Differential reinforcement of low rates of responding was used to reduce the disruptive behaviors of a blind 12-year-old boy with a learning disability. The subject earned reinforcers by not exceeding the established criterion of disruptive behaviors. An overall 88 percent reduction in target behaviors was observed across a 26-day period.…

The study with three blind and mentally retarded adults with additional disabilities found that general case simulation instruction in housekeeping skills led to generalization to untrained settings. Degree of generalization was inversely related to the severity and complexity of participant disability. (Author/DB)

The study found significant improvements in behavior when a profoundly mentally retarded blind subject was reinforced with music. The young woman also discriminated among different types of music, and behavior rates varied accordingly. (Author/DB)

Comparison of two strategies--manual guidance only and manual guidance plus verbal prompts--with 6 students (ages 9 to 19) whose multiple disabilities included total blindness and severe mental retardation found that prompting methods that require shifting verbal information to the performance of a manual task may interfere with the learning of…

Special education is now an established part of public education in the United States--by law and by custom. However, it is still widely misunderstood and continues to be dogged by controversies related to such things as categorization, grouping, assessment, placement, funding, instruction, and a variety of legal issues. The purpose of this…