The purposes of the study reported here were to investigate the social competence of students aged from six to 12, diagnosed with emotional/behavioral disorders (E/BD) in a public self-contained school setting, and to increase the students' social competence by using a literature-based method that employs multi-age grouping, impersonation, and…

This paper provides the outcomes of Project IMPROVE, a pilot study that examined the effectiveness of a workshop designed to train educators in foundational strategies and concepts for effective social skill training. Twenty-two educators participated in a one-day work-shop focusing on teaching social skills and appropriate replacement behaviors…

Behavioural family intervention is an effective form of intervention for the prevention and treatment of a wide range of emotional and behavioural problems in children. There is a growing need to address the accessibility of these services. This paper reviews the literature on self-directed interventions designed to help parents manage difficult…

This study employed a multiple probe design to evaluate the effectiveness of a school-based lunchtime oral-sensory/oral-motor/positive reinforcement program on food acceptance behaviors of three youth with multiple disabilities. Overall dramatic gains in food acceptance behaviors of all participants indicated that trained school personnel were…

This article identifies critical components of effective school-based feeding improvement programs for students with feeding problems. A distinction is made between typical school-based feeding management and feeding improvement programs, where feeding, independent functioning, and mealtime behaviors are the focus of therapeutic strategies.…

Tourette's Syndrome (TS) and Trichotillomania (TTM) are both subsumed under a larger category of repetitive behavior disorders. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the most recent behavioral research on TS and TTM. A description of both disorders is provided along with the most recent research on their etiology and maintenance.…

This paper reviews the recent parent training research in which parents are taught to use principles of operant learning as well as general principles of positive verbal discourse. While this combination of interventions has been shown to have greater impact than the operant guidelines used alone, a rationale for the discourse strategy is not…

In this brief article, we provide relevant background concerning the prevalence, characteristics and vulnerabilities of intellectually disabled (ID) sex offenders, as well as scientifically-informed guidelines for treatment. Finally, we provide a description of Project STOP, an outpatient cognitive behavioral assessment an treatment program.

Positive behavioral support (PBS) refers to the application of positive behavioral interventions and systems to achieve socially important behavioral changes (Sugai et al., 2000). Implementation of PBS at the classroom level involves all stakeholders--those with interest and experience in that setting (e.g., teachers, paraprofessionals, students,…

Rats were trained by shocking them in a closed compartment. When subsequently tested in the same closed compartment with no shock, normal rats showed an increased tendency to freeze. They also showed an increased tendency to actively avoid the compartment when given access to an adjacent neutral compartment for the first time. Amygdala…

Three experiments show latent (or incidental) learning of salt-cue relationships using a conditioned cue-preference paradigm. Rats drank a salt solution while confined in one compartment and water in an adjacent, distinct compartment on alternate days. When given access to the two compartments with no solutions present, sodium-deprived rats…

A community-based social marketing (CBSM) campaign to reduce student electricity use and greenhouse gas emissions was undertaken at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. Social marketing methods follow a commercial marketing model and involve market research into the planning, pricing, communication, distribution, and evaluation of methods…

The epidemiology of unintentional injury and violence, including likely causes and individuals' abilities to respond to risks, are closely related to the stages of human development. The epidemiology and prevention of injury are also influenced by the social contexts (i.e., family, community, and socio-cultural) in which human development occurs.…

This study demonstrated how the tenets of positive behavior support could be used to teach an educational activity. Emphasis was placed on the implementation of practical strategies to minimize errors during instruction and maximize positive outcomes. A 9-year-old boy with Asperger syndrome served as the participant, and the skill targeted for…

Patients who had taken part in a randomized clinical trial of the treatment of chronic PTSD by either cognitive therapy or imaginal exposure were reassessed after 5 years. At 5-year follow-up a clear superiority of cognitive therapy over imaginal exposure emerged, although there had been no difference between the two treatment groups up to 12…