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Treatment of behavior disorders by parents and in the home

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Abstract

Children's behavior disorders are particularly stressful on families. Such behavior disorders may result from coercive family interactions and at the same time contribute to family dysfunction. This unfortunate cycle often results in child abuse, later delinquency, and continued use of aggression and violence in later life. Training parents to use effective behavior control procedures can prevent future and more serious behavior problems. Behavioral procedures that have been effectively applied by parents in the home include differential attention, timeout, token economies, daily report card systems, and contingency contracting. Siblings have also been effective in treating behavior disorders as have the behavior disordered children themselves. A variety of parent training programs have been implemented with individuals and groups. Parent training appears to be most effective when provided early in the child's life, when follow-up assistance is provided and gradually reduced, and when parents use self-management procedures to plan, rearrange, and monitor their own parenting environment.

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  1. Department of Special Education, Gonzaga University, 99258-0001, Spokane, Washington

    Betty Fry Williams, Randy Lee Williams & T. F. McLaughlin

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  2. Randy Lee Williams
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Williams, B.F., Williams, R.L. & McLaughlin, T.F. Treatment of behavior disorders by parents and in the home. J Dev Phys Disabil 3, 385–407 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01045948

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