This paper reports on the development of a scale to identify a child's emotional and behavioral skills, competencies, and characteristics, the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale: A Strength-Based Approach to Assessment (BERS). The BERS is a 52-item scale that identifies strengths in five areas: interpersonal strengths, family involvement,…

The article describes the origin, philosophy, planning, and evaluation of the Grundy, Illinois, alternative school program which enables secondary students to talk about their emotional and behavior problems during healthful group walks. (MC)

Presents an overview of current forces impinging on the field of emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) and offers some recommendations for actions. It identifies expanding social risk factors and notes unsympathetic public policy. Issues in educational programming are addressed in the areas of curriculum, placement, efficacy, and personnel. An…

Presents the experiences of three preservice special educators who applied the research on reciprocal teaching with elementary school children with learning and behavioral disabilities. The problems encountered, the adaptations, and perceptions of student progress are summarized in three separate accounts. Suggestions are provided for successful…

Medical evaluation of 316 children, mean age 6 years, found 39 perpetrators of sexual abuse were less than 16 years old and 15 were between 16 and 19. Young aggressors were more likely to abuse older female children. Adolescent aggressors appeared to engage in more genital/genital and genital/anal sexual abuse than older aggressors. (Author/DB)

Discusses parent-teacher communication problems, factors that contribute to homework-communication problems, and strategies that the whole school community can use to ensure parent involvement in the homework assignments of children with high-incidence disabilities. Focus-group recommended strategies are provided for teachers, parents,…

Results of follow-up studies conducted on 67 high-school students with behavior disorders (BD) who graduated in 1985 and 22 graduates with BD who graduated in 1993, after passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), were compared to investigate the effects of transition requirements. The class of 1993 demonstrated better…

This study compared perceptions of staff in self-contained programs and mainstreamed programs for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) in a district committed to inclusion, interagency coordination, and staff training. Well-established self-contained programs were perceived as superior to relatively new mainstream programs in…

Problems in early identification of children with emotional or behavioral disorders in current systems of care are discussed along with current methods for early screening. Use of early detection and ongoing assessment of response as a basis for more focused intervention is suggested. Primary and secondary prevention issues are also discussed.…

This article describes an Australian alternative specialized day and residential program called Hopetown School for older students with emotional or behavior disorders. The movement toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education to the fullest extent possible and the difficulty in including students with severe emotional…

Findings of t-tests on results from 1,247 adolescents in South Carolina indicate that, without adjustment, whites were higher than blacks on socioeconomic status, grade point average, and attitudes favoring drug use. Blacks were higher on positive peer influence, commitment to education, self-efficacy expectations, and reported conduct disorder…

Examined two groups of applicants with disabilities to determine counselors' judgments about limitations in functional capabilities. Ratings of applicants' functional limitations were partially explained by three latent dimensions derived from applicants' personal history information. Implications for the conduct of the eligibility determination…

Four boys (ages 5 to 12) with developmental disabilities and severe challenging behaviors were evaluated using two functional assessment procedures: different analog probe conditions, and direct classroom observation of the child's behavior, antecedents, and consequences. Results raised questions about the reliability and ecological validity of…

A study involving four children (ages 4-7) with developmental disabilities and severe opposition behaviors found that use of reinforcement for compliance in isolation was ineffective in bringing about significant improvement in child compliance. The addition of a graduated request hierarchy appeared to be associated with substantial changes in…

This study used archival data from an outpatient clinic to examine gender differences in young children exhibiting disruptive behavior disorders. Findings showed that males typically had higher scores than females on parent and teacher completed measures of child behavior disorders. Significantly more males than females had conduct disorders, and…