Page 1. BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION / January 2000 Hegel, Ferguson / BRAIN INJURY REHABILITATION Severe brain injury can result in significant neurobehavioral and social functioning impairment. In rehabilitation settings ...
This article reviews the various settings in which infants, children, and adolescents experience pain during acute medical procedures and issues related to referral of children to pain management teams. In addition, self-report, reports... more
This article reviews the various settings in which infants, children, and adolescents experience pain during acute medical procedures and issues related to referral of children to pain management teams. In addition, self-report, reports by others, physiological monitoring, and direct observation methods of assessment of pain and related constructs are discussed and recommendations are provided. Pharmacological, other medical approaches, and empirically supported cognitive behavioral interventions are reviewed. Salient features of the interventions are discussed, and recommendations are made for necessary components of effective treatment interventions.
By adopting nature conservation practices, farmers can enhance the environmental quality and biodiversity of their land. In this exploratory study, a behavioral intervention that focused on improving Dutch farmers’ nature conservation... more
By adopting nature conservation practices, farmers can enhance the environmental quality and biodiversity of their land. In this exploratory study, a behavioral intervention that focused on improving Dutch farmers’ nature conservation practices was developed and tested. This intervention was based on insights derived from social psychology and combined tailored information and public commitment. Participating farmers were divided in three groups: one group received tailored information only, one group received both tailored information and a public commitment manipulation, and one group served as a control. A questionnaire measuring relevant aspects of conservation was completed before and after the intervention. Results show that tailored information combined with public commitment making resulted in a stronger desire to engage in conservation, an increase in surface area of non-subsidized natural habitat, and an increase in time farmers spent on conservation. The intervention affected both subsidized and non-subsidized conservation, but the effects were stronger for non-subsidized conservation.
Background Current research suggests that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with larger behavioral sensitivity to reinforcement contingencies. However, most studies have focused thus far on the enhancing... more
Background Current research suggests that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with larger behavioral sensitivity to reinforcement contingencies. However, most studies have focused thus far on the enhancing effects of tangible rewards such as money, neglecting that social-emotional stimuli may also impact task performance in ADHD patients. Methods To determine whether non-social (monetary) and social (positive facial expressions) rewards differentially improve response inhibition accuracy in children and adolescents with ADHD, we applied an incentive go/no-go task with reward contingencies for successful inhibition and compared ADHD subjects with typically developing individuals. Results Both social and monetary contingencies improved inhibition accuracy in all participants. However, individuals with ADHD displayed a particularly higher profit from social reward than healthy controls, suggesting that cognitive control in ADHD patients can be specifically improved by social reinforcement. By contrast, self-rated motivation associated with task performance was significantly lower in ADHD patients. Conclusion Our findings provide evidence for hyperresponsiveness to social rewards in ADHD patients, which is accompanied by limited self-awareness. These data suggest that social reward procedures may be particularly useful in behavioral interventions in children with ADHD.
Uncontrolled low frequency, high intensity aggressive behavior is often a barrier to community living for individuals with developmental disabilities. Aggressive behaviors are typically treated with psychotropic medication, behavioral... more
Uncontrolled low frequency, high intensity aggressive behavior is often a barrier to community living for individuals with developmental disabilities. Aggressive behaviors are typically treated with psychotropic medication, behavioral interventions or their combination; but often the behaviors persist at a level that is problematic for the individual as well as care providers. We developed a mindfulness-based, self-control strategy for an adult with mental retardation and mental illness whose aggression had precluded successful community placement. He was taught a simple meditation technique that required him to shift his attention and awareness from the anger-producing situation to a neutral point on his body, the soles of his feet. After practice he applied this technique fairly consistently in situations that would normally have elicited an aggressive response from him. The data show that he increased self-control over his aggressive behaviors, met the community provider's requirement for 6 months of aggression-free behavior in the inpatient facility before being transitioned to the community, and then successfully lived in the community without readmission to a facility. No aggressive behavior was seen during the 1-year follow-up after his community placement. Mindfulness-based intervention may offer a viable alternative to traditional interventions currently being used to treat behavioral challenges in children and adults with mild mental retardation.
Many children with autism who speak tend to emit utterances of only 1 or 2 words. A multiple baseline design with changing criterion features was used to evaluate the effectiveness of training with pictorial prompts to increase the... more
Many children with autism who speak tend to emit utterances of only 1 or 2 words. A multiple baseline design with changing criterion features was used to evaluate the effectiveness of training with pictorial prompts to increase the syntactical complexity and length of novel utterances by 4 preschoolers with autism. Two target sentence structures were taught; responses during probe trials matched the specific sentence structure being trained. At baseline utterances averaged 1–2 words per photograph. All children averaged 6 words per photograph following training. Variability in the number of training trials to mastery across participants was likely due to differences in entry skills. The training methods were effective for establishing one type of generative language performance in the 4 participants.
This paper reviews the evidence regarding the efficacy of behavioral treatments for bedtime problems and night wakings in young children. It is based on a review of 52 treatment studies by a task force appointed by the American Academy of... more
This paper reviews the evidence regarding the efficacy of behavioral treatments for bedtime problems and night wakings in young children. It is based on a review of 52 treatment studies by a task force appointed by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine to develop practice parameters on behavioral treatments for the clinical management of bedtime problems and night wakings in young children. The findings indicate that behavioral therapies produce reliable and durable changes. Across all studies, 94% report that behavioral interventions were efficacious, with over 80% of children treated demonstrating clinically significant improvement that was maintained for 3 to 6 months. In particular, empirical evidence from controlled group studies utilizing Sackett criteria for evidence-based treatment provides strong support for unmodified extinction and preventive parent education. In addition, support is provided for graduated extinction, bedtime fading/positive routines, and scheduled awake...
Recent research elucidates many aspects of the problem of co-occurring substance use disorder (SUD) in patients with severe mental illness, which is often termed dual diagnosis. This paper provides a brief overview of cur- rent research... more
Recent research elucidates many aspects of the problem of co-occurring substance use disorder (SUD) in patients with severe mental illness, which is often termed dual diagnosis. This paper provides a brief overview of cur- rent research on the epidemiology, adverse conse- quences, and phenomenology of dual diagnosis, followed by a more extensive review of current approaches to ser- vices, assessment,
CAPÍTULO 9. CONSIDERAÇÕES SOBRE RESPONSIVIDADE TERAPÊUTICA EM ATENDIMENTOS À PAIS/CUIDADORES COM A UTILIZAÇÃO DO PROGRAMA PROMOVE-PAIS Priscila Ferreira de Carvalho Kanamota1 Alessandra Turini Bolsoni-Silva
Children with autism exhibit significant deficits in imitation skills which impede the acquisition of more complex behaviors and socialization, and are thus an important focus of early intervention programs for children with autism. This... more
Children with autism exhibit significant deficits in imitation skills which impede the acquisition of more complex behaviors and socialization, and are thus an important focus of early intervention programs for children with autism. This study used a multiple-baseline design across five young children with autism to assess the benefit of a naturalistic behavioral technique for teaching object imitation. Participants increased their imitation skills and generalized these skills to novel environments. In addition, participants exhibited increases in other social-communicative behaviors, including language, pretend play, and joint attention. These results provide support for the effectiveness of a naturalistic behavioral intervention for teaching imitation and offer a new and potentially important treatment option for young children who exhibit deficits in social-communicative behaviors.
Children with autism exhibit deficits in the imitation and spontaneous use of descriptive gestures. Reciprocal Imitation Training (RIT), a naturalistic imitation intervention, has ben shown to increase object imitation skills in young... more
Children with autism exhibit deficits in the imitation and spontaneous use of descriptive gestures. Reciprocal Imitation Training (RIT), a naturalistic imitation intervention, has ben shown to increase object imitation skills in young children with autism. A single-subject, multiple-baseline design acroess five young children with autism was used to determine whether RIT could be adapted to target the imitation of descriptive gestures. All participants increased their imitation of gestures in the treatment setting and on a structured imitation assessment. Gains generalized to a novel therapist, setting, and materials and maintained at a 1-month follow-up. Three participants also increased their spontaneous use of descriptive gestures. These results provide support for the effectiveness of a naturalistic intervention for teaching gesture imitation.