The articles in this Special Topic issue present a range of assessment models and challenges for improving the identification and early intervention of students in need of additional supports. Although each article targets a unique aspect of student learning (learning behaviors, math skills, reading comprehension, behavioral functioning, and…

This study examined how five principals working in one urban school district made sense of inclusion. I employed a multi-case study guided by the theoretical framework of sensemaking. Weick's sensemaking theory was useful in examining the way principals made sense of inclusion. Each of the seven characteristics of Weick's sensemaking…

This user-friendly volume provides evidence-based tools for meeting the needs of the approximately 15% of K-6 students who would benefit from more support than is universally offered to all students but do not require intensive, individualized intervention. With a unique focus on Tier 2 interventions for both academic and behavioral difficulties,…

This book outlines practical steps for preventing and responding to the various phases of meltdown behavior in students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Based on Geoff Colvin's best-selling book, "Managing the Cycle of Acting Out Behavior in the Classroom," this practitioner-friendly guide provides special and general education teachers of autistic…

The aim of the "Tools of the Mind" prekindergarten curriculum is to enhance children's executive function skills within an instructional context that promotes the basic academic and social skills that prepare them for kindergarten and beyond. To investigate the effectiveness of "Tools" in achieving this aim, the authors are…

I conducted two studies. First, I examined the applicability of discrete-trial functional analysis (DTFA) for identifying the function of problem behavior in three adults with a dual diagnosis of a significant intellectual disability and a mental illness. Results indicated clear patterns of problem behavior for each participant. Second, I used a…

Background: Behavioural interventions conceptualise self-injurious behaviour (SIB) as developing from early repetitive behaviours through acquisition of homeostatic functions in regulating stimulation and subsequent shaping into SIB through socially mediated or automatic operant reinforcement. Despite high success rates, such interventions rarely…

Objective: The present study tested the hypothesis that improvements in parental sense of competence during multisystemic therapy (MST) lead to positive changes in parenting, which in turn lead to a decrease of adolescent externalizing problems. Mediational models were tested separately for 3 dimensions of parenting (positive discipline, inept…

Team-Initiated Problem Solving (TIPS) is an approach for organizing school team meetings to improve identification of targeted problems, use of data in the development of solutions, and development of implemented action plans. TIPS has been demonstrated in single-case and randomized controlled trial studies to improve the effectiveness of teams to…

Using exploratory structural equation modeling and multiple regression, we examined the factor structure and criterion relations of the primary scales of the Inventory of Personality Organization (IPO; Kernberg & Clarkin, 1995) in a nonclinical sample. Participants (N = 1,260) completed the IPO and measures of self-concept clarity, defenses,…

A series of experiments on operant variability by Neuringer and colleagues (e.g., Neuringer, 1986, 2002; Page & Neuringer, 1985) have been repeatedly cited as showing that behavioral variability can be reinforced by making reinforcement contingent on it. They showed that the degree of variability in pigeons' eight-peck sequences, as measured by U…

The purpose of the present study was to examine longitudinal associations among maternal responsiveness, self-regulation, and behavioral adjustment in adolescents. The authors used structural equation modeling to test a model that demonstrates that the effects of early cumulative risk on behavioral problems is mediated by maternal responsiveness…

This paper reviews a range of evidence-based strategies for application by teachers to reduce disruptive and challenging behaviours in their classrooms. These include a number of antecedent strategies intended to help minimise the emergence of problematic behaviours and a range of those which provide positive consequences for appropriate student…

Objective: Researchers in the child maltreatment field have traditionally relied on explicit self-reports to study factors that may exacerbate physical child abuse risk. The current investigation evaluated an implicit analog task utilizing eye tracking technology to assess both parental attributions of child misbehavior and empathy. Method: Based…

The study evaluated the efficacy a parent training intervention for children with autism based on the TEACCH model. Twenty families were randomly assigned to the treatment or waitlist group. All families were compared at pre- and post-treatment on formal dependent measures. Direct measures of behavior were compared across six matched pairs using a…