The Autism Program at Camarillo State Hospital and Developmental Center (California) has implemented "deinstitutionalization" within a large facility by providing effective and appropriate treatment based on individual needs. This paper describes the design of treatment services, quality assurance mechanisms, medical care (including…

Describes the Fred S. Keller School, one of several schools operating as a Comprehensive Application of Behavior Analysis to Schooling Program. The school functions as a cybernetic system of education in which the individualized instruction of each student influences the behavior of the entire education community. (CR)

Retrospective chart reviews of seven adolescents and young adults (ages 9-20) with autistic disorder treated with fluoxetine alone or in combination with other medications were performed. Side effects included initial appetite suppression, vivid dreams, and hyperactivity. Improvement was seen in irritability, lethargy, sterotypy, and inappropriate…

Evaluates claims of the Early Intervention Project, an intensive behavioral intervention program for young children with autism. Claims include recovery from autism in 47% of cases and substantial improvement in an additional 42%. The article finds methodological problems affecting internal and external validity of the project's reported results.…

This article describes the development of an autism-specific three-month parent education program by Britain's National Autistic Society (NAS). The NAS EarlyBird Programme emphasizes partnerships with parents and uses weekly group training sessions and individualized home visits to teach parents about autism, social communication, and prevention…

Functional analysis of destructive behavior of a four-year-old boy with autism and oppositional defiant disorder was able to delineate the specific form of verbal attention that was responsible for behavioral maintenance. Treatment based on the analysis reduced the behavior to near-zero levels. (DB)

This article reports on the outcomes of a study that used functional communication training (FCT) with two students, (ages 6 and 15) with autism and severe mental retardation, to add information to a database assessing the potential generalized effects of FCT and to examine the role that contingencies for appropriate and problem behaviors play in…

British parents (n=141) participating in an intensive home-based behavioral intervention for a child with autism completed a questionnaire addressing issues of stress, coping, and support. Results showed that parents' stress levels were predicted mainly by psychological rather than demographic variables. Adaptive coping strategies, informal social…

This article presents an overview of several pivotal response interventions. Areas discussed include responsivity to multiple cues, motivation to initiate and respond appropriately to social and environmental stimuli, and self-regulation of behaviors. The trend to streamline intervention by targeting behaviors that have a widespread effect on…

A study involving 6 children with autism investigated whether self-initiations might be associated with highly favorable post-intervention outcomes. Results found that children who had highly favorable outcomes exhibited more spontaneous self-initiations at pre-intervention. Further study indicated children could learn a variety of…

A study explored the perceptions of 12 administrators and policy makers, 13 family members, 12 friends, and 9 adults with challenging behavior and mental retardation and/or autism, 7 researchers, and 13 teachers regarding current behavioral information and dissemination. Results indicate a continued gap between research and practice. (Contains…

The broad term "pervasive developmental disorder" (PPD) describes a set of symptoms that occur along a continuum of severity; these symptoms are often referred to as "autism spectrum disorders" (ASDs). Little is known about the incidence and prevalence of ASDs among students who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH). Teachers of DHH students, who must…

Results of prior studies (e.g. [J. Appl. Behav. Anal. 32 (1999) 285]) showing that participants chose alternative behavior (compliance) over escape-reinforced destructive behavior when this latter response produced escape and the former response produced positive reinforcement may have been due to (a) the value of the positive reinforcer…

Social competency deficits are a core feature of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). During the past several decades, a number of social skill interventions for students with ASD have emerged. However, over the past five years, three converging issues have brought increased attention to the need for social competence programming: (1) increased ASD…

A multiple-probe design across participants was used to evaluate the effects of social stories on the duration of appropriate social engagement and the frequency of 4 social skills in 3 elementary-age students with autism. The social skills were seeking attention, initiating comments, initiating requests, and making contingent responses. Following…