The use of a school wide positive behavior intervention and support (PBIS) framework is well established as a beneficial model for the majority of students taught in general education classrooms (e.g., Bradshaw, Mitchell, & Leaf, 2010). Some students, whether at-risk for or school-identified with emotional behavioral disorders (EBD) or other…

Temper tantrums among young children are common, especially those with autism spectrum disorders. Delay of gratification is an essential component of temper tantrums. Teachers and parents seek management strategies for temper tantrums that are efficient, effective and ethical. The purpose of this applied behavioral analysis research was to compare…

Learning "how to be a Haut Gap student" is one of the basics at Charleston's Haut Gap Middle School. Along with reading, science, and mathematics classes, every student at Haut Gap Middle School takes a course in how to be a Haut Gap student. For most students, the class is 40 minutes a day for nine weeks. But it can last 18 weeks for…

This ethnographic study of language shows the importance of educators' appropriate use of linguistic, nonlinguistic, and paralinguistic communication techniques when working with elementary students within two classrooms who have behavioral and emotional disorders. This study focused on communication techniques used by teachers and…

"Selective mutism" is the term used to describe a disorder in which a person speaks only in restricted stimulus situations. Examination of single-subject research concerning selective mutism reveals the most popular and successful interventions to instate speech involve a combination of behavior modification procedures. The present research…

Background: Challenging behaviour often serves a communicative function. It therefore stands to reason that the residential staff working in developmental disability services require training to foster appropriate communicative interactions with adults with challenging behaviour. Method: Eighteen members of staff working in three residential…

A study of a 15-year-old girl with autism who engaged in self-injury and aggression, found that gradually increasing the delay to reinforcement (access or escape), mand training, and extinction were effective for decreasing self-injury. Only when the gradual delay procedure was eliminated, however, was there a reduction in aggression. (Author/CR)

A naturalistic behavioral assessment and intervention program over a 3-year period for a New Zealand girl (age 5) with Rett syndrome is described. The most significant reduction in hand mannerisms and other excess behaviors was related to positive social interactions and play that allowed for communication at the affective level. (Author/CR)

Positive Behavior Facilitation (PBF) is a comprehensive approach to understanding and intervening in the behavior of youth. Research clearly indicates that the behavior of children is best understood and ultimately managed by comprehensive strategies and techniques that consider not only what a child is doing but also why a child is demonstrating…

A study involving four children (ages 4-7) with developmental disabilities and severe opposition behaviors found that use of reinforcement for compliance in isolation was ineffective in bringing about significant improvement in child compliance. The addition of a graduated request hierarchy appeared to be associated with substantial changes in…

This article discusses the prevalence and stability of disruptive behavior in preschool-age children and the use of parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) to treat such children and their parents. PCIT focuses on changing ineffective parent-child interaction patterns by first focusing on child-directed interaction and then on parent-directed…

This training manual, designed for teaching parents of young children with autism, contains nine modules on behavior modification techniques. The modules address: (1) the ABC's of behavior, which discusses discriminating among words that describe feelings and words that describe behaviors, identifying examples of learned behavior, and defining and…

This self-study training manual for parents of children with autism contains nine modules on behavior modification techniques. The modules address: (1) the ABC's of behavior, which discusses discriminating among words that describe feelings and words that describe behaviors, identifying examples of learned behavior, and defining and identifying…

This self-study training manual for teachers of young children with autism contains nine modules on behavior modification techniques. The modules address: (1) the ABC's of behavior, which discusses discriminating among words that describe feelings and words that describe behaviors, identification of examples of learned behavior, and defining and…

Children with complex disabilities such as autism spectrum disorders and Landau Kleffner syndrome often lack means to participate in everyday family routines. Serious problem behaviors may result from their challenges in responding to and initiating communicative interactions. These behaviors can change routine family activities such that the…