Students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD) can present unique behavioral and academic challenges within the school environment. The Response to Intervention (RTI) and Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) movements have sought to formalize intervention systems to address the needs of all children. An integral…

Morningside Academy is a third-level scientifically driven service organization (Johnston, 1996) consisting of a laboratory school and outreach to schools and agencies throughout the United States and Canada through its partnership with Morningside Teachers' Academy. The approach blends together a number of empirically validated practices to…

Reading comprehension can be considered a complex human performance involving two integrated repertoires: a verbal repertoire and an investigative (generative) repertoire. This paper describes an analysis of these repertoires in terms which can ultimately inform the design of programs to teach them, using the analysis and design of Headsprout[R]…

As individuals with autism age out of the educational system, families and practitioners are faced with a number of challenges, including placement concerns and limited behavioral support. Among the most significant concerns is the assessment and treatment of challenging behavior in this population. While assessment and treatment strategies have…

Researchers and practitioners often employ timeout procedures to manage inappropriate classroom behavior. When implemented inappropriately, however, timeout can result in dangerous situations and have received increased scrutiny (i.e., seclusion). The timeout ribbon procedure can prevent some of the dangerous situations associated with other forms…

Methods and outcomes from functional behavioral assessment have been researched widely over the past twenty-five years. However, several important research questions have yet to be examined sufficiently. This quantitative review of developmental disability research aims to make comparisons of different functional behavioral assessment…

The Comprehensive Application of Behavior Analysis to Schooling or CABAS[R] model is characterized by an organizational system of teacher training and mentoring by those with more expertise in the science of behavior analytic teaching. At the center of the system are the students, whose data drive the system. Decades of research support the…

Reinforcers contingent on response variability exert powerful and precise control over levels of variability, from stereotypy to stochasticity. This paper reviews how variability-contingent reinforcers interact with non-contingent, eliciting events to influence the variability of operant responses. Relationships to stimulus control, choice,…

Personality disorders are complex and highly challenging to treatment providers; yet, for clients with these problems, there exist very few treatment options that have been supported by research. Given the lack of empirically-supported therapies for personality disorders, it can be difficult to make treatment decisions for this population. The…

This study examined the use of a progressive delay procedure with and without a concurrent activity to teach self-control to children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Three participants were initially required to wait progressively longer periods of time for access to preferred edible reinforcers. After demonstrating this…

In an upper-division, college course with a lecture component and two laboratory sections, we experimentally evaluated a treatment package that included this contingency: "only if students attended lecture and submitted notes for each day's reading assignment could they use their notes during a later test," and instructions about the contingency.…

This paper describes materials designed for classroom projects on stimulus generalization and peak shift. A computer program (originally written in QuickBASIC) is used for data collection and a Microsoft Excel file with macros organizes the raw data on a spreadsheet and creates generalization gradients. The program is designed for use with human…

The purpose of the present study was to apply the percentage of data points exceeding the median of baseline phase (PEM) approach for a meta-analysis of single-case experiments to compare the relative effectiveness of different kinds of reinforcers used in behavior modification. Altogether 153 studies were located, which produced 1091 effect…

Determining effective reinforcers for individuals with disabilities is imperative for skill acquisition and behavior reduction. Various methodologies exist to determine reinforcer preference, and past research has shown that results vary across different techniques. The purpose of the current study was to assess which presentation methods were…

In order to maximize the learning of skills, it is crucial that the most powerful reinforcement be used. Research describes several different methods of reinforcement preference assessments, including forced choice, free-operant, and multiple stimulus array procedures. Researchers have also tested many variables to determine their potential impact…