A study evaluated the effectiveness of functional communication training (FCT) in reducing problem behavior of 5 individuals with severe mental retardation and in strengthening alternative behavior. Four participants shifted response allocation from problem to alternative behavior as the schedule of reinforcement of problem behavior became more…

This study applied functional behavioral analysis to the destructive behaviors of two young boys with multiple disabilities including behavior disorders. Results suggested that the subjects' destructive behaviors were sensitive to both escape and attention as reinforcers. Results support the importance of establishing operations in determining the…

A study conducted functional analyses of the pica of three young children. The pica of one participant was maintained by automatic reinforcement; that of the other two was multiply-controlled by social and automatic reinforcement. Preference and treatment analyses were used to address the automatic function of the pica. (Author/CR)

The present study replicates and extends previous research on the treatment of food selectivity by implementing pairing and fading procedures to increase a child's milk consumption during regularly scheduled preschool meals. The treatment involved mixing a small amount of chocolate syrup into a glass of milk and gradually eliminating the…

The current study describes an assessment sequence that may be used to identify individualized, effective, and preferred interventions for severe problem behavior in lieu of relying on a restricted set of treatment options that are assumed to be in the best interest of consumers. The relative effectiveness of functional communication training…

Recently, nonmaternal center-based child care has been linked to problem behavior in young children (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2003). In response, a comprehensive program to promote prosocial skills was evaluated in a classroom of 16 children between the ages of 3 years and 5 years. Classroom observations were…

The effects of wrist weights on the self-injurious and adaptive behaviors of a six-year-old boy with profound mental retardation were evaluated. Application of wrist weights reduced self-injurious behavior by 92 percent and was associated with higher increases or stable levels of multiple novel and preexisting adaptive behaviors. (Author/CR)

In the current study, nursing home staff were taught to administer functional analyses to determine the variables maintaining aggression by an elder with dementia. The results indicated that aggression was evoked during bathroom routines and that escape maintained aggression. Staff then reduced aggression to near-zero levels with noncontingent…