Six mildly to severely mentally retarded 10- to 16-year-olds were given 10 to 45 minutes of interpolated reinforcement (additional to existing unplanned reinforcement) for target behavior that interfered with habilitation. When the interpolated reinforcement was discontinued, the forms of responding returned to those of initial baseline and the…

Two experiments with four autistic children (ages 5-13) demonstrated that reinforcement of appropriate toy play was an effective means of reducing disruptive behaviors of autistic children in unsupervised settings. (Author/DB)

Methods for dealing with classroom behavior problems of handicapped students in mainstream classes should follow the principle of least intensive intervention. Specific strategies for reducing undesirable behavior (planned ignoring, stating expectations, signaling) and increasing desirable behaviors (modeling, structuring the situation, positive…

A youngster who excessively watched television was placed on a modified token economy: earned tokens were used to activate the television for set periods of time. Positive effects resulted in the child's school work, in the amount of time his family spent together, and in his mother's perception of family social support. (KH)

Treatment of 35 children (between 1 and 5 years of age) with sleep disorders was focused on helping the child stay in bed quietly if awake and to settle into sleep without parental attention. Improvement occurred in 77 percent. Results illustrate effects of treatment sample selection and indicate dangers of generalizing findings. (Author/RH)

Treatment of an eight-year-old severely mentally retarded girl's repetitive spoon banging consisted of saying "no bang" and pulling a terry cloth bib over the subject's entire face for five seconds. High frequencies of spoon banging during nontreatment conditions rapidly decelerated when facial screaming was in effect. Follow-up data indicated…

Parents and teachers can cooperate by requiring that behavior problem children successfully complete an activity of low priority (nonpreferred) to them before participating in a high priority (preferred) one. The daily report approach documents the way in which school behavior can be linked to access to home or community activities. (CL)

Recent research on the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, a disorder of metabolism, in terms of etiology and characteristics, biomedical treatment options, behavior modifications, daily management concerns, and educational intervention. Specific attention is given to alternatives for dealing with self-injurious behavior in those individuals affected by the…

This manual takes school practitioners step by step through conducting functional behavioral assessments and using them to plan effective interventions. The authors present a cogent rationale for the use of functional behavioral assessment (FBA), clearly explaining its advantages over traditional approaches to dealing with problem behavior. Basic…

The article describes a behavioral consultation model developed in a residential treatment program for visually impaired children with maladaptive behavior. Two case studies illustrate the application of behavior modification techniques. The article concludes with suggestions for overcoming the resistance of staff members to using behavior…

Contingency management programs for modifying aggression in children are strong methods of short-term behavior change in treatment settings but are less than successful when transferred to other settings. Future research should compare cognitive with noncognitive behavioral programs and test the effectiveness of cognitive and noncognitive…

Legal mandate and limited resources provide an impetus to increase the utility of functional assessment. The goal of this study was to develop a brief assessment that could be conducted in the natural setting to identify naturally occurring, high-frequency subsequent events that may serve as maintaining consequences for disruptive behavior using…

Author responds to comments (EC 232 033-037) on his paper (EC 232 032) concerning use of aversive therapy or punishment with mentally retarded persons. Paper notes ideological connotations often implied in the term "punishment" and the lack of response to the distinction made in his paper between this and the functional relations…

Treatment of behavioral problems of 3 girls (ages 31-37 months) with Rett's disorder is discussed. Behavioral treatment using operant conditioning principles did little to alter the course of the disorder for these individuals. The one consistent improvement for the girls was a decrease in tantrums. (SW)

This paper describes a dentist-implemented intervention in which brief escape from dental treatment (contingent on brief periods of cooperative behavior) was provided to manage disruptive child behavior during restorative dental treatment with four children, aged three to seven years. The procedure required no more time than traditional management…