Education Commons^™

Several methods for evaluating the influence of antecedents on challenging behaviour have been described in the literature, however the portability of these methods within the classroom has been questionable. The purpose of this paper will be to provide a practical understanding of evidence-based practices used in the assessment and management of instructional antecedents. The importance of understanding the relationship between instructional antecedents and desired learner responses will be examined within the context of two adolescent learners with developmental disabilities who experienced challenging behaviour. (Contains 2 figures.)

The phenomenon of pica has been described within the literature in many ways, from a socially acceptable practice to a life threatening behavior. Recent prevalence rates of pica indicate relatively low occurrence of this phenomenon that makes it difficult to easily identify trends in practices related to pica. Recent literature on pica (1990 to 2002) indicate a trend toward use of more reinforcement based procedures and less use of more intrusive procedures such as overcorrection, time-out and restraint as was reported in the literature prior to 1990. Most recent studies of pica appear to have an underlying basis in behavior …