored the feasibility, tolerability, and preliminary efficacy of targeting nAChRs using transdermal nicotine to reduce aggressive symptoms in adults with ASD. Eight…

Precorrection is an intervention that is a simple, systematic method of predicting and addressing inappropriate social or academic behaviors. It can be successfully be implemented for students of any age and ability, and across any setting, behavior, or academic task. This article demonstrates the use of precorrection across settings, including as…

Secure accommodation provides extreme forms of control and support for a small minority of society's most vulnerable children. Within such environments it is unclear how children exhibit or develop self-regulation when external controls affect every aspect of day-to-day life. This study provides an insight into self-regulation by examining…

Individuals with autism may engage in problem behavior in order to escape aversive stimuli, including various noises. In this study, an 18-year-old young man with autism had a history of engaging in problem behavior to escape aversive noise that was typical to his everyday environment. By using biofeedback, in the form of heart rate measurement,…

This study explored the correspondence and differences between school staff perceptions of preschool children's social skills and behavior problems. One hundred preschoolers were assessed by 14 pairs of teachers and classroom aides with the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales-2nd Edition (PKBS-2 Portuguese version). Indexes of agreement and…

Recent research findings (DeRosa, Fisher, & Steege, 2015) suggest that minimizing exposure to the establishing operation (EO) for destructive behavior when differential reinforcement interventions like functional communication training (FCT) are introduced may produce more immediate reductions in destructive behavior and prevent or mitigate…

Richman et al. ("J Appl Behav Anal" 48:131-152, 2015) completed a meta-analytic analysis of single-case experimental design data on noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) for the treatment of problem behavior exhibited by individuals with developmental disabilities. Results showed that (1) NCR produced very large effect sizes for reduction in…

The article examines issues related to identification of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The focus is on the Diagnostic Criteria in DSM-5 diagnostic features, associated features supporting diagnosis, and prevalence are discussed.

Instructional tasks and assignments can often generate severe and high rates of problem behaviors for some students in special and general education. These daily instructional assignments or tasks often pose an aversive condition, thus favoring behaviors that effectively escape such a condition as functional. The author asks the rhetorical…

Past research has shown that African American/Black males are referred for special education evaluation at disproportionately higher rates compared to males of other racial/ethnic groups. Special education placement for African/American/Black males has been linked to adverse outcomes such as lower teacher expectations, low academic performance,…

Although there is substantial functional behavioral assessment (FBA) literature suggesting that function-based interventions are effective for improving problem behavior, only a limited number of studies have examined the effectiveness of function-based antecedent versus consequent interventions. Additionally, although there has been a recent…

There is variability in the extent to which mothers are affected by the behavior problems of their children with developmental disabilities (DD). We explore whether maternal resilience functions as a protective or compensatory factor. In Studies 1 and 2, using moderated multiple regression models, we found evidence that maternal resilience…

Early intervention is valuable in preventing negative behavioural outcomes and promoting positive social competence in young children with externalizing behaviours. Interventions that teach social problem solving (SPS) are a promising solution, as children with behavioural difficulties often have deficits in these skills. School-based SPS…

Teachers do not have adequate training or support to effectively address challenging behaviors exhibited by students. The purpose of this study was to obtain insight into the benefits and challenges of a collaborative relationship between a behavior analyst and educators. The framework for this study is applied behavior analysis and its three-term…