For years, the assumption has been that stereotypical behaviors functioned only to provide sensory or automatic reinforcement. However, these behaviors also may serve social functions. Given the unsettled debate, functional behavior assessment and functional analysis can be used to identify the exact function of stereotypical behavior and design…

PROBLEM: Italian-Americans belong to one of the cultural groups that have suffered discrimination throughout the decades since their or their families' immigration to the United States. As early the first half of the twentieth century, Italian-Americans had already suffered discrimination, alienation, and exclusion. Such factors became obstacles…

Background: Parenting behaviors have consistently been shown to be associated with elevated anxiety symptoms and disorders in children. However, this literature is limited as most studies have focused on global rather than specific parenting behaviors, failed to consistently account for the influence of parental anxiety, and omitted examining…

Background: Systemic approaches can be useful in working with people with learning disabilities and their network. The evidence base for these approaches within the field of learning disabilities, however, is currently limited. Materials and Methods: This article presents part of a service evaluation of systemic consultations in a Community…

"Backdoor praise" (BDP) is defined as praise that is simultaneously delayed, indirect, and embedded in teacher comments. This case study investigated preservice teachers' perceptions of their use of BDP as a strategy for getting and keeping students on task. Three participants, representing elementary, middle, and high school, were…

The principles and practices of positive psychology are gaining wider acceptance among school psychologists (Gilman, Huebner, & Furlong, 2009). Unlike traditional assessment and intervention practices that focus primarily on what is wrong and missing with students, positive practices focus on what is right and working with students--strengths,…

A brief training package consisting of pre-teaching of appropriate grocery item--gathering skills and reinforcement for appropriate behavior was used to teach a child diagnosed with autism to remain in a store and participate in shopping without exhibiting tantrums. The training package began with teaching the necessary component skills and…

Steven R. Forness is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His research has primarily focused on early detection and eligibility of children with psychiatric disorders for special education services in public schools. As part of an ongoing oral history…

Dr. Frank Gresham provides his reflections on a long and productive career in providing support to children with significant challenges. Dr. Gresham also provides his thoughts on the future of the field.

No studies of parent-implemented behavior interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have purposefully examined their effectiveness and acceptability with African American families. The present study used a multiple baseline across participants design to evaluate the effectiveness of parent-implemented differential…

This mixed methods study examined behavior management strategies used by preschool teachers to address student noncompliance in the classroom. Specifically, the study aimed to (1) examine the methods that preschool teachers are currently using to respond to noncompliant behavior in their classrooms, (2) measure the frequency with which each…

Positive Behaviour Intervention and Support (PBIS) is an evidence-based approach that has been proven to be effective in remediating problem behaviours in children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the family-centred PBIS approach when involving Taiwanese families in the treatment of off-task and non-compliant…

The goal of this pilot study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-component consultation package in improving teachers' classroom management skills, particularly among teachers with lower baseline levels of knowledge, skills, and intervention-supportive beliefs. Participants were 58 elementary school teachers (93% female; 50% Non-Hispanic…

This article takes survey and interview responses from undergraduate writing majors in two independent writing programs as points of departure for reflection on the disciplinary work of writing studies. Though scholarship about writing majors focuses on these programs as sites for the distribution of disciplinary expertise, students in this study…

Behaviour in schools is an enduring public policy concern not only within the UK, but internationally also. Current concern should come as no surprise as behaviour is intimately connected with policy priorities for schools, namely raising standards of attainment and promoting social cohesion. Clearly, standards are threatened where disruptive…