Self-management as a strategy to improve the classroom behavior of adolescents with ADHD.

This article reports on the application of a self-management strategy for improving the classroom behavior of students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Based on the work of Rhode, Morgan, and Young (1983), the intervention focuses on teaching students to systematically rate their own behavior according to the rating of their teacher. Although, historically, self-management strategies based on cognitive control have not been found to be effective for students with ADHD, strategies based on contingency management have not been widely reported in the literature. A description of the intervention and two case study illustrations are provided. Potential limitations and implications for research in using this strategy are discussed.

Effects of warning stimuli for reinforcer withdrawal and task onset on self-injury.

Results of a functional analysis of self-injurious behavior (SIB) in a child with autism showed that her SIB was maintained by access to preferred objects and escape or avoidance of task demands. Extinction and noncontingent reinforcement treatments were supplemented by presenting a statement combined with a picture cue at 30-s intervals indicating that a preferred object would be removed or a task would be presented. Warning stimuli in combination with extinction and noncontingent reinforcement reduced SIB to acceptable levels. SIB rates remained comparatively high in a control condition consisting of a 2-min delay to onset of reinforcer removal or task demands.

Vocational-technical programs: follow-up of students with learning disabilities.

Recent research has examined the role of vocational-technical training in facilitating the transition from school to work of adolescents with learning disabilities. The present study provided 6-, 12-, and 24-month follow-up data on such students who had attended vocational-technical programs. Matched groups of students without disabilities from vocational-technical programs, as well as randomly selected students without disabilities from regular high schools, were also included for comparisons. Results of the study raised several questions about the value and purpose of vocational-technical training for adolescents with learning disabilities.

Effects of a taped-words treatment on reading proficiency.

In an effort to increase reading proficiency, five 9th- and 10th-grade students with behavior disorders were instructed to read along with an audio type of vocabulary words recorded at 80 words per minute. Effects of the taped-words intervention on rate of reading vocabulary words as well as generalization effects of reading passages containing some of the same vocabulary words were assessed within a multiple baseline design. Results suggested significant effects due to practice. Minimal generalization from reading word lists to reading passages was demonstrated. The results of the present study are compared with similar investigations.

Movement training: when trainer initiated reinforcement and self-monitoring are not enough.

Trainer initiated reinforcement and client self-monitoring have been used successfully to increase the vocational productivity of individuals with moderate and severe mental retardation. Some previous research, however, has reported cases in which reinforcement strategies had minimal influence on productivity. The current study introduced reinforcement and self-monitoring sequentially in an attempt to improve the productivity levels of five clients with moderate and severe mental retardation in an adult development center. In a subsequent alternating treatments phase, the self-monitoring was compared to self-monitoring with movement training--prompting through a task analysis of the most efficient movements to perform a task. In a final phase, the most effective treatment of the alternating treatments for each subject was replicated across sessions. Four of the five subjects responded minimally to trainer initiated reinforcement or self-monitoring but showed improvement with movement training. This increase was replicated across sessions for three of these four subjects. A fifth subject increased productivity substantially with reinforcement, maintained the increase with self-monitoring, and replicated the increase across sessions with self-monitoring alone. This fifth subject did not increase productivity with movement training.

The role of reinforcement in reactive self-monitoring.

The role of reinforcement in reactive self-monitoring was investigated. Subjects for this study were three mentally retarded adults employed in a sheltered workshop. Changes in productivity rates in a party hat assembly task across experimental conditions (reinforcements, self-monitoring, and self-monitoring plus reinforcement) were evaluated. Findings showed that while reinforcement alone increased productivity, it was to a lesser degree and with less consistency than when combined with self-monitoring. In addition, self-monitoring alone did not increase productivity. These results support the Rachlin and Nelson and Hayes hypotheses that reactive effects of self-monitoring are dependent upon environmental contingencies. The results also showed that self-monitoring increases the salience of reinforcement.

Systematic assessment and training of sex education for a mentally retarded woman.

A systematic sex education program was implemented to provide the instruction necessary for a mentally retarded woman to be able to label basic reproductive body parts and describe and demonstrate a breast examination, Pap test, and pelvic examination. The training program permitted documentation of informed consent for a reproductive health examination. Training was implemented in a multiple probe design across skill areas and consisted of providing factual information, requiring the subject to repeat factual information, using concrete teaching aids, demonstrating examination procedures, requiring the subject to demonstrate the specified examinations, and providing praise for correct responses. Results showed dramatic increases in sexual knowledge with the implementation of the program. Follow-up data indicated that the increase in sexual knowledge was maintained over a period of 3 weeks.

Self-monitoring and work productivity with mentally retarded adults.

We examined the use of self-monitoring to increase the productivity of five mentally retarded adults in a sheltered workshop. Data were collected daily during a 30-minute intervention and 30-minute generalization period. Following baseline, verbal praise, prompts, and physical encouragement were administered contingent on productive behavior on a specific task during the intervention period. In the next phase, self-monitoring was trained during the intervention period. During both phases, baseline conditions prevailed in the generalization periods. In the final phase, self-monitoring was extended across the intervention and generalization periods. Results showed that increased productivity levels, evident when praise and prompting were being administered, maintained with self-monitoring alone. Minimal generalization across time was observed until self-monitoring was begun in the generalization period.

Vicarious reinforcement: Expected and unexpected effects.

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effects on one child of observing another child receive direct social reinforcement. In the first part of the study, pairs of same-sex children worked on puzzles for three sessions spaced 2 to 3 days apart. One child was praised on a continuous schedule for performance, whereas the other received no praise. Although children who observed other children being praised increased their performance initially (as predicted by vicarious reinforcement and social comparison hypotheses), their performance decreased over time, reaching levels below their own baseline rates. In the second part of the study, intermittent praise delivered to the observing child was examined as a potential strategy to reverse the unexpected effects obtained in the first part of the study. Intermittent praise was found to be effective in reducing these effects and in producing enhanced performance. Individual data, as well as group data, are presented. Results are discussed in light of theoretical and applied issues related to the use of vicarious reinforcement in applied settings.

Increasing productivity rates in adult mentally retarded clients: the failure of self-monitoring.

A series of three studies investigating procedures to increase productivity rates of mentally retarded adults in a sheltered workshop are reported. In the first study, the use of a behavioral intervention program implemented in a small classroom consisting of prompting, social praise, and performance feedback was found to significantly increase the productivity rates of five mentally retarded adults. Study 2 showed that simply the change in environment from the large, open space workshop setting to the smaller classroom did not contribute significantly to improve production. Despite the gains evident in the first study, production rates were found to decrease to pretreatment levels once the intervention was terminated. Study 3 examined the use of self-monitoring to increase productivity and achieve generalization across settings. Results of that study found self-monitoring to be ineffective. Implications for future research are discussed in light of the failure of self-monitoring with the mentally retarded.

Increasing spelling achievement: an analysis of treatment procedures utilizing an alternating treatments design.

Two studies which examine the effectiveness of spelling remediation procedures are reported. In both studies, an alternating treatment design was employed. In the first study, positive practice overcorrection plus positive reinforcement was compared to positive practice alone and a no-remediation control condition. In the second study, positive practice plus positive reinforcement was compared to a traditional corrective procedure plus positive reinforcement and a traditional procedure when used alone. Results of both studies indicated that the combined positive practice plus positive reinforcement procedure was more efficient and that it was preferred by the children. Following brief training under this combined procedure, all children demonstrated 100% spelling accuracy.