Twelve author-contributed papers representing a cross-section of resarch, practice, and professional opinion are presented from a conference on severe behavior disorders of children and youth. The keynote paper, "In Search of Excellence in Special Education" by T. Lovitt is followed by these papers: "Autism: Some Commonly Accepted Presumptions"…

This study of motivational differences in the school situation and the development of a sensation-seeking scale of preadolescent children rests upon an interactive psycho-biological theory formulated by Farley (1981). Stimulation-seeking and arousal in relation to instructional features are central concepts. As a point of departure for the…

Observations were made of infant caregivers in four child care centers to determine which stimulation acts (verbal and physical contacts) were provided for the infants and with what frequency of occurrence. It was hypothesized that walking infants would receive more stimulation acts than non-walkers. Nineteen caregivers were observed interacting…

The effects of educational stimulation on creative thinking ability and the relationships among verbal and figural creativity, intelligence, and school readiness were investigated in a sample of 123 first grade children. The educational stimulation consisted of special advanced instruction in physical education, music, art, social studies, and…

A process-oriented research strategy was employed to examine relations among various aspects of the early home environment and children's language development. The home environments of 65 infants were assessed when the infants were 12 and/or 24 months old with the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME). HOME includes six…

Specific suggestions are offered for mother-infant activities, sequenced according to developmental levels, which foster the physical and mental development of the infant and the socio-emotional relationship between mother and infant. The activities are intended for use by professionals, paraprofessionals, and mother-teacher aides who work with…

In an increasingly competitive information age and creative economy, knowledge and skills in the arts and music are important in their own right. Additionally, the integration of the arts into after-school programs helps build and reinforce important student learning. It helps strengthen teamwork, responsibility, persistence, self-discipline, and…

Irritability levels and activity reactivity to aversive tactile stimuli were compared for 144 full-term neonates and 191 preterm infants. Irritability ratings increased across the five trials both during and post stimulation for full-term females and males and for preterm females, but not for preterm males. Activity ratings decreased across trials…

Defines boredom, identifies the conditions in which boredom flourishes, and presents a series of suggestions for instructional design strategies that deal with boredom before it becomes an educational problem. An outline--indicating the importance of novelty, surprisingness, incongruity, and uncertainty in averting boredom--and a reference list…

Examined effects of a brief parent training package on parental application of behavioral procedures during child instruction for 49 parents and their 2 1/2- to 5-year-old children. Parent training produced variations in parental use of modeling, physical prompting, verbal instructional prompting, and aversive control. However, the pattern of…

The article reviews the literature concerning family influences on early childhood development. Implications of this literature for intervention planning with high risk children and families are suggested. Topics covered include the early parent-child relationship, disciplinary strategies, stimulation, parental instruction and expectations, the…

Recall of teaching events from a lesson is an important part of reflectivity for preservice teachers. Researchers examined questions about the differences between unaided and aided recall of deviations from planned lessons. Results indicated student teachers recalled less than half their deviations and were prone to forgetting student-initiated…

A quantifiable regimen of supplemental rotary vestibular stimulation was administered in a cross-over longitudinal design to 11 nonhandicapped and 10 Down's syndrome infants. Results indicated that supplementary rotary vestibular stimulation produced no measurable gain in motor ability. Greater gains were exhibited in the early phase of the study,…

A naturalistic assessment of self-injurious behavior in an 11-year-old boy with multiple disabilities, including severe mental retardation, found that the boy's self-injury was occasioned by low attention and low stimulation and maintained by tangible and social reinforcement. Naturalistic assessment effectively guided the selection of behavioral…

A lack of gender-sensitive computer games exacerbates female disinterest in technology. Girls-only focus groups revealed phenomena that may help software developers awaken girls' enthusiasm for computing. For instance, girls placed a premium on richly textured video and audio, on collaborating rather than competing, on interacting with male…