This paper presents a consultative model for providing behavioral supports within the context of a public school setting to students with developmental disabilities who display challenging behaviors. The suggested model is contrasted with the traditional consultation model in which a consultant comes from outside the immediate problem situation,…

The guide describes and evaluates 20 resource materials intended to help in training direct-care staff in behavior management issues involving persons with developmental disabilities. Each description provides the bibliographic reference for the material being evaluated, information on the target audience, a summary, a review, and an address and…

This study of 29 children with developmental delays found that parent ratings of children's depression were significantly associated with maternal depression, negative self-image, anxiety, and conduct problems. Data suggest that children with developmental delays exhibit a similar pattern of symptoms and associated characteristics to those found…

More than 485,000 low-birth-weight, premature babies are born in the U.S. each year. The increase in preterm births since 1990 may be due to assisted pregnancies and births to older mothers. Although their survival rates are improving, many premature infants experience long-lasting developmental and behavioral problems. The author describes recent…

Background: Despite the widespread use of the term "empowerment" in clinical literature to describe both a desirable process and the outcome of service delivery, the term remains more of a theoretical than practical construct. This study examined the factors that contribute to empowerment in parents of school-aged children with and without…

This booklet was developed to help in the design and implementation of self-management systems for elementary-classroom students with developmental disabilities. Self-management components addressed in the booklet are self-monitoring, self-evaluation, and self-reinforcement. Chapters provide: (1) the definitions and rationale for teaching…

A program to increase staff effectiveness in implementing a group home behavior management program for residents with developmental disabilities was evaluated. The program emphasized systematic self-recording and supervisor feedback, and resulted in increased staff consistency in all four areas evaluated (such as implementing response costs for…

This paper offers a rationale for and a description of the creation of the Developmentally Delayed Children's Behaviour Checklist, which is completed by caregivers or teachers and uses a taxonometric model to describe the child's (ages 4-20) disturbed emotions and behaviors. Results of clinical validation studies are cited. (Author/JDD)

Very few existing empirical studies have explored the putative association between exposure to negative life events and psychological well-being in adults with developmental disabilities. In the present study, data on exposure to life events in the previous 12 months, adaptive behavior, problem behavior, and psychiatric problems were provided by…

The author of this article talks to Robert Kreider about why helping people with special needs is so important to him and his colleagues. Robert Kreider is the president and chief executive officer of The Devereux Foundation, the nation's largest non-profit provider of behavioral healthcare services to children and adults with emotional,…

The use of a self-monitoring strategy to increase on-task behavior was examined with a post-institutionalization 13-year-old child included in a regular school in Ireland. A functional assessment conducted prior to the intervention indicated the student engaged stereotypy unless involved in academic tasks. After implementation of the intervention,…

The vulnerability of children to developmental problems was studied in three groups of young children: (1) children with schizophrenic mothers (N=35); (2) children with severely depressed mothers (N=19); and children with well mothers (N=21). The children ranged in age from birth to 5 years, with 64 percent under age 2, and came from families who…

This paper describes the use of an automated performance support system, the Mental Retardation-Expert (MR-E), in the training of 16 student clinicians to think "functionally" about undesirable behaviors of persons with mental retardation or developmental disabilities (MR/DD). The MR-E models human expertise in behavioral diagnosis and…

The case study is designed to be used with the inservice training program developed by the Child-Centered Inservice Training and Technical Assistance Network (Syracuse, New York), which provides services to professional and paraprofessional personnel working with students with severe disabilities receiving their education in regular education…

Reports findings of a study which surveyed and interviewed teachers (N=16) of students with Fragile X Syndrome attending special schools in the United Kingdom. Data reported include activities liked and disliked by these pupils, effect of time of day on pupil behavior, classroom environment and organization, prevention of behavior problems, and…