This book presents highlights from the February 2005 Forum. Discussions and perspectives include educational mandates, effective disciplinary practices in schools, and effective use of quality instruction as a means of preventing challenging behavior

Describes and evaluates eight valuing strategies for both general values education and environmental values education. Strategies include laissez faire; moral development, inculcation; values analysis; action learning (service learning); confluent education; and behavior modification. (JN)

A parent training program which is highly effective in the treatment of child noncompliance and other behavior problems of 3- to 8-year-old children is described and data on the program's effectiveness are presented. (PHR)

Studies the research and other literature on "special care" children and its implications for practice. Concentrates on studies concerning the most severely handicapped children, but also makes use of work on children less severely handicapped, where there are clear possible ways of applying the work to the most severely handicapped. (Author/CT)

Discusses conceptual clarification of dimensions in the treatment environment of a residential unit for young offenders. Examines ideas of structure, control, contemporaneous, and developmental matching from the Conceptual Level Matching Model. Describes specification of types, quality, and settings of staff-youth interactions. Addresses the…

This paper explores the controversy surrounding gentle teaching, with particular reference to the relationship between gentle teaching and applied behavior analysis. Advantages and disadvantages of this approach are discussed, and it is suggested that gentle teaching and applied behavior analysis need not be regarded as mutually exclusive…

Reasons for the failure to adopt behavior-analytic teaching strategies include the perception that behavior analysis is coercive and controlling, difficulties in implementation, university factors, and marketing problems. The goal of dissemination of these strategies could be met through creating motivational conditions and devising marketing…

This article outlines the basic steps in designing and implementing a self-monitoring program and gives examples of such programs being implemented in classroom and clinical settings. Examples of program use in increasing on-task behavior, increasing responsivity to questions, improving articulation, and increasing accuracy on subtraction problems…

Describes a strategy of total positive response which aims to reverse the self-defeating cycle of punishment and failure in high-risk and troubled students. Details how to identify those students who are at risk, how to respond before misbehavior occurs, and the importance of finding something positive in all situations. (RJM)

Paraprofessional staff (n=148) working in group homes, institutions, day care centers, and sheltered workshops for people with mental retardation participated in inservice training on adult education and basic teaching skills. The majority wrote and implemented individual teaching programs for their clients that resulted in positive gains in…

Exposure to alcohol in utero is considered to be the leading cause of developmental disabilities of known etiology. The most severe consequence of such exposure, fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), is characterized by a distinct constellation of characteristic facial anomalies, growth retardation, and central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction. Some…

This study describes responsibilities and training needs of paraeducators in physical education. Paraeducators (n = 138) employed in 34 midwestern schools received a 27-item questionnaire. Of the 138 paraeducators contacted, 76 responded, resulting in a 55.1% response rate. Only 16% of the total respondents (n = 76) reported receiving specific…

We attempted to determine the effects of instructions, goal setting, and reinforcement, in isolation and combination, on the letter naming proficiency of 2 underperforming Kindergarten students. During a no-intervention baseline, both students' accuracy was low or declining. Instructions alone produced increases over baseline responding, but the…

The nuances of the application of schoolwide positive behavior supports (PBS) in an urban high school setting were investigated. Impact of implementation was measured using qualitative interviews and observations, including the School-wide Evaluation Tool (SET), "Effective Behavior Support Survey, Student Climate Survey," and office disciplinary…

The proceedings from a 1983 conference on severely handicapped and autistic persons are presented. Eight papers focus on research findings and on issues such as alternatives to punishment, employment opportunities, and curriculum content. The following papers are presented: "Employment Outlook for Severely Handicapped and Autistic" (P. Wehman);…