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Background: Children with developmental disability often engage in challenging behaviour, which may require that parents implement behavioural assessments and interventions. The purpose of our pilot study was to examine the effects of an interactive web training (IWT) to teach behavioural function identification and intervention selection to parents. Method: Twenty-six parents of children with developmental disability responded to function identification and intervention selection tasks on clinical vignettes before and following IWT. We also measured social validity and the duration of training. Results: Our results show that parents were more accurate in the identification of behavioural function and selected more adequate interventions following IWT. On average, parents spent less than 2.5hr to complete IWT and rated it positively. Conclusions: The IWT appears to be a viable tool to teach parents about function-based intervention, but additional research is needed to examine whether it translates to changes in parental practices and child behaviour.

Background Several researchers have reduced engagement in stereotypy in individuals with intellectual disability and deafblindness using interventions containing a punishment component. The purpose of our study was to examine whether we could produce reductions in stereotypy in an individual with Cornelia de Lange syndrome and deafblindness by using noncontingent and differential reinforcement only. Method We used single-case experimental designs to examine the effects of noncontingent reinforcement alone and in combination with differential reinforcement of sitting on mouthing, tapping, and appropriate behaviour. Results Noncontingent access to edible items reduced mouthing whereas access to tactile stimuli did not. Combining noncontingent access to tactile items with differential reinforcement reduced mouthing and tapping while strengthening appropriate behaviour. Conclusions Antecedent- and reinforcement-based interventions were effective at reducing engagement in stereotypy in an individual with Cornelia de Lange syndrome and deafblindness without relying on punishment. However, more research is necessary to replicate our findings.

While behavioural intervention is effective in the treatment of challenging behaviour, in developmental disability it can have significant limitations in the family setting. Families can sometimes find it difficult to make lifecycle transitions or respond to other stressful life events and become stuck in patterns of interaction that include the presenting behaviour. The aim of this paper is to present a theoretical and working model of intervention that integrates more contemporary behavioural and systemic orientations. Four stages for intervention are provided, each consisting of practical guidelines for the clinician. Three detailed case studies are also included.

We describe effective behavioural intervention with a 24-year-old man who had multiple disability, reduced food consumption, and gastrostomy tube supplementation. Intervention was implemented in a community-based habilitation setting and included the manipulation of social contingencies during meals and gradual fading of gastrostomy tube feedings. Before intervention, the man was fed by care providers, ate a limited food quantity, and was underweight. During intervention, he fed himself independently, had increased oral consumption, and gained weight. At conclusion of the study, gastrostomy tube feedings had been eliminated. All improvements were maintained at 3- and 6-month follow-up assessments.

A naturalistic behavioural assessment and intervention program over a 3-year period for a girl with Rett syndrome is described. Using real-time, multiple response measurement, the relationships among various excess behaviours and environmental conditions were observed. Initial attempts to teach a voluntary manual response and an explicit communicative response were unsuccessful, and when teachers physically interrupted her hand stereotypies it resulted in a reciprocal increase in other excess behaviours. Since the child's mannerisms were exacerbated by demanding instructional conditions, the revised intervention involved playful, complementary interactions with her teacher, as well as a continuation of a structured program to teach a voluntary response. After a further year of instruction, the child produced a minimal number of manual responses. The most significant reduction in hand mannerisms, as well as other excess behaviours, was related to positive social interactions and play that allowed for commu...