Fourteen students, aged 7-24, with severe developmental disabilities who exhibited frequent aggression, self-injury, and/or tantrums were assessed to engage in problem behavior maintained by social attention or by escape from unpleasant situations. The differential effectiveness of praise and time-out was measured, indicating the importance of…

This article examines the concept of negative reinforcement in relation to the maintenance of off-task and disruptive behaviors in classrooms. Suggestions are given for determining whether negative reinforcement (in the form of escape from the instructional task) or teacher attention is maintaining the behavior. Suggestions for making tasks less…

Research regarding cognitive strategies instruction is reviewed and implications for its use with mildly handicapped learners considered. Approaches to enhance performance in memory and attention; academic learning (mathematics, written language, and reading comprehension); and studying content material are described. (CL)

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a Social Story [TM] intervention in teaching a young child with hyperlexia to appropriately obtain the attention of his peers. The Social Story intervention consisted of verbal and visual cues incorporated into an age-appropriate storybook format. Attempting to obtain the attention of a…