Specific phobias are among the most common anxiety disorders, especially in children. Unfortunately, a paucity of literature exists regarding the treatment of specific phobia in young children, despite the knowledge that traditional techniques (i.e., cognitive-behavioral therapy [CBT]) may not be practical. Therefore, the purpose of this article…

Functional assessment has become a major feature of learning-based research. A critical element of the majority of these studies includes not only methods and procedures to identify the cause of the challenging behavior, but to establish replacement treatment methods. By far the most common intervention in the 176 studies we reviewed was…

Marked advances in the treatment of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) has occurred in the past few decades, primarily using applied behavior analysis. However, reviews of trends in social skills treatment for children with ASDs have been scant, despite a robust and growing empirical literature on the topic. In this selective review of…

One mildly and two borderline mentally retarded children (10 to 12 years old) were treated for spelling deficits using either overcorrection or overcorrection plus reinforcement. Overcorrection with reinforcement proved to be more effective than overcorrection alone for two of the three children. (Author)

Background: The behavioural function of handmouthing has been assessed across various studies utilising analogue functional analyses. The aim of the current study was to expand upon research on this relatively understudied behaviour by examining the relationship between handmouthing and "Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disorder" (GERD), and the potential…

In a series of three experiments involving eight mentally retarded adults, the effectiveness of social skills training in a therapy room and self monitoring and reinforcement in a natural setting were compared as methods of promoting generalization to the ward. (Author/SB)

Compares the efficacy of two treatment approaches for functional skill acquisition in individuals with severe and profound mental retardation (N=22) living in a large developmental center. Treatment that included staff training, feedback, and edible reinforcement in addition to prompting, modeling, and physical guidance was more effective than…

A significant increase in correctly completed steps of the targeted behavior was noted for the independence-training group. (Author/DLS)

The study compared the effectiveness of (1) reinforcement of other behavior, (2) verbal reprimands, and (3) movement suppression time-out in eliminating self injury and aggressive behaviors in two severely mentally retarded adult males. Improvements were only apparent when movement suppression was paired with either or both of the other…

Preschool children (n=32) were evaluated in an unstructured play session, matched for levels of appropriate or inappropriate social behavior, and assigned to a treatment or control condition. The treatment group conditions involved positive reinforcement, modeling, rehearsal, feedback, and time out. Although prosocial behaviors were successfully…

This study examined three maladaptive behaviors, self-injurious behavior (SIB), stereotypies, and aggression in 36 adults with either autism, pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), and mental retardation. Findings indicated that, for all three diagnostic categories, aggression was primarily maintained for attentional…

Three severely mentally retarded, multiply handicapped adolescents were treated in a classroom setting for social skill deficits. Treatment focused on increasing eye contact and strengthening on-task and in-seat behaviors. Results suggested that a combination of visual stimuli, operant, and social learning methods can be used to successfully…

Four mentally retarded children (ages 4-11), 3 with autism, were successfully taught various adaptive behaviors for self-care skills. Training procedures involved the whole-task method and included modeling, verbal instructions, prompting, and edible and social reinforcement. (Author/JDD)