Four experiments investigated time-delay discrimination training in improving the visual discrimination performance of 16 impulsive kindergarten children. Time delay of distinctive-feature prompts without self-monitoring did not produce learning. The added requirement of self-monitoring nonwait responses led to dramatically improved performance,…

Assesses a behavioral intervention program for 31 children aged nine months to 3 1/2 years who had sleep problems. The children's sleep showed rapid improvement following the intervention, and similar changes were observed in other measures. (RJC)

Results are reported from a study which found that specific verbal praise was effective in reducing off-task behavior of second grade students (N=3) in physical education. (IAH)

Explored suicidal behavior in 291 adolescents using runaway shelters in St. Louis. Found 30 percent of runaways reported having attempted suicide in past. Suicide attempters had significantly more behavioral and mental health problems, and reported having more family members and more friends with problems, than nonattempters. Substance use,…

Federal and state efforts to enhance equal education opportunities through narrowly framed special programs have become problematic, as core curriculum instruction is slighted and children are classified in highly dubious ways. This article discusses problems and needed reforms of both the "second system" and regular education. Includes 20…

Literature is reviewed documenting the relationship between implementation of communication intervention and decreases in excess behavior in persons with severe disabilities. Operant conditioning and pragmatics are discussed in terms of their joint application to excess behavior, and a list of possible pragmatic intents of excess behavior is…

Describes the case of Casey Jesson, a hyperactive child ordered by the state of Hew Hampshire to ingest Ritalin or forego a public education. Despite adverse side effects and the perils of drug dependency, there is greater parental and educator acceptance of Ritalin than ever before. Scientologists are sparking an anti-Ritalin campaign. Includes…

The article examines issues in classroom discipline with emphasis on policies in Victoria (Australia) over the last six years. The article challenges the Education Ministry's support of suspension as an intervention with disruptive students and encourages development of a school climate which sees discipline as an educational rather than…

Describes advantages of using newspapers as reading material for disturbed adolescents. Outlines various classroom activities using newspapers, such as a newspaper scavenger hunt, celebrity scrapbooks, and student advice columns. Notes that newspapers are successful because they contain current, relevant information, with none of the negative…

Used the Preschool Behavior Questionnaire to explore dimensionality of parental ratings of positive and negative aspects of behavior in Swedish four-year olds. Correlations showed a stronger relationship between positive aspects, peer competence, and ego strength/effectance and a strong negative relationship between peer competence and…

Suggests several improvements in the reporting and investigation of child sexual abuse cases. It covers the importance of interviewing children and offers some techniques for properly doing so. The author discusses the issues of interpreting physical and behavioral signs of abuse and emphasizes the importance of accurate recordkeeping. (GLR)

In this study with three children (ages four and five) with severe developmental disabilities and aberrant behavior maintained by tangible positive reinforcement, noncontingent reinforcement, and differential reinforcement of alternative behavior were found to decrease the frequency of aberrant behavior while strengthening mands. (Author/DB)

This study compared the effects of unequal and equal reinforcer duration during a functional analysis of aberrant behavior in an 11-year old with moderate mental retardation. Results showed that reinforcer duration affects the rate of aberrant behavior and may potentially alter functional analysis interpretation. (DB)

Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) was applied to reduce the destructive behaviors of five-year-old quadruplets diagnosed with mental retardation and pervasive developmental disorder. Findings suggest that the effectiveness of NCR may be dependent on the use of a dense schedule of reinforcement initially and that systematic fading can increase the…

The successful application of functional analysis to problem behavior suggests the need to examine: additional functional properties of behavior involving social avoidance, biological reinforcement, and respondent conditioning; the role of context (including social factors and biological factors); and the multidimensional character of assessment…