Some students who have developmental disabilities avoid settings and activities that can improve their learning and quality of life. This two-phase study concerned an adolescent boy with autism who avoided the gross-motor exercise room, gymnasium, and music room at his school; he demonstrated distress, agitation, and problem behaviors when…

Precursor behaviors are innocuous behaviors that reliably precede the occurrence of problem behavior. Intervention efforts applied to precursors might prevent the occurrence of severe problem behavior. We examined the relationship between precursor behavior and problem behavior in three individuals with developmental disabilities. First, a…

Conditional rates of problem behavior for weeks that followed medication decreases and no medication changes were compared for 12 individuals who exhibited severe problem behavior (e.g., self-injury, aggression). The results indicate that conditional rates of problem behavior were higher following medication decreases than following no changes in…

Sensitivity theory attempts to account for the variability often observed in challenging behavior by recourse to the "aberrant motivation" of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In this article, we suggest that a functional analysis based on environmental (challenging environments) and biological (challenging needs) motivating…

Research shows that after training in the philosophy and practice of mindfulness, parents can mindfully attend to the challenging behaviors of their children with autism. Parents also report an increased satisfaction with their parenting skills and social interactions with their children. These findings were replicated and extended with four…

Reviews studies involving noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) for the treatment of challenging behavior such as aggression, self-injury, and extreme tantrums in persons with developmental disabilities. A clinical guide for implementation is delineated. Among the advantages of NCR is ease of implementation. NCR appears particularly relevant for…

Feeding and mealtime behavior problems are commonly observed among individuals with developmental disabilities. These problems include, but are not limited to, food refusal, food selectivity, mealtime aggression, rumination, pica, and insufficient feeding skills. Difficulties of this type can be associated with life-threatening consequences of…

Investigates the effects of child behavior problems on teachers' (N=3) intervention fidelity across two intervention protocols: escape extinction and functional communication training. Results indicate that a high rate of behavior problems during escape extinction appeared to punish teachers' efforts. A low rate of behavior problems was evident…

The aims of this study were to examine effects of on-the-job feedback after conventional analog staff training and to corroborate earlier findings of competent performance maintained without feedback from others. The study took place in a nursing home with four staff participants and a resident with problem behaviors. A multiple baseline design…

There is growing evidence of an association between physical illness and problem behavior in children with developmental disabilities. Such behavior can compromise school performance. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate, using a group design, the effectiveness of medical intervention alone (N = 11) versus behavioral plus…