In this study, functional communication training alone and combined with extinction and/or punishment was evaluated for four clients with severe retardation, behavior problems, and communication deficits. Results showed that the combination of training plus punishment produced the largest and most consistent reductions in target behavior problems.…

This study, involving 4 children (ages 6 and 11) with autism, demonstrated that a self-management technique was effective in improving responsiveness to verbal initiations from others and in extending responsiveness to settings (community, home, and school) without the presence of a treatment provider. Concomitant reductions in disruptive behavior…

We used functional communication training to teach Bob, a 10-year-old student with autism and severe language delays, to reject items by touching an icon. Our initial assessment revealed that Bob's behaviours serving a rejecting function consisted of pushing away, yelling, bear hugging-grabbing, and leaving. We used prompting, differential…

A follow-up study of behavior and emotional problems in 53 young people with Williams syndrome 5 years after first assessment found substantial persistence in the overall level of behavior and emotional problems. Comparison with young people with mental retardation due to other causes found Williams subjects had significantly higher overall…

This article summarizes procedures used in translating technical jargon in the field of behavior therapy to plain English. It lists phrases translated from applied behavior analysis to public education, presents acronyms useful in remembering sequences of steps, and describes two tests to help in decision making in behavior analysis applications.…

Antecedent conditions involving instructor's task demands and social comments were evaluated for three students with severe disabilities who exhibited problem behavior. An instructor emitted high rates of social comments and gradually faded in task demands. Social validity assessments indicated that substantial improvements were perceived in…

This study examined Autism Diagnostic Interviews Revised (ADI-R) data for 69 autistic subjects from multiplex (MP) families (with more than one autistic member) and 88 autistic subjects from singleton (SP) families (with only one autistic member). Multivariate analysis revealed no differences between verbal or nonverbal MP and SP groups for ADI-R…

This study developed an experimental analysis procedure based on the results of a descriptive assessment, involving five parents and their children with problem behaviors. The experimental analysis required only four sessions to demonstrate a function for each subject's problem behaviors. Interventions involving functional communication training…

Background: Despite an increasing knowledge base concerning the assessment of emotional and behavioural problems in people with intellectual disabilities (ID), relatively little research has examined such problems in offenders with ID. Methods: The study assessed 172 male offenders with ID in three service settings (high, medium-low security and…

There has been increased interest in family systems approaches to the treatment of children's behavior problems. A study was conducted to compare children's behavior patterns in clinical and nonclinical intact families and to explore the relationship between family functioning and boys' behavior patterns. Subjects consisted of 16 clinic families…

Three first grade students who exhibited difficulty completing independent work improved their math performance when given recording devices to self-record performance data, with two of the children showing more reactivity when using the more obtrusive device. Three of four second grade students increased math performance during periods when peer…

Uses a control group study to compare the effectiveness of contingency management training and communication skills training for training parents to manage children with conduct disorders. Concludes that more subjects in the contingency management group met a criterion of clinical success than in either the communication skills or the control…

Functional analyses of problem behaviors were performed with three individuals with severe intellectual disabilities. Results indicated that the problem behaviors were maintained either when the behavior resulted in escape from difficult tasks or when the behavior resulted in access to preferred items. Training in functionally equivalent…

This article suggests that students with emotional/behavioral disorders may use disruptive behaviors to escape and avoid teacher instructional language for which they do not have comprehension skills and thus find aversive. Teacher instructional language thus maintains aberrant behavior through a negative reinforcement paradigm. Recommendations…

An interactive model of language intervention that targeted specific vocabulary was evaluated in a study of 16 mothers and their preschool children with language delays. Children in the experimental group used more target words and acquired more symbolic play gestures than those in the control group. Mothers in the experimental group reported a…