Studies showed that children with Developmental Disabilities (DD) have communication and social difficulties; consequently, they are more likely to display disruptive behaviors. During daily interactions, disruptive behaviors can pose difficulties for individuals such as siblings, peers, parents, and educators. In KSA, parental involvement in…

Children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) frequently engage in escape-maintained problem behavior, which can limit their access to academic instruction and lead to placement in more restrictive educational settings. While there are function-based interventions to treat escape-maintained problem behavior, these interventions…

In the current investigation, we reviewed the literature on mand training for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in schools. Ninety-three studies met our inclusion criteria including 225 individual participants. Data were extracted related to participant demographics (e.g., age, disability, response form) and study…

Functional communication training (FCT) is an evidence-based practice used to mitigate challenging behavior by increasing functional communication skills. To increase the practicality and feasibility of FCT in natural settings, thinning schedules of reinforcement are typically programmed following FCT. In this review, we meta-analyzed 28 studies…

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…

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…

Skin-picking is a type of self-injurious behavior involving the pulling, scratching, lancing, digging, or gouging of one's own body. It is associated with social impairment, and increased medical and mental health concerns. While there are several reports showing that skin-picking is common in individuals with developmental disabilities, knowledge…

We used widely available videoconferencing equipment to support teachers to conduct preference assessments for three students with autism and developmental disabilities. Supervisors located at a university used videoconferencing equipment to collect data on students' choice of items, the fidelity of teacher implementation of the assessment…

Aggression can present as a significant problem behavior in individuals with a diagnosis of developmental disability. Much research has focused on the prevalence of aggression in individuals with varying degrees of severity of intellectual disability (AD), autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and co-morbidity of ID and ASD. Research has also focused on…

Video-modeling (VM) is a widely used instructional technique that has been applied to the education of children with developmental disabilities. One form of VM that lacks in-depth analysis is point-of-view video modeling (POVM). The current study investigated the use of POVM to teach three children diagnosed with autism to initiate and maintain a…

Previous researchers have used stimulus preference assessment (SPA) methods to identify salient reinforcers for individuals with developmental disabilities including tangible, leisure, edible and olfactory stimuli. In the present study, SPA procedures were used to identify potential auditory reinforcers and determine the reinforcement value of…

One child with developmental disabilities was taught to mand for attention by saying "excuse me." Treatment effects were extended to multiple training contexts by teaching the participant to attend to naturally occurring discriminative stimuli through differential reinforcement of communication during periods of the experimenter's nonbusy…

We reviewed studies involving the treatment of elopement in individuals with developmental disabilities. Systematic searches of three electronic databases, journals, and reference lists identified 10 studies meeting the inclusion criteria. These studies were evaluated in terms of: (a) participants, (b) procedures used to assess elopement, (c)…

In Study 1, we examined the independent effects of reinforcer consumption during sessions and meal consumption prior to sessions on performance maintained by food reinforcement. Nine individuals with developmental disabilities participated. On alternate days, a preferred edible item was delivered during (a) seven sessions conducted before lunch…

The consumption of nonfood items (i. e., pica) frequently occurs in persons with developmental disabilities. Pica may result in the puncture or blockage of the digestive tract, infestation by gastrointestinal parasites, and can interfere with an individuals daily learning, occupational performance, and quality of life. Twenty-six published studies…