This study was a descriptive analysis of the role that staff-resident interaction, content of activity, and presence of teaching staff played on the stereotypy of three children with severe mental retardation and dual sensory impairments. The study also examined several characteristics of the instructional setting, including time allocation to various activities and percentage of staff interaction relative to the type of activity. Results indicated that staff-resident interaction was associated with dramatic reductions in the stereotypy of each child, that the type of activity was associated with differential responses across children, and that the presence of certified teaching staff was associated with reductions in stereotypy. Results also indicated an extremely low level of staff-resident interaction despite adequate staff-resident ratio.
AxelrodS. (1987). Functional and structural analysis of behavior: Approaches leading to reduced use of punishment procedures. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 8, 165–178.
2.
BaumeisterA. A. (1978). Origins and control of stereotyped movements. In MeyersC. E. (Ed.), Quality of life in severely and profoundly retarded people: Research foundation for improvement (pp. 353–384). Washington, DC: American Association on Mental Deficiency.
3.
BaumeisterA. A.MacLeanW. E.KellyJ.KosariC. (1980). Observational studies of retarded children with multiple stereotyped movements. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 8, 501–521.
4.
BerksonG.MasonW. A. (1964). Stereotyped movements of mental defects: IV. The effects of toys and character of acts. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 68, 511–524.
5.
BurkeM. M.BurkeD.ForehandR. (1985). Interpersonal antecedents of self-injurious behavior in retarded children. Education and Training of the Mentally Retarded, 20, 204–208.
6.
CharlopM. H.SchreibmanL.MasonJ.VeseyW. (1983). Behavior-setting interactions of autistic children: A behavioral mapping approach to assessing classroom behaviors. Analysis and Intervention in Developmental Disabilities, 3, 359–373.
7.
CohenJ. (1960). A coefficient of agreement for nominal scales. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 20, 37–46.
8.
DavenportR. K.Jr.BerksonG. (1963). Stereotyped movements of mental defectives: II. Effects of novel objects. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 67, 879–882.
9.
DobeckiP.ZanerE. (Eds.). (1986). Ethics of dealing with persons with severe handicaps: Toward a research agenda. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
10.
DurandV. M.CarrE. G. (1987). Social influences on “self-stimulatory” behavior: Analysis and treatment application. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 20, 119–132.
11.
EdelsonS. M.TaubmanM. T.LovaasO. I. (1983). Some social contexts of self-destructive behavior. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 11, 299–312.
12.
EvansI. M.MeyerL. H. (1985). An educative approach to behavior problems. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
13.
ForehandR.BaumeisterA. A. (1970a). Effect of frustration on stereotyped body rocking: Follow-up. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 31, 894.
14.
ForehandR.BaumeisterA. A. (1970b). Body rocking and activity level as a function of prior movement restraint. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 74, 608–610.
15.
GelfandD.HartmannD. P. (1975). Child behavior analysis and therapy. New York: Pergamon.
16.
HollisJ. H. (1978). Analysis of rocking behavior. In MeyersC. E. (Ed.), Quality of life in severely and profoundly mentally retarded people: Research foundations for improvement. Washington, DC: American Association on Mental Deficiency.
17.
IwataB. A.DorseyM. F.SliferK. J.BaumanK. E.RichmanG. S. (1982). Toward a functional analysis of self-injury. Analysis and Intervention in Developmental Disabilities, 2, 3–20.
18.
JohnsonW. L.BaumeisterA. A. (1978). Self-injurious behavior: A review and analysis of methodological details of published studies. Behavior Modification, 2, 465–487.
19.
KaufmanM. E.LevittH. (1965). Sound induced drive and stereotyped behavior in mental defectives. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 69, 729–734.
20.
KoegelR. L.CovertA. (1972). The relationship of self-stimulation to learning in autistic children. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 5, 381–387.
21.
LaGrowS. J.ReppA. C. (1984). Stereotypic responding: A review of the intervention research. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 88, 595–609.
22.
PowellJ.MartindaleB.KulpS.MartindaleA.BaumanR. (1977). Taking a closer look: Time sampling and measurement error. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 10, 325–332.
23.
ReppA. C.BartonL. E. (1980). Naturalistic observations of institutionalized retarded persons: A comparison of licensure decisions and behavioral observations. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 13, 333–341.
24.
ReppA. C.NieminenG.BruscaR.CarterR.OlingerE.CloseR. (1984, March). Ecological studies of the stereotypic responding of severely handicapped individuals: The relationship of task demands to rates of stereotypy. Paper presented at the Gatlinberg Conference on Research in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. Gatlinberg, TN.
25.
RitvoE. R.OrnitzE. M.LaFranchiS. (1968). Frequency of repetitive behaviors in early infantile autism and its variants. Archives of General Psychiatry, 19, 341–347.
26.
SoroskyA. D.OrnitzE. M.BrownM. B.RitvoE. R. (1968). Systematic observations of autistic behavior. Archives of General Psychiatry, 18, 439–449.
27.
ThompsonC.HolmbergM.BaerD. M. (1974). A brief report on a comparison of time-sampling procedures. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 7, 204–208.
28.
VarniJ. W.LovaasO. I.KoegelR. L.EverettN. L. (1979). An analysis of observational learning in autistic and normal children. Journal of Abnormal Children Psychology, 7, 31–43.
29.
WinterlingV.DunlapG. (1987). The influence of task variation on the aberrant behaviors of autistic students. Education and Treatment of Children, 10, 105–119.
