In an effort to improve academic performance for students receiving special education services, a large urban school district in Tennessee has implemented Integrated Service Delivery Model. The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of students receiving instruction in self-contained classrooms to the performance of students…

Functional analyses suggested that the disruptive behavior of three preschool children was maintained by escape from demands. While keeping the escape contingency intact, we conducted (a) a density analysis in which the children earned preferred items for task completion according to two schedules that varied in reinforcement density, and (b) a…

The persistence of sleep problems in preschool children is examined against the matched comparison groups of children with developmental delay without autism and typically developing children. Objective and subjective measures of sleep problems of preschool-aged children were found to have produced varying results.

This study provides evidence for intrinsic and extrinsic motivators for stereotypical and repetitive behavior in children with autism and intellectual disability and children with intellectual disability alone. We modified the Motivation Assessment Scale (MAS) (1988b); dividing it into intrinsic and extrinsic measures and adding items to assess…

Choice between alternative response options has received much attention in both basic and applied research. However, there is limited study on the effects of choice of task order on responding. This study examined the effect of choice of task order on on-task behavior, duration to complete the tasks, and problem behaviors in 2 children with autism…

In recent years clinicians report a great deal of concern about definition, diagnostic assessment, and treatment modalities when dealing with what might be called out-of-control sexual behavior. Many terms have been used to describe the phenomenon of problematic sexual behavior. Many of these concepts overlap, some are no longer popular, and some…

Teaching can be a daunting endeavor for both experts and novice teachers. It is a profession that requires the ability to be responsive to new demands and changing needs. In recent years, school reform promoting high-stakes testing in the name of improving academic achievement has dominated the list of problems demanding consideration. The ability…

The purpose of this case study was to evaluate the perceptions of participants regarding their effectiveness in responding to defiant student violence as a crisis response team, following crisis response team training. The participants were a group of 10 volunteer PK-6 public school educators from western Wisconsin. The study took place during the…

Many accounts of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) imply that the condition's behavioural "symptoms" are direct reflexes of underlying deficits. In doing so, however, they invariably overlook the social contexts in which symptomatic behaviours occur and are identified as pathological. This study addresses this issue, using conversation…

This article presents a psychotropic medication management approach that is used within a residential care program. The approach is used to assess medications at youths' times of entry and to facilitate decision making during care. Data from a typical case study have indicated that by making medication management decisions slowly, systematically,…

The early childhood provider, because of the consistent contact over time with infants, toddlers, and their families, is well positioned to observe the nuances of the early caregiving relationship; monitor early child behavior and development; identify deviances; and offer support, guidance, and intervention when families struggle. This…

Objective: This study investigated the associations of poverty and food insecurity over a 2-year period with internalizing and externalizing problems in a large, community-based sample. Method: A total of 2,810 children were interviewed between ages 4 and 14 years at baseline, and between ages 5 and 16 years at follow-up. Primary caregivers…

Research Findings: This exploratory study encompassed a collaboration to implement and evaluate the early efficacy of Banking Time, a dyadic intervention designed to promote supportive teacher-child relationships. Banking Time is a set of one-on-one meetings between a teacher and a child consisting of child-led play and teacher facilitation…

Background: Recent studies have investigated the causal attributions for difficult pupil behaviour made by teachers, pupils, and parents but none have investigated the temporal stability or predictive validity of these attributions. Aims: This study examines the causal attributions made for difficult classroom behaviour by students on two…

This study investigates the types of assessment models used by registered psychologists employed by Ministry of Education: Special Education (MOE:SE) who work in the area of severe and challenging behaviour. The aim of the study was to identify and explore frameworks for practice which are currently used at MOE:SE; the theories which underpin…