Many teachers and parents of young children with disabilities, particularly autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are familiar with young children who engage in repetitive and restrictive behaviors such as flapping, spinning, and rocking. This type of restrictive and repetitive behavior, or stereotypy, can be common, over time it can become problematic…

The DEC Recommended Practices provide guidance to families and professionals about the most effective ways to improve learning outcomes and promote development of young children, birth through age 5, who have, or are at-risk for, developmental delays or disabilities. "Instruction: Effective Strategies to Support Engagement, Learning, and…

The DEC Recommended Practices provide guidance to families and professionals about the most effective ways to improve learning outcomes and promote development of young children, birth through age 5, who have, or are at-risk for, developmental delays or disabilities. "Family: Knowing Families, Tailoring Practices, Building Capacity" is…

Time out has been widely advocated as an effective parental discipline practice to reduce disruptive and oppositional child behaviour in young children. Despite evidence showing that the procedure is effective when used as part of a comprehensive positive parenting strategy it has not been uniformly accepted and critics have questioned its…

The normal developmental challenges experienced during early childhood as well as more significant emotional and behavioral problems require that parents and caregivers communicate effectively. The manner in which parents and caregivers communicate with each other about children's behavior can have a significant and lasting impact on children,…

This synthesis presents summary information on curricula and intervention packages designed to help young children ages birth to 5 years improve their social-emotional functioning. It includes evidence-based manualized curricula and programs for use with children, in classrooms or small groups, or with families/parents. It builds and expands on…

Young children with developmental disabilities may be at heightened risk for experiencing problem behavior. Evidence suggests that inappropriate behavior in young children may be related to negative parent-child interactions. Parent education and support programs have a long history of utility and effectiveness in reducing negative parent-child…

The paper describes interventions which can be used by parents of infants or toddlers with feeding problems. General considerations center on the critical nature of food intake, the importance of controlling events associated with feeding, and the reinforcing nature of certain adults. The paper suggests the need for selecting interventions which…

Interpersonal, familial, and situational risk factors that predict young children's aggression and non-compliance are explored. Here examples of specific techniques and provided to help teachers and parents effectively support children's early development of cooperative and prosocial behaviours as well as problem-solving skills in family and…

The sleep-wake cycles of 4 developmentally delayed individuals (ages 3-19) with severe sleep disturbances were regulated using a faded bedtime procedure with response cost. Following treatment, all four increased their amounts of nighttime sleep; two decreased their excessive daytime sleep; and three decreased their night wakings. (Author/JDD)

The newsletter issue offers parents suggestions for managing the special child's behavior during infancy, toddlerhood, early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence. For each stage, typical behavior is described and suggestions are phrased as "do's and don'ts." Guidance for dealing with problems includes having a professional evaluation of…

This digest explores some of the reasons for spanking, examines its effectiveness, and suggests alternative discipline methods. Many parents believe that spanking will teach children not to do things that are forbidden, stop them quickly when they are being irritating, and encourage them to do what they should. Others believe nonphysical forms of…

This booklet presents information designed to help teachers and parents of preschool children establish desirable behaviors and eliminate inappropriate behaviors. Several terms relating to behavior management are defined. Three types of behavior which must be discriminated, and appropriate responses to these types of behavior, are listed: (1)…

Six issues of the newsletter address practical matters for parents of handicapped children. The first issue examines behavior and offers suggestions such as avoiding inconsistency and idle threats while holding reasonable expectations. The second issue continues the discussion on behavior with ideas for disciplining the child fairly but…

This paper examines shyness--its causes and its impact on children--and presents several strategies based on social learning theory for parents and teachers to help young children overcome shyness. The paper also describes a personal application of these strategies on a young girl. The strategies presented for parents and teachers are: (1) tell…