This article argues that non-directive play therapy offers an approach that is well suited to addressing adolescent concerns. The argument is illustrated by two accounts of therapy that show how a more traditional non-directive counseling approach was combined with play therapy by the adolescents themselves, allowing exploration of emotional…

Morning and afternoon salivary substance P and cortisol levels were measured in 26 adults with chronic self-injurious behavior (SIB) and severe developmental disabilities and compared with controls without SIB. Chronic SIB was associated with an altered diurnal pattern of salivary substance P, characterized by lower levels of morning substance P.…

The study reduced the disruptive behaviors of students in 2 elementary physical education classes, including an alternative education class containing 14 fourth and fifth grade boys with severe behavior problems. A modified time-out procedure was used to reduce frequency of disruptive behaviors by 95 percent. (Author/DB)

Teachers of students exhibiting behavioral deficits and excesses should focus on direct teaching of acceptable behavior, but this often does not occur because of teachers' feeling more comfortable teaching academic skills, paucity of curriculum materials, and such trends as minimum competency testing. Behavioral and cognitive approaches to…

Principles and guidelines for conducting ecological assessment of preschool children with behavior disorders are offered. Steps in the assessment process are identified with suggestions for translating assessment results into intervention actions. Included are a sample parent education home visit record and a list of characteristics of effective…

Discussed are practices used in Nevada to differentiate students who are conduct disordered or socially maladjusted from those who are seriously emotionally handicapped. Programs for students with conduct disorders are described, and implications of Nevada's approach to serving the behaviorally disordered are considered. (DB)

This case study describes a boy diagnosed at age three as having Asperger syndrome. The study focuses on behavioral and developmental problems associated with the syndrome and discusses how these were managed to help the child function in normal educational settings. The distinction between Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism is also…

Ten male elementary school students identified as behaviorally handicapped practiced answering math fact problems in both paper-and-pencil and computer-assisted drill and practice programs to assess efficiency of both techniques. Results indicate that students reached criterion levels faster with pencil and paper, and expressed a preference for…

In this comment to a paper by S. Braaten (EC 210 835), in which the Regular Education Initiative (REI) was described as a "patent medicine" for students with behavioral disorders, it is argued that such students are not misidentified or inappropriately placed and that the REI has been misinterpreted and may work. (JDD)

This rejoinder to EC 230 272 defends the original paper (EC 210 835) and argues that the critique reflects a misunderstanding of the nature of the Regular Education Initiative, the inclusion of students with behavioral disorders in reform proposals, the seriousness of the problems of these students, and the nature of patent medicine. (JDD)

The study compared the behavioral ratings of regular classroom and special education teachers of the problem behavior and adaptive functioning of 31 adolescents with serious emotional disturbances. Results are discussed in terms of the literature on teacher tolerance of problem behavior and the effects of classroom setting upon teacher judgments.…

The discussion of elementary or secondary school study skills programs for general or special education looks at the skills to be included in such a program and implementation strategies, including programing for individual student skill needs. (MSE)

Investigated 48 fifth- and eighth-grade boys' moral judgments of stories featuring good intentions with bad outcomes. Clear differences in moral judgments were found between groups recruited from the same general social setting that were comparable in intelligence but different in moral and social behavior. (RJC)

Administered Rokeach Value Survey to measure the value differences and value stability of 148 15- to 18-year-old adolescents. Examined the differences between adolescents who suffered from conduct-disorder, anxiety-withdrawal and those not suffering from a disorder. Results suggest that all three groups of adolescents share values and the…

Examined relationship between on-task behaviors and standardized achievement among emotionally disturbed or behavior disordered students. Forty emotionally disturbed or behavior disordered elementary school students participated in token economy for one academic year. Noted minimal pre-post achievement gains and high level of on-task behavior; no…