The two most frequently used methods for assessing performance on chained tasks are single opportunity probes (SOPs) and multiple opportunity probes (MOPs). Of the two, SOPs may be easier and less time-consuming but can suppress actual performance. In comparison, MOPs can provide more information but present the risk of participants acquiring…

A comprehensive three-level program evaluation plan assesses overall impact of early intervention programs through assessment of children's progress toward developmental milestones; quarterly child progress through administration of a program-relevant, criterion-referenced tool; and weekly child progress toward specific instructional objectives by…

Existing evidence on the Milwaukee Project, an early intervention effort with preschool disadvantaged children, suggests a decline of the experimental children to the level of the untreated controls in those measures, such as school reading, not under the control of the project. (DB)

Two major advances in the provision of behavioral support to students with severe disabilities include: (1) procedures for conducting functional assessment, and (2) design of comprehensive interventions. The research foundation for these advances, implications for clinicians, and future research directions are presented. (Author/DB)

Five special educators (Durand, Bambara, Dunlap, Kennedy, and Wacker) respond to an article in the same issue by Horner and Carr entitled "Behavioral Support for Students with Severe Disabilities: Functional Assessment and Comprehensive Intervention." Respondents raise concerns regarding the range of intervention options, the behavioral…

An introduction to the concepts and terminology of chaos science and a discussion of its implications for the behavioral and social sciences are provided. The paper points out that chaos science assumptions pertaining to nonlinearity, controlled randomness, and dynamic system modeling offer challenging new directions to assessment and intervention…