Results of an analogue functional analysis indicated that noncompliant vocal behavior exhibited by a young girl with autism was maintained by negative reinforcement. Follow-up analyses suggested that the immediate escape contingency assessed in the demand condition did nor appear to maintain the behavior. Instead, noncompliant vocal behavior…

A common deficiency in the verbal repertoires of individuals with autism and related disorders is the absence of socially appropriate vocal mands. The vocal mand repertoires of these individuals may be lacking in several respects: (a) The individual might engage in no mands whatsoever, (b) the mand might be topographically dissimilar to an…

In this study, we used a paired-choice assessment protocol to identify the relative reinforcing value of stimuli and activities for a child with severe disabilities when she failed to settle to sleep at night. The results of this assessment indicated that the child preferred the mother's attention relative to other activities presented. Assessment…

This study followed 18 children with developmental disabilities, whose chronological ages were between 3 years and 6 years at the start of the study, over a 2-year period. At initial observation, children communicated primarily through prelinguistic gestures, vocalizations, and single-word utterances. Children's language skills were measured every…

In schools and residential programs across the country, individuals with disabilities are victims of "aversive interventions" which are used to control challenging behaviors. This means that painful or dehumanizing procedures are used in response to behaviors that are judged to be unacceptable. Aversive procedures include the use of electric…

Charlop, Burgio, Iwata, and Ivancic [J. Appl. Behav. Anal. 21 (1988) 89] demonstrated that varied punishment procedures produced greater or more consistent reductions of problem behavior than a constant punishment procedure. More recently, Fisher and colleagues [Res. Dev. Disabil. 15 (1994) 133; J. Appl. Behav. Anal. 27 (1994) 447] developed a…

Using case studies and examples that show the reader how to put theory into practice in multi-disciplinary settings, "Education and Care for Adolescents and Adults with Autism" explains how changes in policy and provision have affected how young people and adults with autism are cared for and educated. The author highlights current problematic…

The development of self-determination skills in individuals with developmental disabilities is a primary focus of curriculum development in the field. Research over the last decade has identified the components of self-determination and provided an analysis of individuals' acquisition of skills in this area. A key concern that has been less…

The hypothesis that young children with Williams syndrome show higher rates of emotional responsivity relative to other children with developmental disabilities was explored. Performance of 23 young children with Williams syndrome and 30 MA-matched children with developmental disabilities of nonspecific etiologies was compared on an adaptation of…

Background: This exploratory study investigated the relationships between illness beliefs and treatment acceptability among parents of children with a developmental disability living at home who had sleep onset or maintenance problems. Materials and Methods: A within-subject correlational design was employed. The parents of 58 children each…

The California School for the Deaf's Fremont campus will soon start offering a day program for adolescents with a daunting set of educational challenges: autism or severe developmental disabilities, in addition to deafness. The new class is part of a legal settlement between the school and the parents of a 15-year-old student who believe their…

Reports of associated disabilities among children with specific language impairment (SLI) and children with other developmental disabilities are widespread. Clinicians require a broader definition of SLI that recognizes associated disabilities because it is their goal to impact children's everyday functioning. In this paper, we explore SLI from a…

In the past 10 years, people have witnessed significant changes in the nature and extent of the publicly financed systems of services and supports for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. Growing service needs, declining state revenues, mounting pressures on federal and state Medicaid budgets, and heightened federal…

Conditional rates of problem behavior for weeks that followed medication decreases and no medication changes were compared for 12 individuals who exhibited severe problem behavior (e.g., self-injury, aggression). The results indicate that conditional rates of problem behavior were higher following medication decreases than following no changes in…

We tested the effectiveness of an interactive, video CD-ROM in teaching persons with intellectual disabilities (ID) about their human rights. Thirty-nine participants with ID were trained using both a classroom activity-based version of the training program and the interactive CD-ROM in a counterbalanced presentation. All individuals were pre- and…