Remediating Minimal Progress on Teaching Programs by Adults with Severe Disabilities in A Congregate Day Setting

We evaluated a modified teaching approach for improving the performance of adults with severe disabilities who were making minimal progress on teaching programs in a congregate day setting. An approach for enhancing progress was developed for implementation within the ongoing routine of the adult day setting using resources indigenous to the setting. The teaching approach, based on early intensive teaching programs, involved increasing teaching trials, adding another consequence to the reinforcement component, and reducing distractions. Improved progress accompanied the approach with each of 4 participating adults. Measures of happiness and problem behavior showed no detrimental effect on quality of life. Advantages and disadvantages of the teaching approach are discussed regarding implications for practitioners

Functional assessment and challenging behaviors: some future directions

Behavior analysts have had a significant impact on the analysis and intervention of challenging behaviors in persons with developmental disabilities. These successes are celebrated in the first part of this article. In the remainder of the article, we present a selective discussion of three issues that we hope will help to further stimulate work with challenging behaviors: (a) the development of challenging behaviors, (b) the role of rule-governance in challenging behavior, and (c) the behavior of persons (mediators) who directly apply functional assessment and intervention technologies. Each of these issues is discussed and implications are drawn for future reseach and practice in the field. In drawing some conclusions, we focus on the internal and external validity of functional assessment and interventions