This response to a paper (EC 624 771) on the early development of stereotyped and self-injurious behavior in infants and young children examines possible reasons why so little is known about these behaviors. These include questions about what behaviors would indicate the need for intervention, how to determine if a repetitive behavior is aberrant,…

The psychosocial effects of national lottery and scratchcard gambling among adolescents in the U.K. (N=1195) are examined; reinforcement factors are discussed. Time and money spent playing, links with parental gambling, attitudes of students toward the games, perceptions of winning, and data on problem gambling are reported and discussed.…

This study examined the representativeness of a time-sampling observational procedure to evaluate students with behavior disorders by examining error in samples of varying size in comparison to a criterion measure. Analyses of both single subject and multiple subject designs suggested that samples of 16 to 20 observational sessions of eight-minute…

This follow-forward study examined whether behavioral groupings (hyperactivity, hyperactivity with aggression, or comparison), created when children were preschoolers, were associated with different outcomes 5 years later. Parents (N=37) completed the Child Behavior Checklist at the outcome assessment. Results indicated that early assessments of…

This article introduces this special issue focused on application of guidelines based on the consensus of experts to the treatment of psychiatric and behavioral problems in persons with mental retardation. It explains the method of developing the guidelines, the limitations and advantages of the guidelines, and the organization of the guidelines.…

The hypothesis tested in this study was that the presence of enuresis and cruelty to animals in juvenile firesetters would be significantly related to recidivistic firesetting. No relationship was found between firesetting recidivism and enuresis. However, juveniles who were identified as being cruel to animals were more likely to engage in…

This paper identifies six factors that affect fidelity of treatment in relationship to functional behavioral assessment (FBA) in the classroom setting including: (1) understanding the function of and the contextual variables that support target behavior, (2) adult knowledge of effective interventions, and (3) adult acceptance of the intervention.…

Systematic review of 26 studies on language deficits in children with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) found 71 percent of EBD children had clinically significant broad-based language deficits including pragmatic, receptive, and expressive deficits. Longitudinal studies suggested that the rate of comorbidity between language deficits and…

Reports on an investigation of four prereferral intervention. Key findings include: teams frequently addressed behavior/ social-emotional issues; most interventions occurred outside classroom or school; and greater focus was on issues outside of school at the secondary level (e.g., community and drug problems). (Author/JDM)

Study seeks new perspectives on suicidal healing by examining the experiences of those who had healed to explore and to understand their process of healing. These experiences were analyzed phenomenologically yielding a thematic structure. This thematic structure identifies processes that have implications for conceptualizing and directing…

Discussion of the roots of youth violence and aggression suggest that long-term solutions will be complex and require significant changes in the conditions that contribute to violence, not merely adding more security and swifter or harsher punishments. Questions are posed concerning causes of violence as well as our culture's fundamental…

This article provides a review of current literature on the comparative validity of different functional assessment and analysis strategies. It describes functional assessment as an outcome-driven process and explains observational assessment strategies and using assessment information to plan interventions. A proposed process for teachers and…

This article discusses how and why scientific work directed toward behavioral disorders is almost a perfect metaphor for the dilemma of the social sciences as a whole. It argues that, although the social character of behavioral disorders means that our knowledge is imperfect, we cannot escape responsibility for decisions made to relieve the…

This paper reviews several genetic syndromes that are associated with intellectual disability. The specific focus is on the behavioural patterns associated with the syndrome. Included in this review are the patterns of disruptive behaviour disorders associated with Fragile X, Prader-Willi, and Williams syndromes. Understanding and recognition of…

Early school failure is a critical factor in the development of peer rejection and antisocial behavior in children. This paper describes three sets of instructional strategies that have been shown to promote high levels of academic competence by arranging frequent opportunities for correct skill practice: (a) teaching children at their…