A multiple baseline-across behaviors design was employed to assess the efficacy of a self-control procedure in eliminating three stereotypic behaviors of a 15-year-old behaviorally disordered, deaf, institutionalized student. The self-control procedure eliminated two of the three target behaviors and significantly reduced the rate of the third.…

Signs were used successfully with a blind 10-year-old autistic girl. After eight months of training, she was able to acquire a functional sign vocabulary relying primarily on the tactile-kinesthetic and the auditory modalities. This newly acquired skill had a beneficial impact on the child's general functioning. (Author)

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)

A water mist was employed as a punisher to reduce head hitting in a 10-year-old multiply handicapped, visually impaired child. Results indicated that water mist alone was effective in reducing the frequency of head hits during meals, but other situations required the addition of primary reinforcers, stimulus control, or both. (Author/JDD)

A computer program was developed to help train three multihandicapped (hearing losses, visual impairments, and mental handicaps) adolescent students to make simple drawings on paper. Students traced sample drawings on the computer using a lightpen. Improved freehand drawing performance was demonstrated following training for all three students.…

Two experiments with 15 individuals having profound mental retardation found difficulties in identifying reinforcers that were actually effective in treatment of chronic training needs. Research needs in evaluating training alternatives for people with profound multiple disabilities who move very little or who respond with very long latencies are…

Six hospitalized mentally retarded-behaviorally disordered children were instructed in three feeding skills through praise, time-out, and behavioral rehearsal. Results indicated positive behavior change in training sessions and in immediately succeeding sessions during which training was withheld. (Author/CL)

In this case study, a six-year-old, multihandicapped child was treated for self-injurious arm-biting using two response contingent deceleration procedures and two forms of sensory extinction. Only the sensory extinction procedure with protective cuffs reduced arm-biting to manageable levels. (Author/DB)

A choice assessment was used to categorize reinforcers as high, middle, and low preference with 4 males (ages 7 to 19) with multiple disabilities including severe/profound mental retardation. High-preference stimuli consistently functioned as reinforcers for all subjects whereas low-preference stimuli did not function as reinforcers. (Author/DB)

Four types of adaptations facilitate the age appropriate acquisition of recreational skills in severely handicapped persons: material, procedural/rule, skill sequence, and facility adaptations. A case study illustrates systematic instruction, programmatic adaptations, and materials modification, to teach a photography skill to a multiply…

A study investigating the discrimination abilities of two crib-bound, cerebral palsied, profoundly retarded females demonstrates the importance of individual differences among such children and suggests that discriminative responding may be demonstrated by at least some profoundly retarded children, particularly if distributed practice is employed…

Team approach methods in providing rehabilitation services are reviewed and a training method for rehabilitation teams is described, based on experience in a vocational rehabilitation facility for the mentally retarded. Practical suggestions for constructive team functioning and facility research results are also presented. (MF)

A 21-year-old woman who was totally blind, severely hearing impaired, functionally retarded, behaviorally resistive, self-stimulative, self-abusive, and who lacked basic communication skills, was taught to sit quietly and wait on command. (Author/PHR)

Two experiments combined the assessment of reinforcer preferences and the functional analysis of behavior to prescribe treatment of self-injurious behavior in two severely handicapped children, aged four and eight. The treatments reduced self-injurious behavior when the child was alone as well as during instructional training activities. (JDD)

Self-induced vomiting in a severely retarded visually impaired adult was reduced by consistent application of restitutional overcorrective strategy. (Author/CL)