Discusses how conceptualizing anger control as a necessary survival skill for angry and aggressive youth is more productive than diagnosing these youth with labels like conduct disorders. Anger management programs should promote the ideas that angry persons need to trust others and that they have the ability to control their lives. (RJM)

Describes treatment containing positive components of effective instruction delivery (EID) and time-in (TI) for achieving acceptable levels of child compliance in clinic and home settings. Mothers were able to master components of both EID and TI in the clinic. Skill mastery increased at home for EID but varied for TI. Discusses benefits of…

This study compared three methods of stimulus preference assessment for four verbal children (ages six to nine) with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, specifically evaluating the utility of a verbal choice procedure for assessing relative reinforcer value. Verbal and pictorial stimulus-choice assessments identified high- and low-preference…

Research shows that adults respond primarily to positive reinforcement, want to be involved, and prefer to operate in a collegial environment. Traditional teacher evaluation violates many of these understandings. Fortunately, schools are beginning to experiment with observations and mentoring for beginning teachers and long-term…

Praise is better than punishment as a motivator for children, but both are manipulative and often backfire. Real encouragement comes in the form of honest, caring concern without strings attached. The paper presents examples of how to encourage children successfully. (SM)

Because youth who are in residential facilities are sometimes dangerous to themselves or others, there are times when physical restraints must be used for the safety of both residents and staff. But the use of restraints is coming under increased scrutiny because of potential dangers. In this article facilities share how training can help reduce…

When used within a comprehensive positive behavioral support program, the CPI Postvention model can serve as a facilitation tool, guiding staff through functional behavioral assessment for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Challenging behavior is defined as behavior of such intensity, frequency, or duration that the physical safety of the…

The exhibition of stereotypic and self-injurious behavior (SIB) combined with a lack of work engagement makes it very difficult to place a person with severe disabilities in an integrated work environment. The purpose of this research was to examine use of a positive procedure to increase engagement on-task and reduce self-injurious slapping and…

This study assessed the effects of automatically delivered stimulation on the activity level and mood of three students with multiple disabilities during their use of a stepper and a stationary bicycle. Stimuli from a pool of favorite stimulus events were delivered electronically while students were actively exercising. Findings indicated the…

This study examined the utility of a paired-choice preference assessment in predicting reinforcer efficacy for a 13-month old with a history of prenatal drug exposure. First, two paired-choice assessments were conducted one week apart, using the same items. A high level of correspondence between the two assessments was observed. Next, a reinforcer…

We evaluated a multicomponent intervention that successfully eliminated drooling by a 17-year-old student with autism who attended a public high school. The student was taught to perform compensatory responses (wiping his mouth and swallowing saliva), received positive reinforcement for having a "dry mouth," and was given opportunities to monitor…

Systems of positive behavior support (PBS) that positively affect student performance involve consensus among stakeholders, the development of environments that facilitate student success, effective teaching of rules and procedures, and consistent consequences for behavior. Evaluation of such systems requires schools to collect data to assess…

Successful discipline, improved school climates, and behavioral competence are integrally related to improving academic outcomes. This policy brief presents common discipline practices in schools and discuss current discipline data from Indiana. In addition, the report examines school-wide Positive Behavior Support (PBS), an alternative approach…

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effects of two trainings designed to increase the competencies of professionals to develop high quality positive behavior support plans for students that engage in problem behaviors that interfere with theirs and/or others' ability to learn. Training one consisted of training attendees on six key…

The purpose of this study was to examine the long-term effects of sport participation on the basketball skills and physical self-concept of adolescents with conduct disorders (CD). Participants were 24 adolescent males with CD, divided equally into three groups: (a) interestablishment basketball (IEBB), (b) integrated scholastic basketball (ISBB),…