Handbook of Behavior Modification with the Mentally Retarded

Handbook of Behavior Modification with the Mentally Retarded
Author: J. L. Matson
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 427
Release: 2013-03-14
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1461571308

Mental retardation has probably existed for as long as mankind has inhabited the earth. References to seemingly retarded persons appear in Greek and Roman literature. Examination of Egyptian mummies suggests that some may have suffered from diseases associated with mental retardation. Mohammed advocated feeding and housing those without reason. There is other evidence for favorable attitudes toward the retarded in early history, but attitudes var ied from age to age and from country to country. The concept of remediation did not emerge until the nineteenth century. Earlier, in 1798, ltard published an account of his attempt to train the "wild boy of Aveyron." A rash of efforts to habilitate retarded persons followed. Training schools were developed in Europe and the United States in the 1800s; however, these early schools did not fulfill their promise, and by the end of the nineteenth century large, inhumane warehouses for retarded persons existed. The notion of habilitation through training had largely been abandoned and was not to reappear until after World War II.

Behavior Modification in Applied Settings

Behavior Modification in Applied Settings
Author: Alan E. Kazdin
Publisher: Waveland Press
Total Pages: 697
Release: 2012-08-20
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1478609222

Continuing the tradition of excellence established in previous editions, distinguished researcher, practitioner, and educator Alan Kazdin integrates pioneering and recent research with discussions and examples for altering behavior and the conditions that influence their effectiveness. The Seventh Edition reflects several developments within the field of behavior modification, without diminishing an essential emphasis on applied research and intervention techniques. Kazdin has expanded and refined discussions of functional behavioral assessment, antecedent events and their influence on behavior, assessment options, ensuring the quality of assessment, data evaluation, and ethical and legal issues. New to this edition is an Appendix to guide a behavior-change project that focuses on applying the content of the book in everyday life. In addition to comprehensive coverage and lucid explanations of how assessment, evaluation, and intervention work together to improve the care of individuals, the text contains many learning-oriented features, such as chapter outlines that convey content, direction, and key points; practical examples of principles and techniques; an abundant number of tables that summarize important concepts; exercises for designing or evaluating a specific intervention or for changing a program that is not working; and a list of key terms at the end of the chapters. By completing the exercises and understanding the terms, students can master the core content of the chapters. This outstanding text enables students and professionals with varied interests to implement effective techniques with individuals and in contexts where behavior change is desperately neededin a world challenged by a wide range of social problems.

Mental Retardation

Mental Retardation
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 351
Release: 2002-08-09
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0309083230

Current estimates suggest that between one and three percent of people living in the United States will receive a diagnosis of mental retardation. Mental retardation, a condition characterized by deficits in intellectual capabilities and adaptive behavior, can be particularly hard to diagnose in the mild range of the disability. The U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) provides income support and medical benefits to individuals with cognitive limitations who experience significant problems in their ability to perform work and may therefore be in need of governmental support. Addressing the concern that SSA's current procedures are consistent with current scientific and professional practices, this book evaluates the process used by SSA to determine eligibility for these benefits. It examines the adequacy of the SSA definition of mental retardation and its current procedures for assessing intellectual capabilities, discusses adaptive behavior and its assessment, advises on ways to combine intellectual and adaptive assessment to provide a complete profile of an individual's capabilities, and clarifies ways to differentiate mental retardation from other conditions.

Mental Retardation and Mental Health

Mental Retardation and Mental Health
Author: Jack A. Stark
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2011-09-21
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 9781461283379

In late 1985, The President's Committee on Mental Retardation (PCMR) spon sored a National Strategy Conference on Mental Retardation and Mental Health in Washington, D.C. The purpose of this conference was to bring together our nation's leadership in the fields of mental retardation and mental health in order to delineate the state of the art relative to the diagnosis, care, and treatment of citizens with mental retardation/mental illness, as well as to chart a national course for the support and integration of citizens with these challenging needs into the confluence of family and community life. The President's Committee on Mental Retardation recognized that citizens with these needs constitute one of the most underserved and, at times, forgotten segments of the population. With this in mind, the PCMR called together govern mental, professional, and parental representatives from across the nation to define the nature and extent of the problem, programs, and services that promise hope for substantive improvement in the quality of life of citizens with mental retardation/mental illness.

Behavior Modification in Mental Retardation

Behavior Modification in Mental Retardation
Author: William Gardner
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 390
Release: 2017-09-29
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1351314513

In this important book, one of the most exciting and promising developments in clinical psychology-behavior modification is applied to the treatment of the mentally retarded, particularly those whose behavior poses difficult problems for institutions. Professor Gardner presents an easily intelligible yet detailed account of the concepts and practices of behavior modification and the underlying learning systems, with numerous clinical illustrations of applying specific techniques to various educational and rehabilitation problems. A thorough discussion of the inadequacies of the psychological evaluation systems normally used in education and rehabilitation is offered, along with an alternative behavior analysis approach that provides a method of translating evaluation data into treatment practices. In explaining behavior analysis, the author takes into account the limited behavioral repertoire of the retarded and environmental deficits. Individual chapters on respondent, operant, and observational learning, and a detailed discussion of a functional analysis approach to evaluation, are included. Proven behavior modification strategies are presented along with a review of related research and clinical studies. The book closes with a detailed description of a research program for the design and testing of sheltered workshop systems for the retarded and emotionally disturbed. The positive approach inherent in the belief that behavior is modifiable-even in the severely limited retarded-is in marked contrast to the pessimism of other systems of therapy, education, and training. Also, the author has concentrated throughout on making the book understandable to clinicians and students with no previous knowledge of behavior modification. Besides serving as a valuable handbook for all treatment personnel, the book can also be used as a basic text for various courses dealing with mental retardation.

Behavior Therapy with Children II

Behavior Therapy with Children II
Author: Anthony M. Graziano
Publisher: Transaction Publishers
Total Pages: 656
Release: 2008-10-01
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 020236433X

The term behavior modification refers to the systematic analysis and change of human behavior and the principal focus is on overt behavior and its relationships to environmental variables. Behavior modification can be applied in many settings, the nature of which helps to define its subsets. Thus, applied in clinical settings, toward clinical goals, it encompasses the subset behavior therapy. In Behavior Therapy with Children, Volume 2, Anthony M. Graziano focuses on behavior therapy--specifically, the behavioral treatment of children's clinical problems. The field of behavior modification encompasses an astonishingly wide and varied spectrum of concepts about and approaches to education, clinical problems, social programming, and rehabilitation efforts. A conceptually and technologically rich medium, it has been nourished by the psychology laboratory, the school, and the psychiatric clinic. It is an area with diffuse boundaries surrounding a highly active center, within which apparently solid landmarks have already been worn away by the dissolving action of corrective self-criticism--immeasurably aided by the catalysts stirred in by the field's many critics. The activity continues, the dynamic field boils, and the medium enriches itself. There appears to be a tendency, particularly among new behavior therapists, to limit their focus too narrowly to the client's systems of overt behavior. In this project, psychological therapy begins with a personal, interactive social situation in which the generally expected human response of interest, sympathy, and support, is the minimum condition. Graziano maintains that these clinical sensitivity skills must be preserved in behavior therapy and enhance its important contribution to advancing the therapeutic endeavor. Anthony M. Graziano is professor emeritus in the Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Buffalo. He has published a number of articles in journals on subjects such as teaching machine programs, behavior therapy with children, diagnostic testing, the history of psychology, and evaluations of the contemporary mental health professions. He has been on the editorial board of Behavior Modification and on the board of directors for the Eastern Psychological Association.

Severe Behavior Disorders in the Mentally Retarded

Severe Behavior Disorders in the Mentally Retarded
Author: Rowland P. Barrett
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 417
Release: 2013-11-22
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 148990588X

It is well known that behavior problems are a salient characteristic of children and adults with mental retardation. That is not to say that all persons with mental retardation experience behavior disorders; how ever, most studies indicate that the incidence of emotional disturbance in this population is four to six times greater than that observed in similar intellectually nonhandicapped children and adults. It is equally well known that the principal form of treatment accorded clients with mental retardation and behavior disorders is pharmacotherapy or the prescrip tion of behavior modifying drugs. Recent studies show that 6 out of every 10 individuals with mental retardation have been prescribed drugs as treatment for disorders of emotion or behavior. Unfortunately, further studies indicate that only one or 2 out of every 10 clients receiving medication are determined to be "responders," such that some thera peutic benefit is derived from their drug treatment. As noted by the title, the single major thrust of this volume is to review approaches to the treatment of behavior disorders in persons with mental retardation from a nondrug perspective. This requires the presentation of a wide range of material on treatment: basic behavior modification programming, cognitive-behavioral strategies, habilitative approaches, counseling and psychotherapy, designing therapeutic living environments, managing medical factors bearing relevance to emotional illness, intervening with families, training special education teachers and direct care staff, and supplying information on the client's rights to obtain treatment in the least restrictive and least intrusive manner.