A study conducted reinforcer assessments for three boys (ages 7-9) with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who alternately received either a placebo or methylphenidate. Methylphenidate altered the relative reinforcing effectiveness of various stimuli that are often used in classroom-based behavioral treatment programs, particularly coupons…

A study evaluated teaching a technique for self-control to three adults with developmental disabilities. Concurrent fixed-duration/progressive-duration reinforcement schedules were introduced in which both smaller and larger reinforcers were available immediately. When progressively increasing delays were introduced for the larger reinforcer,…

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…

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…

Nineteen 4-year-old preschool children participated in a study designed to determine the effects of teaching communication skills in a day care center setting. The field experiment was conducted using a time series design. An observation guide consisting of a hierarchical arrangement of ineffective responses was used to obtain the frequency of…

Recent smoking treatment programs have shifted emphasis from initial cessation rates to long-term abstinence, with aversion therapy and coping response training having had the most success. A smoking cessation treatment consisting of rapid smoking and behavioral counseling was supplemented with two maintenance treatments. After completing the…

The study investigated the effects of the overcorrection procedure of functional movement training (in which praise and physical contact are offered for correct positions) on establishing and maintaining the visual attending of a multihandicapped, profoundly retarded learner (20 years old) in a public school program. The effectiveness of positive…

To determine the effects of instruction and practice in a self-instructional program that had previously proven to be effective, 52 undergraduates were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups. One received the entire instructional program, the second received only instructional cues and examples, the third only the practice portion, and…

Although educational research has produced an abundance of useful findings, the quality of education has improved but very little. In spite of an ever-increasing financial outlay at all governmental levels, schools are falling short of expectations of those who must use the products of public education. The answer to, "Why can't the schools…

Within the context of an ongoing classwide peer tutoring system for sight words, a training program was conducted to teach first-grade peer tutors to provide verbal praise for correct responses on an intermittent schedule. After training, the four observed tutors successfully delivered praise on the desired schedule. (Author/JDD)

Analyzes how and why upper-middle-class children did not receive reading remediation during a summer program designed for this purpose. Explores reasons that people may resist (covertly or overtly) while simultaneously helping to sustain a particular set of social relations, institutional practices, and ideological legitimations. (CMG)

This study, an approach to controlling "acting-out" behaviors of handicapped children in elementary schools, describes the use of a home-based dependent group contingency to eliminate the destructive behavior (fire-setting, vandalizing property) of a mildly retarded eight-year-old boy. (Author/PN)

A study of three adults with profound mental retardation investigated the effects of using systematically assessed preferred stimuli versus staff opinion-based preferred stimuli on increasing happiness indices. Preferred stimuli based on preference assessments were more consistently accompanied by increased happiness indices than were preferred…

This review analyzes data-based studies dealing with self-management procedures (self-monitoring, self-evaluation, self-reinforcement, and self-instruction) used by individuals with mental retardation in public school settings. Although support is found for the positive effects of self-management, questions regarding efficient implementation of…

Following an initial school inservice workshop on functional assessment and differential reinforcement procedures with five children having severe behavior problems, on-site technical assistance was provided to local school personnel working in transdisciplinary teams. Functional analysis was effective in identifying individual maintaining…