Treatment focus diffusion (TFD), dividing focus across multiple concerns during treatment, is common in public mental health care and differs from the more narrowly focused empirically supported treatments for youth reported in the literature. The present study examined whether and to what extent TFD is associated with youth functional improvement…

Interventions based on functional assessments, particularly functional analyses (FAs), are more likely to be effective relative to interventions that are not function-based. However, few clinical investigations have used FAs to assess operant vomiting. This is notable given that operant vomiting represents a medically serious form of problem…

The "School Refusal Assessment Scale" (SRAS) was developed to identify four factors that might maintain a youth's school attendance problem (SAP), and thus be targeted for treatment. There is still limited support for the four-factor model inherent to the SRAS and its revision (SRAS-R). Recent studies indicate problems with the wording…

Autism is currently one of the most prominent and widely discussed human conditions. Its increased prevalence has intensified the demand for effective educational and therapeutic services, and intervention science is providing mounting evidence about practices that positively impact outcomes. The purpose of this report is to describe a set of…

This brief review summarizes translational and intervention research in the area of sports performance. We describe studies with youth, collegiate, and elite athletes; identify recent trends; and propose recommendations for future research.

This article provides a rationale and guidelines for the adoption and implementation of positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) in secure juvenile justice settings, including benefits for youth and staff members. The rationale for extending PBIS to juvenile justice settings based on the authors' collective work in numerous states and…

School disengagement is linked to a lack of opportunities for students to fulfill their needs for independence and self-determination. Young people have little say about what, when, where, and how they will learn, the criteria used to assess their success, and the content of school and classroom rules. Traditional behavior management discourages…

Linda Miller describes a model for the practical implementation of behaviour supports. This model, the "5P approach", attempts to delineate a comprehensive and sequentially-stepped model of the assessment and treatment of challenging behaviour with consistent colour-coded themes. The 5Ps include profiling the child, prioritising the challenging…

Between 65 and 70 percent of youth in the juvenile justice system have mental health disorders, with some studies estimating that at least 20 percent of these youth have severe disorders that significantly impair functioning. Many of these youth are entitled to adequate and responsive mental health services through federal programs like Medicaid's…

Positive behavior support has gained attention in recent years as an effective practice for reducing challenging behaviors in children and youth with a variety of disabilities including autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The goal of positive behavioral interventions for students with ASD is to prevent and reduce the occurrence of interfering…

This study examined the association between organizational climate and changes in internalizing and externalizing behavior for youth in residential treatment centers (RTCs). The sample included 407 youth and 349 front-line residential treatment staff from 17 RTCs in Illinois. Youth behavior was measured using the Child Functional Assessment Rating…

We examined whether clinical progress ratings on the Monthly Treatment and Progress Summary form (MTPS), an idiographic treatment progress measure, were meaningfully related to changes measured by two separate standardized instruments; the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS) and the Child and Adolescent Level of Care…

Peer rejection is a common experience for youth with emotional and behavioral disabilities and it is associated with increased risk of negative short- and long-term outcomes. There is a high premium on interventions that can improve the social status and functioning of these youth. Positive Peer Reporting (PPR) is a behavior analytic intervention…

Evidence-based practices (EBPs) are the basis on which teachers and other service providers are required to design educational programs for learners with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). As part of their work with the National Professional Development Center (NPDC) on ASD, researchers developed a process for reviewing the research literature and…

Professionals and parents need effective systems of teamwork for planning restorative outcomes with troubled children and youth. This article taps the resilient problem-solving process C*L*E*A*R, which is drawn from the Response Ability Pathways (RAP) curriculum. Participants examine the timeline of Challenges, Logic, Emotions, Actions, and…