Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities have increased risk for developing challenging behavior. One particularly dangerous topography of challenging behavior is rapid eating. Rapid eating can lead to increased risk for choking and obesity as well as negatively impact social interactions during mealtimes (Anglesea et al.,…

Group contingencies have been used successfully to modify a variety of behaviors for children with diverse characteristics across multiple settings. However, these interventions have not been applied to increase social interactions (SI) between typically developing children and those with multiple or severe disabilities (MSD). Furthermore, little…

This paper provides an overview of behavioral strategies used for reducing hand-related stereotypies (i.e., hand/finger mouthing, eye poking, self-slapping, and other hand-to-head/body responses) of persons with severe to profound intellectual and multiple disabilities. Computerized and manual searches were conducted to identify the studies…

Differential reinforcement procedures were combined with momentary restraint conditions to reduce the stereotypic behaviors of three visually impaired, severely disabled students (7-10 years old). Procedures were carried out in a classroom setting by classroom staff. (Author/CL)

In Study 1 the aggressive behavior of a deaf/blind adolescent was eliminated through a differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) procedure combined with a reinforcer cueing technique and brief time-out. In Study 2 DRO reduced stereotypic eye-pressing by a young blind hearing-impaired child. (Author/CL)

Differential reinforcement of low rates of responding was used to reduce the disruptive behaviors of a blind 12-year-old boy with a learning disability. The subject earned reinforcers by not exceeding the established criterion of disruptive behaviors. An overall 88 percent reduction in target behaviors was observed across a 26-day period.…

The differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) is a procedure in which one reinforces an individual when particular behaviors are not emitted for specific periods. This study was designed to determine whether a treatment package consisting of a modified DRO plus momentary restraint and/or noncompliance training could be used to reduce 12…

Reinforcing contact with toys by providing chocolate milk odors, and tactile reinforcement helped to reduce the self injurious behaviors, feces smearing, and destructive behavior of a profoundly retarded deaf/blind hyperactive female. The underlying assumption of the approach was that increasing toy contact would result in improved alternative…

This guide, part of a series of booklets for parents of deaf-blind children developed by Project STEP (Steps Toward Effective Production of Speech), considers the use of rewards in shaping or changing the behavior of deaf-blind children. The types of rewards (e.g., food, drink, touch, action, something to listen to or look at) and selection of…

Two experiments investigated the effects of a behavioral intervention on the self-injurious behaviors of two profoundly retarded and/or multiply handicapped girls (ages 15 and 16). Treatments resulted in near zero levels of self-injury in both cases. (Author/PHR)

Five adolescents with moderate to severe mental retardation, including one with hearing impairments and blindness, were taught 12 associated work skills through an approach featuring reinforcement for desirable behavior and negative consequences and cueing for undesirable behavior. (CL)

Techniques for training a severely retarded blind client to exit his living unit during a fire drill used a combination of negative and positive reinforcement. Following a shaping procedure, the client learned to leave his living unit from any internal point through generalization training and subsequent test probes. (Author/CL)

Fourteen severely multiply handicapped children with rubella syndrome, six to 16 years of age, were examined with the PLAYTEST system, an operant test procedure using sound and light as stimuli and reinforcers. (Author/MC)

The article reviews the use and limitations of medical and behavioral approaches (restraints, shock, drugs, punishment and aversive stimulation, reinforcement of incompatible behaviors, and overcorrection) to reduce self injury in visually impaired, mentally retarded persons. Legal and ethical considerations are pointed out. (Author/CL)

This study examined effects of providing attention (the presumed reinforcer) both noncontingently and contingent upon either self-injurious behavior or self-restraint with a 12-year-old female with multiple disabilities including profound mental retardation. Results were consistent with the hypothesis that both responses were maintained by…