Classroom intervention for illness-related problem behavior in children with developmental disabilities.
Add a simple behavior plan to medical care when illness triggers acting out in students with developmental delays.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team worked in a special-ed classroom. Kids had developmental delays. Some acted out when they felt sick.
They compared two plans. Plan A was only medical care. Plan B added a behavioral piece. They watched which plan cut problem behavior and helped kids finish schoolwork.
What they found
Medical care plus behavior tools won. Problem behavior dropped. Kids did more classwork than with medicine alone.
How this fits with other research
Cameron et al. (1996) looked at kids with mental retardation. They saw the same thing: behavior plans alone matched the drug methylphenidate. Adding the drug gave no extra gain.
Eberhart et al. (2006) moves that story forward. They show a combo can help when illness sparks the behavior. The mix gives a clear boost over medicine only.
Taylor et al. (2018) later scaled a full-day FCT package. One student with autism re-entered the regular class. Both studies say: pair behavior tools with what the child already gets.
Why it matters
You can start tomorrow. Ask the nurse when a student’s illness flares. Then add a quick behavior plan: check for pain signs, give a break card, praise calm choices. Track one class task. You should see less acting out and more work done before lunch.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
There is growing evidence of an association between physical illness and problem behavior in children with developmental disabilities. Such behavior can compromise school performance. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate, using a group design, the effectiveness of medical intervention alone (N = 11) versus behavioral plus medical intervention (N = 10) for illness-related problem behavior in a school setting. Following intervention, the behavioral plus medical intervention group showed lower levels of problem behavior and completed more academic tasks than did the medical intervention alone group. The results are discussed with respect to the concept of illness and pain as a setting event for problem behavior. The need for research to develop algorithms that allow one to select the best combination of medical and behavioral interventions for specific illnesses and contexts is noted.
Behavior modification, 2006 · doi:10.1177/0145445506290080