This study examines the relationship between self-monitoring
plus self-recruited attention and problem behaviors, on-task behavior,
overall teacher perception of student performance, task completion,
and frequency of teacher praise. The research design employed
an ABAB withdrawal analysis coupled with a two-series multiple
baseline design across class periods for one fourth-grade student
with learning disabilities and problem behavior in a general education
classroom. The results indicate that implementation of self-monitoring
combined with self-evaluation and self-recruitment of teacher
attention was functionally related to a decrease in the frequency
of problem behaviors, an increase in on-task behavior, and an
increase in task completion. In addition, the intervention was
associated with increased positive teacher perceptions of student
performance. Results are discussed in terms of the application
of (a) comprehensive, positive behavioral support in typical classrooms;
(b) self-management strategies to reduce problem behaviors; and
(c) expanded research outcomes to document behavior change with
social significance.
A Demonstration of Behavioral
Support for Young Children with Autism Glen Dunlap and Lise Fox
Young children with autism sometimes display severe
behavior problems that can cause great disruptions in family life
and interfere with attempts to provide needed services. Strategies
are needed to resolve these behavior problems in a manner that
is effective, durable, and consistent with current approaches
to positive, comprehensive, and inclusionary practice in early
childhood intervention. This article provides a description of
behavioral support as applied in the context of a family-centered
early intervention program for young children with autism. Demonstration
data are presented to illustrate the effects of the approach in
reducing the problem behaviors of six children. The practices
and data are discussed in the context of changing perspectives
toward early intervention and the prospects of developing effective
preventive strategies and functional deterrents to the emergence
and occurrence of serious problem behaviors.
A Moral Framework for
Analysis of the Controversy Over Aversive Behavioral Interventions
for People with Severe Mental Retardation
George Singer, Bernard Gert, and Robert L. Koegel
This article applies a systematic analysis of everyday
moral decision making to the controversy surrounding the use of
aversive treatments for people with severe mental retardation.
The authors' aim is to provide a framework for analyzing the issue,
and they take a position against the use of aversive procedures.
The analysis adds some new ideas to the debate. It provides a
definition of aversive procedures based upon common moral rules.
The concept of protection by the moral rules is discussed and
the case made that people with severe mental retardation deserve
the protection of the moral rules and that this right is historically
new and tenous. The importance of symbols of dehumanization is
discussed in light of this tenous condition. The idea of moral
agency is applied in order to clarify the kinds of societal sanctions
that are and are not appropriate when a person with severe mental
retardation violates a moral rule. The authors argue that data
are always relevant to moral decision making and that a mounting
body of evidence indicates that nonaversive alternatives are available
and can replace aversive procedures in all but a very small number
of highly unusual cases.
A Review of Functional
Assessment Research with Students With or At-Risk for Emotional
and Behavioral Disorders: 1990 - present Kathleen L. Lane, John Umbreit, and Margaret Beebe-Frankenberger
The present article reports information resulting from
a review of 19 articles reporting studies conducted in the 1990s
with a total of 62 participants who were identified as having,
or being at risk for, emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD).
Studies were included in this review only if (a) a functional
assessment was conducted, (b) the participants were identified
as having, or being at risk for, EBD, and (c) the study was published
after 1989. Findings indicate that functional assessment research
is being conducted with young children in special and general
education settings with the use of single-case design methodologies.
A review is made of the nine articles that reported findings from
functional assessmentbased intervention studies. The review
suggests that antecedent-based interventions, primarily curricular
modifications, are most often examined. Results indicate that
present research methodology includes important components essential
to making valid conclusions from outcomes, and in generalizing
findings. Directions for future research are discussed.
A Demonstration of Teaching
Parents of Children with Autism How to Perform Functional Assessments
to Plan Interventions for Extremely Disruptive Behaviors William D. Frea and Susan L. Hepburn
Parents of children with autism often face unique challenges
when attempting to understand and address their children's difficulty.
Although professionals have used func-tional assessment to help
design interventions that match the communicative intent of challenging
behavior, parents often do not have this skill. This study investigated
the ability of parents to learn the skills related to functional
assessment and independently create interventions. The goals of
the study were to (a) assess the ability of parents to use a manual
in learning to perform a descriptive functional assessment, (b)
identify whether the parents could generate functionally equivalent
alternative behaviors, and (c) evaluate the parents' ability to
independently teach the new behavior. Two families were assessed
within controlled case studies. The results indicated that one
family was immediately successful in utilizing functional assessment
information to independently create an effective intervention,
and the second family required a brief instructional session on
prompting procedures to effectively implement the intervention.
Using Self-Management
Strategies and Reinforcement to Increase On-Task Behavior of a
High-Functioning Student with Autism in a General Education Classroom Kevin Callahan and Joyce Rademacher
A multiple-baseline design was used to investigate
the effectiveness of using self-management strategies and reinforcement
to increase the on-task behaviors of a high-functioning second-grade
student with autism who was fully included in a general education
classroom. Results of data collected over 9 weeks indicated that
when self-management and reinforcement procedures were implemented,
rates of on-task behavior were significantly higher than during
baseline. Improvements in independent academic and behavioral
functioning were also noted. Further research is recommended to
determine the viability of using self-management procedures in
full-inclusion settings for students with a wider range of skills
and deficits
Living in Italy: Addressing the Complexities of Comprehensive
Lifestyle Support. Victoria Budzinski McMullen
