The purpose of this study was to discern the current skill level of novice teachers in identifying the function of problem behaviors and illustrate the continued need for developing data collection skills with this population. Eighty-eight teachers with experience ranging from 1-5 years completed a series of open and forced-choice questions that…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of training special education teachers in the process of functional behavioral assessment (FBA) and subsequent development of recommendations to promote behavior change. An original evaluation instrument was developed that included measures of special education teachers' knowledge of…

The authors utilized Applied Behavior Analysis to examine the effects of using tokens with response cost (the Checkbook Management System) on decreasing the inappropriate speaking-out behaviors of a 14-year-old special education student. After functional behavior analysis indicated that the most likely function of the behavior was attention…

Several years ago, the people of Middletown made young children a priority by forming a coalition called Opportunity Knocks. A school-community partnership, Opportunity Knocks includes representatives from local health and social service agencies, early childhood educators, and families, all committed to improving the health and well-being of…

A functional analysis with a 13-year-old girl who had autism documented that her problem behavior was maintained by escape from instruction. Additional assessment revealed that certain types of requests and specific practitioners were associated with the highest frequency of problem behavior. In a subsequent intervention evaluation, response…

First Step to Success is a manualized early intervention program with documented success in reducing the problem behavior of young children. Walker and colleagues (2005) are now engaged in analyses of variables that will increase the proportion of children for whom First Step is effective. A possible enhancement to the First Step to Success…

This article addresses drug users' identity construction, and invites counsellors, psychotherapists, researchers and others who work with drug misusers to notice how cultural and societal discourses can shape drug misusers' stories, and the positions from which helpers listen and respond to them. By representing and analysing parts of two life…

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of percentile schedules as a method of quantifying the shaping procedure in an educational setting. We compared duration of task engagement during baseline measurements for 4 students to duration of task engagement during a percentile schedule. As a secondary purpose, we examined the influence on…

Demand is placed on students in a variety of ways and, in some cases, affects whether or not a student engages in problem behavior. The authors' purpose in this study was to investigate the variables that influence demand and examine how changes in those variables affected a child's behavior. The authors used parametric design in which the…

Emotional intelligence (EI) has been an emerging topic for psychological, educational, and management researchers and consultants in recent years. However, existing literature has concentrated on demonstrating the effects of EI on either the mental health or on job outcomes such as job attitudes and performance. There is relatively little…

Objective: To examine psychiatric morbidity and functional impairment of adolescents with and without poor reading skills during mid- to late adolescence. Method: The sample consisted of 188 adolescents, 94 with poor reading skills and 94 with typical reading skills, screened from a larger sample in the public schools at age 15. To assess…

This classic book presents the basic principles of behavior emphasizing the use of preventive techniques as well as consequences naturally available in the home, business, or school environment to change important behaviors. This book, and its companion piece, "Measurement of Behavior," represents more than 30 years of research and strategies in…

Provides a brief overview of functional behavior assessment and contrasts functional behavior assessment and traditional psychological assessment. Messick's (1995) theory of construct validity is presented and then applied to the evaluation of the validity of functional behavior assessment measures. Finally, implications and guidelines of current…

This study examined the comparative validity of rating scale, structured interview, descriptive observation, and experimental functional analysis approaches to the assessment of the problem behaviors of three young children with autism. The results indicated good agreement across indirect and direct methods. (Contains references.) (Author/DB)

Some individuals who engage in self-injurious behavior (SIB) also exhibit self-restraint. In the present study, a series of three functional analyses were conducted to determine the variables that maintained a participant's SIB, one without restraint items available, one with a preferred and effective form of self-restraint (an airplane pillow)…