For children with developmental or language delays, mand interventions have been identified as an integral part of educational programming (e.g., Greer & Ross, 2008; Shafer, 1994; Sundberg & Michael, 2001). Mands, which are the most elementary forms of verbal behavior, allow individuals to begin to contact social contractual contingencies;…

Two normal and two mentally retarded children were trained to earn pennies by pressing a key according to a multiple variable-interval extinction schedule of reinforcement. Retarded children differed from normal children by producing more positive than negative discriminative stimuli. (Author/DB)

Patterns of learning by five infants with Down's syndrome (3.5 to 12.5 months old) were studied. The children were visited at home 2 to 3 times per week for periods ranging from 1 to 8 months. Two of the children were reinforced for pulling a string attached around their wrist. Consequences included tape recordings of music or their mother's…

This study examined the effects of Dolphin-Assisted Therapy (DAT) as a reinforcer for verbal operant production in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Three children who attended a dolphin therapy program participated in this single subject research study. Baseline data was collected for each child via a video tape provided by parents and…

Assessment of disturbed children and their parents in a natural setting, and procedures designed to divide interaction into fine components are basic in the behavioral approach to child and family therapy. (ST)

This paper reviews the recent parent training research in which parents are taught to use principles of operant learning as well as general principles of positive verbal discourse. While this combination of interventions has been shown to have greater impact than the operant guidelines used alone, a rationale for the discourse strategy is not…

Sixteen papers concerned with vocational habilitation of the severely and profoundly retarded are organized into three parts: issues in habilitation, stimulus control of vocational behavior, and instrumentation for program evaluation. Papers have the following titles and authors: "Structured Employment: Productivity and Productive Capacity" (R.…

The behavior of four boys who were referred for oppositional, rule violating, and aggressive behaviors was assessed by direct observation and parent reports. Changing contract behavior to solitary toy play resulted in reduced oppositional behavior during the observation sessions, fewer reports from the parents of low-rate problem behaviors, and…