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We describe a screening protocol for making clinical decisions about the fading of protective equipment worn by children with intellectual disability (ID) who injure themselves. The Protective Equipment Screening Protocol includes information sources derived from research publications and is presented in a format conducive to review and completion by treatment teams. An accompanying case report illustrates protocoldriven protective equipment fading procedures implemented with a self-injurious student. Using the screening protocol in a clinical context and research directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delayed sleep-onset is a common problem among children and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This case report describes the effects of a faded bedtime intervention on delayed sleep-onset and sleep duration in an adolescent student with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at a residential-care setting. Faded bedtime consisted of putting him to bed later in the evening following an extended pre-bedtime routine that was based on his average time to sleep-onset recorded during a pre-intervention phase. Faded bedtime was associated with the student falling asleep more rapidly and sleeping longer each night. These outcomes improved further at a two-month follow-up assessment. Compared to previous research, the results suggest that faded bedtime can be effective beyond hospital and family-home settings, when implemented with a fixed (non-adjusting) daily schedule, and without additional intervention procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated training methods to improve procedural integrity of classroom instructorswhen assessing interobserver agreement (IOA) with their students. Compared to baseline conditions in a multiple baseline across settings design, training that included a memo-task analysis review did not improve procedural integrity. Subsequent intervention consisting of single-session group administered behavioral skills training (BST: instruction, demonstration, role-playing, performance feedback) increased and stabilized procedural integrity of all instructors. These findings support previous training research concerned with procedural integrity of care providers and a competency-based approach towards improving IOA assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated an incentive-based negative reinforcement intervention to improve data recording of three educational care providers at a residential school for children and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Based on a preference assessment, intervention temporarily relieved the care providers of case management tasks contingent on achieving data recording performance criteria. Within a multiple baseline across participants design, data recording increased from baseline levels of 1.8–36.6% to 83.3–100% during intervention. The study demonstrates a practical intervention using reduced performance demands to reinforce critical competencies of care providers within human services settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study evaluated two interventions to improve task completion-data recording by two classroom instructors at a school for children and youth with neurodevelopmental disorders. Compared to a baseline phase, intervention through environmental cuing (strategic task scheduling) was ineffective. The addition of brief supervision monitoring (task preview and review) increased task completion-data recording to high levels and the improved performance of the classroom instructors and was sustained one month following the study in the absence of intervention. Social validity assessment documented high approval of and satisfaction with brief supervision monitoring. We discuss these findings with reference to practical and efficient methods of performance management that can be implemented with care providers in educational services settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compared the effects of support strategies for promoting formal mindfulness practices of 9th grade high school students who participated in a 10-week school-based mindfulness education program. The students also completed social validity ratings of the support strategies they selected and the formal mindfulness practices they learned. All of the support strategies were associated with increased average minutes of formal mindfulness practices. Students who did not select an extra support strategy also had increased minutes of formal mindfulness practices but of less magnitude in contrast to the two most effective strategies. The social validity ratings of the support strategies ranged from equivocal to good approval, and the students gave positive ratings to the majority of formal mindfulness practices. We discuss the implications of these findings for designing mindfulness education programs, implementing practice-promoting support strategies, and conducting mindfulness research with school children and youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, four children with autism were assessed to determine their preference choices for toothbrushes and toothpastes included during self-care skills teaching sessions. For two of the children, the presence of high-preference (HP) materials was associated with improved independent tooth brushing when compared to the presence of low-preference (LP) materials. There was no difference in independent tooth brushing between HP/LP conditions for the other two children. These findings suggest that preference and choice of materials alone can be a helpful instructional strategy for care providers serving children who have neurodevelopmental disorders and skill deficits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We assessed the self-perceived training needs of Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs) to inform the content and direction of supervision provided by Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCaBAs). The RBTs identified several training priorities that would improve their delivery of applied behavior analysis (ABA) services. Self-assessment by RBTs combined with direct observation allows supervisors to develop individualized training plans with these paraprofessional providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluated response blocking with programmed stimulus control, wearing tennis wrist bands, to reduce motor stereotypy in a student with autism. Response blocking was effective and subsequent analysis revealed that wearing the tennis wrist bands alone maintained low frequency stereotypy. Results suggest that controlling effects from a procedure such as response blocking can be transferred to a programmed stimulus in the absence of physical intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a study that addressed behavior data recording by direct-care staff at a child services program. In response to a decreasing percentage of daily data recording in two community-based group homes, a supervisory intervention was implemented, consisting of a revised data recording form and providing performance feedback to the direct-care staff. The intervention increased and maintained the percentage of daily data recording each month across the two group homes and seven sets of child behavior data. The study represents one approach toward staff performance improvement within child services programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the use of an antecedent-based intervention to reduce the vocal stereotypy of a student diagnosed with Autism within the general education classroom. The student displayed frequent nonfunctional speech and disruptive vocal sounds. An antecedent-based intervention, involving the use of qualitatively different cards-to cue the student when it was appropriate or inappropriate to engage in vocal stereotypy-was designed and implemented. An adaptive alternating treatment design was utilized and conditions were randomized and counterbalanced across treatment sessions. Data on vocal stereotypy were collected using partial interval recording. The results indicated the participant was successful in discriminating between cues and decreased stereotypy during intervention compared to baseline conditions. Similar findings were found when the intervention was implemented across a second school setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study describes a case of a 9-year-old girl diagnosed on the autism spectrum who averaged nearly 1200 hand-to-head self-injuries (+attempts) per school day. Given the resources of the school and the significance of the self-injurious behavior (SIB), analog functional analysis is not possible. Moreover, functional assessment results were inconclusive. Subsequent analyses suggested a relationship between SIB and instructional conditions, which we evaluated in an alternating treatments design that manipulated task difficulty, rate, interspersal, novelty, and order of presentation. This sequential modification of instructional components ultimately produced a methodology that is associated with an approximately 90% reduction in SIB. The study illustrates a strategy for treatment decision making in cases of serious problem behavior and when traditional functional behavioral assessment and functional analysis are inconclusive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study was conducted with a student diagnosed with autism and Tourette syndrome who displayed severe self-injurious behavior (SIB). We conducted a functional behavioral assessment which indicated that SIB was maintained by multiple functions using an ABAC design to determine the effect of positive social attention and extinction. Results show a considerable decrease in SIB incidents, particularly when session duration was reduced from 10 minutes to 5 minutes during the second intervention phase. Thus, the combination of contingent social attention formulated from the functional assessment and extinction was successful in bringing about significant decreases in SIB. This combination holds great promise as a nonintrusive positive strategy for SIB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children with autism frequently display self-injurious behavior (SIB), but skin picking—a less severe topography of SIB—has not been the focus of much clinical research. The present study evaluated a home-based intervention that was implemented with a 9-year-old girl who had autism and picked her fingers with resulting tissue damage. The intervention allowed the girl to hold and manipulate preferred objects during play and leisure activities. Evaluated in an ABAB reversal design, intervention essentially eliminated skin picking. Clinical and research implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A negative reinforcement intervention was used to toilet train a child with multiple disabilities. The child appeared to actively withhold urinating in the toilet and was unresponsive to two positive reinforcement training programs. Negative reinforcement required that the child remain in the bathroom during toileting opportunities until he urinated properly. In-toilet urinating was achieved on the first day of intervention and the duration of training sessions decreased steadily. Appropriate toileting and an absence of urinary incontinence were documented post-intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the case of a five-year old boy with autism who demonstrated unanticipated increases in self-injurious behavior that had decreased following intervention. On these occasions, elevated self injury was linked to physician diagnosed otitis media. The findings support an emerging clinical literature documenting possible negative effects from medical influences on challenging behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted a brief (8 days) functional analysis to identify sources of control over persistent saliva-play displayed by a 6-year old child with autism in a school setting. The functional analysis suggested that saliva-play was maintained by automatic reinforcement, leading to an intervention evaluation (3 days) that compared two methods of providing alternative sensory consequences. Saliva-play was eliminated when the child had access to an acceptable form of oral stimulation, mouthing a chew object, but was unaffected when he chewed gum. We discussed the merits of brief functional analysis and intervention evaluation in applied settings, and clinical issues influencing the treatment of stereotypic behaviors that are automatically reinforced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the case of ah 11-year-old boy with autism who demonstrated urinary incontinence that appeared to be maintained by social contingencies (adult attention and escape from activity "demands"). Although he wet himself frequently, he also used the bathroom appropriately and made many self-initiated toileting requests. Intervention was implemented at a day-school by (1) having the boy wear a disposable diaper so immediate clothes changing was not required (escape extinction), (2) limiting requests to use the bathroom, (3) withholding attention contingent on incontinence, and (4) praising in-toilet urinating. Another element of intervention was the systematic fading of the diaper. Urinary incontinence was eliminated, the diaper withdrawn, and improvement maintained 6 months post-intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe consultation to a public school district in the form of a systems-wide evaluation of instructional and behavior support practices for students with developmental disabilities. The evaluation targeted (1) the financial costs of educating students out-of-district, (2) an analysis of a representative sample of Individualized Educational Plans, and (3) interviews with and a questionnaire completed by teachers. The primary objective of the evaluation was to determine practice standards in the public school district and to make recommendations to improve service delivery. The format of the evaluative model, respective findings, suggested remedies, and implications for large-scale public school consultation are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Public school districts frequently seek professional consultation to improve educational services. This article is an overview of the focus, scope, and practice of behavioral consultation to public schools. A four-stage process of consultation is described, followed by a discussion on the expanding role of behavior support intervention. Next, the involvement of consultants in the design of individual-student, classroom- wide, and whole-school programs is considered. Contemporary approaches to consultation are presented such as positive behavior support, functional behavioral assessment, and efficacy evaluation that targets natural data sources. A concluding section sets forth recommendations for the successful practice of public school behavioral consultation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Improving the performance of direct-care staff is a critical objective of human service organizations. The present multiple baseline study evaluated a computer-assisted method of performance feedback that targeted the observation and documentation of instructional activities conducted by staff at a residential school for children with developmental disabilities. The staff's completion of assigned observational and recording procedures were summarized daily using a data-entry system formulated for a personal computer. These data were presented as feedback to staff with accompanying performance review by a supervisor. Relative to a baseline (no feedback) phase, the feedback intervention increased the correct performance of staff. The use of feedback as a practical method of personnel management in human service organizations is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Contingent instructional-pacing was used successfully to reduce the frequency of stereotypic motor behavior displayed by a 15-year old boy with acquired brain injury. The intervention procedure consisted of presenting verbal instructions to the boy that required him to perform a simple motor response, for a two minute duration, each time stereotypy was demonstrated. During a treatment fading phase, the duration of application was decreased to one minute. This intervention was developed as a method of interrupting the performance of stereotypic behavior and removing contact with response-elicited sensory stimulation. As evaluated in a single-case withdrawal design, the instructional-pacing intervention reduced stereotypic motor behavior to a near zero frequency. The boy was compliant during implementation of the procedure and no negative effects were encountered. The procedure represents one of several contingently applied “interruption” techniques that have relevance in behavior support programming for children with acquired brain injury. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Because of extreme skill deficits and seriously challenging behaviors, many children, adolescents, and young adults with autism and related pervasive developmental disorders receive their education in residential schools. This article describes an innovative model of service delivery that seeks to prevent “at-risk” students from being placed residentially and to return those who lived in residential schools to less restrictive settings. The Family Support Program is a joint project of the Massachusetts Department of Education, the Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation and The May Institute, a private human services and behavioral healthcare agency. The program incorporates an applied behavior analysis orientation, with training and intervention implemented in a student's home and neighborhood community. The organization and critical components of the Family Support Program are described, including outcome data for seven participating students. Issues related to educational practices, preventive interventions, and community-based research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Describes a toilet training procedure for children with developmental disabilities who resist urinating in the toilet but readily eliminate in their diapers. Establishment of in-diaper urinating while sitting on the toilet; Progressive transfer of stimulus control by gradual fading-out of the presence of the diaper; Discussion of training guidelines.

This research evaluated the behavioral treatment of self-feeding deficits in two multihandicapped, deaf-blind children. Procedures were implemented by direct-care staff within a residential school program. Functional assessment was preformed using single-case reversal designs. For each child, treatment increased feeding responses substantially over baseline levels. The results extend the application of behavioral feeding interventions to an understudied clinical population. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

No abstract available for this article. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The author introduces this issue of the journal, which covers such topics as state and federal legislation concerning consultant-delivered technical assistance to public schools and prevention of discipline problems in students.