This review covers four general areas: modification of undesirable behavior; increasing competence; generalization and maintenance; and behavior analysis methods in assessing preschool procedures. These studies support the usefulness of behavioral analysis; however, a major problem is the lack of systematic follow-up or procedures encouraging…

An attempt was made to enhance large muscle control and balance in congenitally blind children (ages 5-to-10 years) by exposing them to a program of creative dance movement. (Author/PHR)

A study of three males (grades 7-8) with learning disabilities investigated the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral self-management training package on the consistent use of specific classroom survival skills. Results demonstrated more consistent use of targeted classroom survival skills by all students in both learning support and mainstream…

Effects of two instructional trial scheduling formats (massed practice only, versus combined massed practice and distributed practice) on acquisition, transfer, and generalization of explicitly prompted requests were studied with five children with severe mental disabilities, ages 4-8. General case/naturalistic teaching was effective for all…

Four leisure skills (playing cards, selecting a television program, playing a sports videotape, and playing a computer game) were taught to four secondary students with moderate mental retardation by using least prompts procedures. Nondisabled peers assessed generalization across persons. Benefits were shown to the students with disabilities and…

In response to Whitman, "Self-Regulation and Mental Retardation" (EC 222 812), the author raises four points: use of alternatives to language based interventions, questionable effectiveness of verbal self-instruction with the retarded, questionable practicality of gradual withdrawal of teacher prompting, and need for immediate testing of…

Under the National Curriculum in the United Kingdom, children with learning difficulties will need to use transfer skills for various cross-curricular themes. To promote transfer, the use of cognitive strategies is recommended, including perceived similarity, analysis of the learning context, expert scaffolding, and detailed planning of practice…

Three seriously emotionally disturbed children were trained in techniques for self-evaluation for demonstrating appropriate behavior. Student use of those techniques in the classroom indicates generalization to that environment did occur. (MSE)

Microcomputers can promote productive and engaged learning time with special education students, when teachers: combine microcomputer experiences with use of manipulative materials, utilize small cooperative student groups as well as individual microcomputer time, provide direct teaching, monitor performance, and promote generalization through…

The study investigated the effects of a self-instructional training package on the on-task behavior of four adults with mental retardation employed in a sheltered workshop. On-task behavior increased substantially across all subjects following the training and the behavior generalized from the training setting to the actual work environment.…

This study of 3 low-functioning children (ages 6-9) with autism found that subjects could successfully use pictures to manage their self-care behavior in the absence of a treatment provider, generalize their behavior across settings and tasks, and maintain behaviors at follow-up. When picture order was manipulated, subjects followed the new…

This article addresses teaching students with visual impairments metacognitive learning strategies to improve their academic performance. Topics discussed include intrinsic motivation and self-concept; structuring and activating schemata; using cognitive modeling and verbal self-instructional procedures; teaching self-regulatory procedures; and…

This study tested whether the application and transfer of segmentation and letter knowledge to reading could be encouraged by teaching spelling alongside code-based reading instruction, with five matched pairs of kindergarten children with developmental delays. Spelling and word reading performance significantly improved for the experimental…

This article presents the whole-language approach as an environment that is particularly suitable for students with learning disabilities. This approach can allow students control over their learning, encourages them to experiment and take risks in their learning, promotes self-monitoring strategies, and enhances memory. (SW)