Children with autism are often unable to tolerate dental examinations because of fear associated with sights and sounds in the dental operatory. This study applies procedures commonly used to reduce phobic behavior in otherwise normal persons and individuals with mental retardation, to dental fear in children with autism. Three male subjects were desensitized to a dental exam by the experimenter who paired the anxiety-causing event with stronger stimuli that elicited anxiety-antagonistic responses. Application of the treatment package resulted in successful completion of the steps in a dental exam in an analog setting, and a clinically significant increase in the number of steps completed in vivo. This study demonstrates that children with autism can be trained to cooperate during a dental exam.
The exclusionary term social maladjustment in the definition of serious emotional disturbance, used for Public Law 94–142, has been an enigma for special education. This article is an attempt to make a reasonable and limited interpretation of social maladjustment. It is important that the interpretation of this term be limited because there is a growing effort to interpret social maladjustment in a very broad way to include all disorders of social behavior. The recent Honig v. Doe (1988) decision appears to be adding impetus to this effort. Exclusion of students with antisocial behavior problems from special education apparently appears to some to be a readily available way of retaining the power of expulsion over students with antisocial behavior. This article argues that such an interpretation is not appropriate and is not consistent with the intent of the serious emotional disturbance definition. In making this argument, the article also addresses some additional issues related to the current label and definition and briefly discusses identification and programing.
Much debate and discussion presently surround the issue of removing handicapped students from their school programs for disciplinary reasons. This removal usually takes one of three forms. The most serious form of removal from school is expulsion, generally defined as disciplinary removal from school for more than 10 days. Suspension, another form of disciplinary removal, by definition lasts no more than 10 days. A third form of disciplinary removal is in-school suspension, which removes a student from regular and special education classes but not from school. This article discusses each of these procedures and some of the legal rulings associated with them. We also offer some detailed suggestions concerning the use of in-school suspension.
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