The study reports on a treatment package which effectively used constant time delay, practice in writing or spelling target words, and token reinforcement to teach sight word recognition to a group of three seven-year-old students in a learning and behavior disorders resource room. (Author/JDD)

This study found that a procedure involving choral responding and self-assessment accompanied by contingent praise may be an effective tool for teaching in-class transition skills to preschoolers with developmental delays. Active engagement sharply increased, with collateral decreases in competing behavior and levels of teacher prompting of target…

This case study of a 6-year-old boy with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder discusses the advantages of combining person-centered planning and functional analysis to develop and implement broad-based behavioral-support plans. The support plan resulted in decreased challenging behavior, increased functional communication, improved academic…

This study of an adolescent with multiple disabilities, including moderate mental retardation, who was reported to engage in validated facilitated communication (FC) found he did not engage in validated FC; performance was equivalent whether food or nonfood reinforcers were used; and the Picture Exchange Communication System was a valid and…

To help preschoolers with disabilities improve social interaction skills in inclusive classrooms, outlines seven effective practices: (1) systematic arrangement of classroom environment; (2) peer imitation; (3) teacher prompts; (4) group affection activities; (5) positive reinforcement by teachers; (6) peer-mediated interventions; and (7)…

This case study describes a selective mute Mexican American boy, who, at initial referral, had never spoken to peers or teachers at school. Treatment procedures employed shaping and reinforcement of speech in therapy sessions. Sessions involved the psychologist alone, the classroom teacher and psychologist, the boy's best friend and the…

A survey of 44 students (grades 4-10) with behavior disorders, 14 special educators, and 15 teacher assistants evaluated the social validity of level systems (behavioral management interventions applied to shape students' social, emotional, and academic behaviors to pre-established levels). While students were the most negative group, they…

This paper reports on assessment and treatment of food refusal for four inpatient boys (ages 2,3,3, and 9) receiving tube feedings. It used a contingency contacting procedure extended by a component analysis. Data suggest that food refusal appeared to be maintained primarily by negative reinforcement contingencies. Caregiver responses indicated a…

Oral reading fluency is defined as the combination of accuracy (i.e., words read correctly) and rate (i.e., number of words read in a specified time). One strategy that addresses oral reading fluency is repeated reading of passages. Repeated reading can improve students' reading skills by building reading fluency linked to specific performance…

The current study examined the extent to which treatment integrity was increased and maintained for 4 teachers in their regular classroom settings as a result of performance feedback and negative reinforcement. Teachers received daily written feedback about their accuracy in implementing an intervention and were able to avoid meeting with a…

There has been a wealth of investigation into the use of online multiple-choice questions as a means of summative assessment, however the research into the use of formative MCQs by the same mode of delivery still remains patchy. Similarly, research and implementation has been largely concentrated within the Sciences and Medicine rather than the…

This article presents a qualitative study of six families of children with disabilities and their perspectives on humor. The findings revealed that the families had an understanding of humor that went beyond the generalized humor construct. They embraced both the concept of humor and "other types of fun." Furthermore, the families' attempts at…

Three academically deficient and behavior disordered male students, 9 to 13 years of age, participated in a treatment program to improve their written composition skills. A multiple-baseline across-subjects design was used to analyze the effects of three treatment procedures on the number and variety of adjectives per T-unit (minimal terminable…

While no one method can possibly solve all the problems in an educational system, the Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) addresses many. The PSI method is a self-paced, mastery learning approach based on reinforcement and personal attention. It is typified by five characteristics that help to meet or minimize the adverse aspects of…

Positive ideas were generated from two programs sponsored by the Jefferson Community College (Louisville, Kentucky) Black Affairs Advisory Committee and given during Black History Week. The first program consisted of a panel of seven black professionals from the Louisville community which discussed "What It Takes to Make It: A Message for…