This case study demonstrates the use of functional assessment to improve the classroom behavior of a 10 year old with mild mental retardation. The process involved conducting a brief prefunctional assessment, identifying variables for hypothesis testing, and developing and implementing an intervention based on the hypotheses. (DB)

Studied patterns of boys' social development by examining data from two longitudinal studies: a Finnish study of eight year olds begun in 1968; and a French Canadian study of six year olds begun in 1984. Patterns were identified using variables of aggression, hyperactivity, inattentiveness, anxiety, and lack of prosocial behavior. (LB)

Teacher ratings on the Aberrant Behavior Checklist were collected on 666 students with mental retardation attending special classes. Classroom placement and age had significant effects on subscale scores, whereas sex failed to affect ratings. The study concludes that the original scoring method, developed for individuals in residential facilities,…

This study found that use of a dependent group evaluation system effectively decreased the group's inappropriate verbalizations and that the 9 students (ages 11-13) with disabilities had positive reactions to the system. The system involved delivering reinforcement based on an identified student's rating and congruence of the student's rating with…

Offers practical suggestions for college faculty and administrators who encounter disruptive students, emphasizing the need for well-defined codes of student conduct and procedures for handling disruption. The article considers why some university officials hesitate to handle psychiatrically related disciplinary problems. It also examines the role…

Examined causal links between early disruptive behavior, poor school achievement, and delinquent behavior or antisocial personality in 324 students followed from first grade to age 14. Concerning self-reported delinquent behavior at age 14, best model for boys was direct causal link between first grade disruptive behavior and delinquency. For…

Discusses expanding the "evaluate solutions" step of problem-solving strategy to develop a guidance plan to solve children's troublesome behaviors. Parents and teacher determine the goals for the child, the child's relevant individual characteristics, the needs of the people involved, and the feelings of those involved as a guide to…

This article presents an intervention framework in which speech-language pathologists and behavioral psychologists view the challenging behaviors of individuals with traumatic brain injury from a communication perspective and address these problems in a way that is positive, integrated, functional, collaborative, and environmental. (Author/JDD)

A battery of three measures for assessing the community-based social behavior of adolescents and young adults with emotional and behavioral disorders is described. The measures, in male and female forms, are "Test of Community-Based Social Skill Knowledge,""Scale of Community-Based Social Skill Performance," and "Behaviors That Are Undesirable for…

Examined the intersection between internalizing and disruptive behavior problems in 890 inner-city boys in grades 4 and 7 over a 3-year period. Found that internalizing problems were more associated with a diagnosis of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder than with a diagnosis of conduct disorder. (MDM)

Three individuals with multiple severe disabilities were taught an appropriate response to problem behaviors, but the response was less efficient than the problem behavior on physical effort, schedule of reinforcement, or stimulus-reinforcer time delay. The response did not compete successfully with the problem behaviors until a new, more…

Because of the importance of preventing inappropriate disciplinary measures for special education students and those with disabilities, school boards should direct administrators to set specific procedures and limits on disciplinary measures, boost staff development programs, and establish open communication with parents. (MLF)

A two-year study of preschoolers attempted to identify emotions and prosocial behaviors that reliably predict teachers' ratings of young preschoolers' affective and behavioral social-emotional competence. Results showed that observed emotion, especially anger and sadness, often predicted teacher ratings of social-emotional competence in…

The effectiveness of a behavior management procedure--the response cost raffle--was studied with three male eighth graders and one female ninth grader in special education with mild to moderate behavior problems. Results indicate that the response cost raffle can be an effective and a practical classroom technique for increasing appropriate…

This study found that teachers' ratings of their 8 severely mentally handicapped pupils' (ages 9-18) classroom behavior were correlated with children's performance on a discrimination learning task. The factors of attention/distractibility and responsivity to consequences correlated significantly with number of errors and number of trials to…