Self-Management of Classroom Behavior with Retarded/Disturbed Children

A current trend in classroom behavior analysis is the exploration of self-management procedures. Few studies have used mentally retarded children. This investigation successfully demonstrates the self-management on-task behavior of four mentally retarded/emotionally disturbed children. A series of verbal and gestural cues were used to teach self-assessment and self-reinforcement. The prompts were gradually faded until complete self-management was attained. In addition, the effect upon task performance, accuracy, and disruptive behavior was examined when on-task behavior was reinforced. Results of the study found performance and accuracy to increase for most subjects while disruptive behavior declined. Implications for future research are discussed.