ABSTRACT
Children have become an increasingly popular client population for behavioristically oriented therapists. In addition, children are often referred for professional help for maladaptive behaviors which have proved to be among the most amenable to behavior-therapy techniques. Behavior-therapy studies can conveniently be classified in terms of the desired effect on rates of children's emission of both undesirable and prosocial behaviors. The instatement and acceleration of prosocial behavior have also been accomplished in children displaying severe retardation in the learning of necessary social and motor skills. Simultaneous use of acceleration and deceleration techniques has proved to be a powerful approach to the treatment of particularly maladaptive and resistant behavior patterns, such as those often observed in psychotic children. A new treatment technique which seems to have considerable promise is the training of parents to become appropriate reinforcement dispensing agents.
