How can severe behavior problems in individuals with developmental disabilities be prevented and treated? What strategies can be used to control difficult-to-treat problems such as self-injury, stereotypy, aggression, rumination, and pica? What curricular approaches have proven effective in controlling severe behavior problems in the classroom? You'll find discussion of these and other important issues in this comprehensive, research-based book. Grounded in theory and research, yet filled with case studies, short vignettes, and practical examples, this book considers behavior problems within the context of the individual and his or her environment. Whether you are a clinician, a therapist, a student in applied behavior analysis or clinical psychology, a teacher who works with students with developmental disabilities in the classroom, or a family member of a person with developmental disabilities, this book provides a conceptual framework that will assist you in developing strategies for preventing and treating a wide range of severe behavior problems.

Problem behaviors often compound the already difficult task of improving the lives of persons with severe disabilities. This important volume, representing the culmination of more than a decade of clinical research, presents the first complete description of the procedures used in Functional Communication Training--a positive approach for reducing severe behavior problems. The procedures described in this book have been validated by numerous empirical studies for use with children, adolescents, and adults who display behaviors as diverse as aggression, self-injury, tantrums, and bizarre, psychotic speech. Functional Communication Training involves teaching students how to communicate those basic wants and needs that they have previously sought to have fulfilled via their problem behavior. They are taught to replace their challenging behavior with learned communication skills. This book provides the practitioner with step-by-step instructions for implementing this effective approach. A variety of assessment strategies are reviewed and described to assist in determining appropriate interventions. The Motivation Assessment Scale--one device designed to assess the function of problem behavior--is outlined in detail and is accompanied with guidelines for its administration and interpretation. Communication training is then detailed and illustrated using speech, sign language, and augmentative systems as examples. Numerous case examples throughout illuminate both the assessment and intervention strategies. Providing clear direction for ameliorating complex behavior problems, this book will be valued by psychologists, behavior analysts, special educators, and speech and language therapists. It can be used as a text for advanced undergraduate courses on behavior management in psychology and special education, and also serves as supplementary reading for courses on behavior modification or mental retardation/developmental disabilities.

The Second Edition of the Handbook of Adolescent Behavioral Problems clarifies the current state of treatment and prevention through comprehensive examinations of mental disorders and dysfunctional behaviors as well as the varied forces affecting their development. New or revised chapters offer a basic framework for approaching mental health concerns in youth and provide the latest information on how conditions (e.g., bipolar disorder, suicidality, and OCD) and behaviors (e.g., sex offenses, gang activities, dating violence, and self-harm) manifest in adolescents. Each chapter offers diagnostic guidance, up-to-date findings on prevalence, biological/genetic aspects, risk and resilience factors, and a practical review of prevention and treatment methods. Best-practice recommendations clearly differentiate among what works, what might work, what doesn't work, and what needs further research across modalities, including pharmacotherapy. Key topics addressed include: Families and adolescent development. Adolescent mental health and the DSM-5. Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Conduct Disorder. Autism spectrum disorder. Media and technology addiction. School failure versus school success. Bullying and cyberbullying. The Second Edition of the Handbook of Adolescent Behavior Problems is a must-have reference for researchers, clinicians, allied practitioners and professionals, and graduate students in school and clinical child psychology, education, pediatrics, psychiatry, social work, school counseling, and public health.

'Challenging' behaviours are common among people with intellectual disabilities, resulting in significantly reduced quality of life. These may include aggression, self-injury, destructiveness, hyperactivity and inappropriate social conduct. This new edition provides a concise, accessible and contemporary summary of current knowledge about challenging behaviour, drawn from psychology, psychiatry, medicine and public health. Fully updated and revised, it includes comprehensive coverage of the epidemiology and aetiology of challenging behaviours, and evidence of the efficacy and effectiveness of different approaches to intervention. This edition contains significantly expanded sections on the emergence and development of challenging behaviour and strategies for prevention, at the level of both individuals and service systems. Essential reading for students undertaking professional training in health and related aspects of intellectual disabilities, including psychologists, psychiatrists, nurses, teachers and social workers. This book is a key text for professional staff delivering health, educational and social care services to people with intellectual disabilities.

The understanding of how to reduce risk factors for mental disorders has expanded remarkably as a result of recent scientific advances. This study, mandated by Congress, reviews those advances in the context of current research and provides a targeted definition of prevention and a conceptual framework that emphasizes risk reduction. Highlighting opportunities for and barriers to interventions, the book draws on successful models for the prevention of cardiovascular disease, injuries, and smoking. In addition, it reviews the risk factors associated with Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, alcohol abuse and dependence, depressive disorders, and conduct disorders and evaluates current illustrative prevention programs. The models and examination provide a framework for the design, application, and evaluation of interventions intended to prevent mental disorders and the transfer of knowledge about prevention from research to clinical practice. The book presents a focused research agenda, with recommendations on how to develop effective intervention programs, create a cadre of prevention researchers, and improve coordination among federal agencies.

Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.

Aggressive behavior among children and adolescents has confounded parents and perplexed professionals—especially those tasked with its treatment and prevention—for countless years. As baffling as these behaviors are, however, recent advances in neuroscience focusing on brain development have helped to make increasing sense of their complexity. Focusing on their most prevalent forms, Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Conduct Disorder, Disruptive Behavior Disorders advances the understanding of DBD on a number of significant fronts. Its neurodevelopmental emphasis within an ecological approach offers links between brain structure and function and critical environmental influences and the development of these specific disorders. The book's findings and theories help to differentiate DBD within the contexts of normal development, non-pathological misbehavior and non-DBD forms of pathology. Throughout these chapters are myriad implications for accurate identification, effective intervention and future cross-disciplinary study. Key issues covered include: Gene-environment interaction models. Neurobiological processes and brain functions. Callous-unemotional traits and developmental pathways. Relationships between gender and DBD. Multiple pathways of familial transmission. Disruptive Behavior Disorders is a groundbreaking resource for researchers, scientist-practitioners and graduate students in clinical child and school psychology, psychiatry, educational psychology, prevention science, child mental health care, developmental psychology and social work.