Studies a special education classroom in a rural elementary school. After learning to check spelling with a dictionary, 11 special education students were required to decrease spelling errors by 20 percent per week to attend storytelling sessions. Ten students met the requirement during two treatment weeks and maintained reduced error rates at…

A suggested college classroom technique for motivating and rewarding student learning is the payment of play dollars to students for correct answers, attendance, and success in pop quizzes. The method is designed to encourage, not discourage, class participation, and provides students with immediate feedback on performance. (MSE)

Describes treatment using combination of behavioral techniques, contingency management with positive reinforcement, and stimulus fading for kindergarten girl who was referred to school counselor because of her unwillingness to verbally communicate with her teacher and peers. Discusses how counseling techniques produced desired outcomes, expanding…

Behavioral techniques (positive reinforcement and nonexclusionary timeout) effectively decreased problem behaviors of noncompliance and aggression of a young adult male with severe mental retardation and Down's syndrome residing in the community. (DB)

Results of a functional analysis indicted that the hand mouthing of a woman with profound mental retardation was maintained by multiple sources of control (sensory stimulation and access to a leisure item). Hand mouthing, though maintained by automatic reinforcement, was also susceptible to social contingencies when exposed to them during…

This article describes Effective Behavioral Support, a systems approach to enhancing the capacity of schools to adopt and sustain use of effective processes for all students. Implementation across four major areas of the school system is discussed, including: (1) schoolwide; (2) nonclassroom; (3) classroom, and (4) individual student. A sample…

Describes a school program, developed in partnership with a treatment facility for troubled youth, that is committed to surrounding difficult students with the support and controls they need to succeed. Focuses on the Behavior Intervention Support Team in which teachers, counselors, and administrators respond with grace and not punishment. (RJM)

This paper discusses how to set up and implement a token economy system for students with behavior disorders in a classroom setting. The available literature is reviewed, and it is concluded that token economies have been proven effective in improving behavior among students with social and academic deficits. (Author/PB)

A study observed mother-child interactions of eight children with Down syndrome and eight typical preschoolers in free play and mealtime settings. Mothers of children with Down syndrome used more teacher and helper behaviors and less positive verbalizations. Children with Down syndrome showed higher frequency of eye gazes during mealtime.…

An analysis of 396 articles (that included 706 participants) on the treatment of self-injurious behavior found the use of reinforcement-based interventions has increased during the past decade, whereas the use of punishment-based interventions has decreased slightly; both of these trends coincide with an increase in the use of functional…

Descibes template for developing compliments based upon authors' experiences working in a community mental-health clinic. Examines the five components of the template: normalizing statements, restructuring statements, affirmation of client competencies, a bridging statement, and a suggestion. Features case examples and a transcript of a compliment…

In Phase 1, 4 pigeons were trained on a three-component multiple concurrent-chains procedure in which components differed only in terms of relative terminal-link entry rate. The terminal links were variable-interval schedules and were varied across four conditions to produce immediacy ratios of 4:1, 1:4, 2:1, and 1:2. Relative terminal-link entry…

Since 1990, the literature has shown that prisoners who attend educational programs while they are incarcerated are less likely to return to prison following their release. Studies in several states have indicated that recidivism rates have declined where inmates have received an appropriate education. Furthermore, the right kind of educational…

Teachers and other school staff are overwhelmed with myriad concerns. As a result, many view positive youth development as just "one more thing" to add to an already full plate. This article assists educators in understanding how positive youth development (PYD) is inherent in good educational practice, and does not have to be one more thing.…

The purpose of this study was to examine a positive behavior support plan implemented in a correctional facility for male juveniles to determine its effectiveness in changing behavior. The study was precipitated by teachers' concern with the punishment orientation of the facility and the need to do Functional Behavior Assessment for students'…