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)

This article reviews applications of the applied behavior analysis ideas of B. F. Skinner and others to persons with both mental retardation and emotional disturbance. The review examines implications of behavior analysis for operant conditioning and radical behaviorism, schedules of reinforcement, and emotion and mental illness. (DB)

Inappropriate mealtime behaviors of a blind, mentally retarded, behaviorally disordered 10-year-old were modified via behavior therapy techniques, including audiotape of favorite stories turned off during inappropriate behavior and praise (plus access to food) for appropriate napkin and utensil use, once desired sitting posture had been…

A multiply-handicapped totally dependent young adult exhibited a steadily increasing rate of response in learning to turn her radio on and off by moving her head to activate a controlling device mounted on the headrest of her wheelchair. Positive reinforcement, prompting, and fading were employed during the intervention (Author/JW)

The study examined the extent to which momentary DRO (differential reinforcement of other behavior) maintained suppression (following initial treatment with whole-interval DRO) of the maladaptive behavior of nine severely multihandicapped elementary aged students. Results indicated that momentary DRO maintained response suppression comparable to…

This paper reports a case study of an 8-year-old deaf, blind, and mentally impaired girl who was self-abusive. The behavior was excessive to the point that she sustained fractures to her jaw and arm and had to be restrained. Several treatment techniques were unsuccessfully attempted, including sensory stimulation, aversive conditioning, and…