MODIFYING ACTIVITIES TO PRODUCE FUNCTIONAL OUTCOMES - EFFECTS ON THE PROBLEM BEHAVIORS OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

This article presents three empirical demonstrations of desirable effe cts that accrued from modifying curricular activities in accordance wi th individual students' interests. Participants were three elementary students with disabilities and diverse labels including autism, mental retardation, and emotional and behavioral disorder. In each case, the instructional objective was held constant; whereas, the context of th e activity was modified so that it produced an outcome that was judged to be meaningful and reinforcing to the student. Reversal designs sho wed that each student exhibited less problem behavior and more on-task responding when the modified activity was presented. These results ar e discussed in relation to the applied and conceptual literatures on c urricular design, student preference, and the expanding enterprise of positive behavioral support.