Background: Aggressive challenging behaviour in people with intellectual disability (ID) is frequently treated with antipsychotic drugs, despite a limited evidence base. Method: A multi-centre randomised controlled trial was undertaken to investigate the efficacy, adverse effects and costs of two commonly prescribed antipsychotic drugs…

This study compared low-income Mexican American parents of young children referred for behavior problems to their nonreferred counterparts on an observational measure of parent-child interactions. Referred Mexican American parents demonstrated more negative behaviors than their nonreferred counterparts in both nondirective and highly directive…

This study uses a social-ecological approach to the development of delinquency. The authors emphasize that a balance between eliminating risk and enhancing protection across domains is essential in reducing problems and promoting competence. The cumulative risk and promotive effects of temperament, family and school factors in preadolescence were…

In recent years, there has been a great deal of controversy regarding the definition and independence of Positive Behavioral Supports (PBS) within the context of behavioral intervention. Specifically, behavior analysts have argued over whether PBS is subsumed within Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) or whether it can be considered a separate…

We sought to determine the extent to which children's behavior problems would mediate the relationship between children's learning disorders and adoption satisfaction using nationally representative data from 1,865 adoptive parents. We found that high levels of behavior problems, operationalized as internalizing and externalizing behaviors,…

Sensory Food Aversion is one of the most common feeding disorders during the first 3 years of life, when young children are transitioned to self-feeding, and when issues of autonomy and dependency have to be negotiated between parents and child. In this article, the author discusses "picky eaters" and the importance of distinguishing between…

Functional analyses suggested that the disruptive behavior of three preschool children was maintained by escape from demands. While keeping the escape contingency intact, we conducted (a) a density analysis in which the children earned preferred items for task completion according to two schedules that varied in reinforcement density, and (b) a…

The persistence of sleep problems in preschool children is examined against the matched comparison groups of children with developmental delay without autism and typically developing children. Objective and subjective measures of sleep problems of preschool-aged children were found to have produced varying results.

Nationally, 15% of children younger than 5 years regularly attend more than 1 child-care arrangement. An association between arrangement multiplicity and children's behavior problems has been identified, but previous research may be susceptible to measurement or omitted variable bias. This study used within-child fixed effects models to examine…

This study provides evidence for intrinsic and extrinsic motivators for stereotypical and repetitive behavior in children with autism and intellectual disability and children with intellectual disability alone. We modified the Motivation Assessment Scale (MAS) (1988b); dividing it into intrinsic and extrinsic measures and adding items to assess…

Abused children experience high rates of behavior, emotional, and learning problems but infrequently receive treatment. Most services provided to abused children and their families are not based on any clear evidence that they work. A number of evidence-based treatments (EBTs), demonstrated to be safe and effective in treating a range of…

Choice between alternative response options has received much attention in both basic and applied research. However, there is limited study on the effects of choice of task order on responding. This study examined the effect of choice of task order on on-task behavior, duration to complete the tasks, and problem behaviors in 2 children with autism…

In recent years clinicians report a great deal of concern about definition, diagnostic assessment, and treatment modalities when dealing with what might be called out-of-control sexual behavior. Many terms have been used to describe the phenomenon of problematic sexual behavior. Many of these concepts overlap, some are no longer popular, and some…

One hundred repetitions--100 "useful" repetitions. This notion has guided the author's work in alternative education programs for almost 20 years, dealing with the most challenging students, from addicts to conduct-disordered adolescents to traumatized 5th graders. There are no magic tricks. The role of educators is to align with the healthy…

A substantial lack of effective school based interventions especially in the natural setting exists in the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. We performed a 18-week teacher training programme in a public elementary school with 378 pupils in 16 classes. After completing a screening assessment for symptoms related to ADHD and to…