title: Persistence of early emerging aberrant behavior in children with developmental disabilities.
abstract: This study examined the persistence of early emerging aberrant behavior in 13 preschool children with developmental disabilities. The severity of aberrant behavior was assessed every 6 months over a 3-year period. Teachers completed the assessments using the Aberrant Behavior Checklist [Aman, M. G., & Singh, N. N. (1986). Aberrant Behavior Checklist: Manual. East Aurora, NY: Slosson Educational Publications; (1994). Aberrant Behavior Checklist--Community. East Aurora, NY: Slosson Educational Publications]. Problem behaviors were present in all children at the beginning of the study. Nine of the 13 children entered the study with relatively high levels of aberrant behaviors that showed little change over the 3 years. These data suggest that aberrant behaviors often emerge early and can be highly persistent during the preschool years. Prevention would, therefore, seem to require home-based interventions that begin before 4 years of age.
authors.affiliation: Department of Educational Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712-1290, USA. vgreen@mail.utexas.edu
authors.forename: Vanessa A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: O'Reilly
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Itchon
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sigafoos
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D012720:Severity of Illness Index