Montrose M. Wolf

Establishing functional speech in echolalic children

Abstract This paper is a summary of research by the authors in the development of speech in echolalic children. The procedures are based on operant behavior-modification techniques such as: (1) shaping and imitation training for the development of speech ; (2) fading in of new stimuli and fading out of verbal prompts to transfer the speech from imitative control to control by appropriate stimulus conditions; and (3) extinction and time-out from reinforcement for the reduction of inappropriate behavior in conjunction with the differential reinforcement of appropriate responses which are incompatible with the inappropriate behavior.

Experiments with token reinforcement in a remedial classroom

Abstract This report describes results of the first year of an after-school, remedial education program for low-achieving 5th and 6th grade children in an urban poverty area. The remedial program incorporated standard instructional materials, mastery of which was supported by token reinforcement. Experimental analyses carried out with individual students showed the token reinforcement to function as such. The effects of the program on the academic achievement and report card grades of the children in the remedial group were found to be significant when compared with the gains of a control group who had no remedial program.

Application of operant conditioning procedures to the behavior problems of an autistic child: a follow-up and extension.

Abstract The modification of an autistic boys behavior in a nursery school setting is described. The procedures used to deal with his problem behavior such as tantrums, pinching and toilet training are discussed.

Behavior modification of children with learning disabilities using grades as tokens and allowances as back up reinforcers.

The modification of academic behaviors of children in a learning disabilities class was undertaken by arranging for events such as amount of teacher attention, recess, and quality of weekly grade reports to be consequences for academic progress. As academic behaviors achieved with these consequences stabilized at less than an optimal level, the childrens parents agreed to have the children earn their allowances on the basis of the weekly grade reports. This token reinforcement system, with grades as tokens and with allowances as added back up reinforcers, significantly increased the childrens academic behaviors.

An Analysis of a Selection Interview Training Package for Predeunquents At Achievement Place

chievement Place is a small, family-style behavior modification program for adolescents with behavior problems. The boys placed in Achievement Place by the Juvenile Court have typically had many problems in school. Although their academic performance usually improves as a result of the program, it seems unlikely that many of the boys will be furthering their formal educations once they have completed high school. This fact makes it probable that most of them will at least initially be competing in the unskilled job market to

The timer-game: a variable interval contingency for the management of out-of-seat behavior.

The timer-game was demonstrated to be a practical and effective procedure for managing the out-of-seat behavior of elementary school children in a remedial classroom. The timer-game allowed the students to earn token reinforcement by being in their seats whenever the bell of a kitchen timer rang. The bell rang about once every 20 minutes. In a second experiment, peer reinforcement was applied in conjunction with the timer-game to manage one students out-of-seat behavior.

A pilot basic education program for school dropouts incorporating a token reinforcement system

Abstract Five female school dropouts were “hired” to complete remedial workbook assignments. They were paid (via a token system) for the items that they worked correctly. Significant gains were observed in achievement test scores during the 2-month program. Experimental analyses with individual students showed the token reinforcement system to function as such.

Parent and Teacher Use of DRO and DRI to Reduce Aggressive Behavior.

This experiment evaluated parent and teacher use of reinforcement-based, reductive procedures to treat aggressive pinching in a severely retarded child. A withdrawal and a multiple baseline design were used for the analysis. Substantial and lasting treatment effects were obtained at home and school. The benefits and problems associated with parent use of reinforcement-based, behavioral procedures with severely handicapped children, as well as the comparative effects of DRO and DRI are discussed.

Behaviorally Based Group Homes for Juvenile Offenders

Perhaps the most systematic, and certainly the most long-lived and widely disseminated, application of the behavioral approach with juvenile offenders has been in the context of group homes. Research and development based on behavioral principles and procedures began at the University of Kansas in the late 1960s and continues to the present to establish and refine an effective, consumer-preferred, and replicable group home treatment model. Because that model—the Achievement Place or Teaching-Family model (Wolf, Phillips, & Fixsen, 1972)—has been the focal point of almost all of the behavioral research and development concerning group homes, this chapter will concentrate on that model. Following a summary of the results of evaluation research on the Teaching-Family approach, the chapter concludes with a discussion of how evaluation results have prompted major reconsideration of the original assumptions of the approach.

Work environment in relation to employee job satisfaction in group homes for youths

Group home programs for youths were investigated in order to: (a) measure employment longevity in four occupational groups employed in group home treatment settings, (b) report current working conditions and job satisfaction levels, and (c) compare relationships between the group home work environment and employee job satisfaction. Subjects included 57 current and 51 former administrative/treatment employees from 26 participating group homes in Kansas. Several differences were found among four different occupational groups in employee longevity, work environment and satisfaction levels. Length of employment was longest for teaching-parents, followed respectively by houseparents, directors, and other employees. Eight significant work environment differences and five job satisfaction differences were reported among the four groups. Fourteen significant correlations were reported between work environment variables and job satisfaction ratings. A regression analysis reported significant predictors of two “overall” job satisfaction ratings. The research suggested that (1) group home employees have short tenures, (2) the different occupational groups have differing job satisfaction levels, (3) better working conditions are related to higher job satisfaction ratings, and (4) employee contact with the youths is related inversely to improvements in job satisfaction.