Students with or at-risk for emotional disturbance (ED) frequently receive interventions that include a direct manipulation of consequences. The ability of educators to identify reinforcing stimuli that may function as powerful consequences determines the success of reinforcement-based strategies. Choice-based stimulus preference assessments…

Previous studies have focused on whether a trial-based functional analysis (FA) yields the same outcomes as more traditional FAs, and whether interventions based on trial-based FAs can reduce socially maintained problem behavior. We included a full range of behavior functions and taught 3 teachers to conduct a trial-based FA with 3 boys with…

Analogue functional analyses are a well-researched means of determining behavioral function in research and clinical contexts. However, conducting analogue functional analyses in school settings can be problematic and may lead to inconclusive results. The purpose of this study was to compare the results of a trial-based functional analysis with…

The number of children identified as having intellectual or developmental disability is rising worldwide and their education has been found wanting. It has been said that "they simply need better teaching." At the same time, there is an increasing evidence base that pedagogy that is based on the discipline of behaviour analysis offers…

Preferences of 2 children with developmental disabilities, whose functional analyses indicated that their problem behavior was maintained by access to tangible items, were assessed using three formats (i.e., paired stimulus [PS], multiple-stimulus without replacement [MSWO], and free operant [FO]). The experimenter administered each format five…

We conducted a systematic analysis of studies that involved the treatment of rumination and operant vomiting in individuals with developmental disabilities. A total of 21 studies involving a combined 32 participants were identified and analyzed in terms of (a) participant characteristics, (b) dependent variables, (c) intervention procedures, (d)…

Fixed momentary schedules of differential reinforcement of other behavior (FM DRO) generally have been ineffective as treatment for problem behavior. Because most early research on FM DRO included presentation of a signal at the end of the DRO interval, it is unclear whether the limited effects of FM DRO were due to (a) the momentary response…

Students' leaving a designated area without permission or supervision is referred to as "elopement," and such behavior clearly presents a unique set of challenges for educational professionals. Elopement is seen in children and youth with a variety of developmental disabilities, including those with intellectual disabilities or autism, as well as…

We conducted functional analyses of pica for three individuals with varying levels of intellectual disabilities. In addition, two indirect assessment instruments (the "Motivational Assessment Scale [MAS]", and the "Questions About Behavioral Function [QABF]") were also administered to both the parent and teacher of the child…

In the context of instructional demands, compliance and problem behavior can be considered concurrent operants. Of applied interest is increasing one response (i.e., compliance) while decreasing the other (i.e., problem behavior). Strategic arrangement of reinforcement can alter response allocation accordingly. Such schedules can also influence…

Methods and outcomes from functional behavioral assessment have been researched widely over the past twenty-five years. However, several important research questions have yet to be examined sufficiently. This quantitative review of developmental disability research aims to make comparisons of different functional behavioral assessment…

Staff training is a critical performance improvement objective within behavioral health care organizations. This study evaluated a systematic training program for teaching applied behavior analysis knowledge competencies to newly hired direct-care employees at a day and residential habilitation services agency for adults with intellectual and…

The current study examined the effectiveness of an experimental functional analysis for assessing the functions of emergent vocal-verbal behavior in children with developmental disabilities. Experiment 1 consisted of a systematic replication of Lerman et al. (2005). Participants were 3 children with developmental disabilities, between the ages of…

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…

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…