The article reviews the evolution of socio-political attitudes toward developmentally disabled and other handicapped children in Italy and analyzes the current role of behavior modification in rehabilitation efforts in that country. (CL)

Three topics are discussed: (1) history and legal structure of the care system, (2) conflicting approaches pertaining to education and training, and (3) training and research efforts in the field. It is concluded that the implementation of behavior modification in residential facilities for the developmentally disabled is still a difficult process…

Hearing impaired students who display inappropriate negative responses to everyday classroom events can be helped through four techniques: (1) counter-conditioning, (2) vicarious learning, (3) systematic desensitization, and (4) progressive muscle relaxation. (CL)

Playful wrestling, splashing, fidgeting, chair-tilting, and a number of other behaviors by children often result in injuries, tantrums, or conflicts in families. Exact limits can be established in these instances with an intervention which integrates strategic, structural, and cognitive-behavioral approaches. Two case examples are presented and…

Examines change as a three-step procedure involving the phases of unfreezing (the movement from a steady state to a state that is unstable and amenable to change), moving toward the new level, and refreezing when the new feelings and responses, which have become comfortable for the client, are confirmed or reinforced by others. (CT)

Presents a workable plan for all counselors who wish to establish cooperation and collaboration between parents and teachers concerning children's problems that involve achievement and misbehavior. A basic outline of how to implement a home-school token economy plan is presented with two case examples illustrating its use and effectiveness.…

Investigated the accuracy of teacher predictions (N=20) of reward preferences of 49 fifth and sixth graders. Findings suggested that students need to be involved in selecting their own rewards when planning behavioral interventions and that for some students, particularly boys, rewards available outside the classroom may be most effective. (JAC)

Assessed the effects of two interventions on hyperactive children's (N=24) social behavior. Results indicated that both methylphenidate (Ritalin) and reinforced self-evaluation were superior to the contrast treatments. Medication plus cognitive-behavioral self-evaluation proved optimal, and placebo plus reinforcement alone was significantly worse…

Evaluated how teacher evaluations of intervention acceptability varied with the type of language used to describe the intervention. Presented case descriptions where jargon type and case severity were varied. Results showed the pragmatic description was most acceptable. All interventions were rated more acceptable when applied to severe cases. (BH)

Examined the effects of a psychoeducational program on employability enhancement of 23 rehabilitation clients. The program had a significant, positive impact on clients' thinking, feeling, acting, and vocational outcome and reduced task-interfering beliefs, thoughts, emotions, and problem behavior. Participants had a lower vocational training…

The paper reviews research on behavioral staff management strategies in institutions for developmentally disabled persons, considering procedural effectiveness of four approaches: antecedent, contingency management, self-control, and multifaceted interventions. Methodological problems in the research are noted, along with needs for research on…

Evaluation of training program combining "Feeling" and "Behavioral" models for families with problem children (2-8 years old) showed parents significantly increasing rate of reinforcement and decreasing rate of punishment and children significantly improving rate of compliance. In most cases improvements generalized from clinic to home. (CMG)

Sentence writing behavior was established in eight mildy retarded special class elementary-level children through a procedure that provided word lists and teacher praise for self-selecting and self-locating words from the lists and imposed a cost (fewer sweets) for responses dependent on teacher modeling. (Author)

In this field-based study, functional behavior assessment was incorporated into the student assistance team (SAT) process. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine whether team members could identify the correct function of behavior by selecting related interventions. Further, the extent to which FBA information collected at each stage…

This manual is designed to help train substance abuse treatment counselors to conduct a brief five-session treatment intervention for adolescents with cannabis use disorders presenting for outpatient treatment. It combines two sessions of motivational enhancement therapy provided individually and three sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy…