There is a long and rich history of individuals with intellectual disabilities benefiting from high quality behavioral services. Unfortunately, many families, caregivers, educators, and practitioners are unaware of these services, what characterizes them, and where they can be obtained. There has been a no resource devoted to covering the full range of behavioral services delivery in a user-friendly way.
Johnston and Reid have answered this need with this comprehensive book. They have assembled a group of contributors who share how to assess behavioral needs, build repertories, resolve problem behavior, evaluate approaches to behavioral services, and how to determine why a service is or is not working.
It should be required reading in agencies and organizations that advocate for individuals with intellectual disabilities. I would especially like to see it given to parents in early intervention programs so that they are made aware of the promise that high quality behavioral services offer and to expect and accept nothing less.
--Richard M. Foxx, Penn State University Medical Center
This book is aimed at a wide readership – from parents to practitioners – and written and edited by recognized experts in the field of intellectual disabilities. Their book is authoritative, accurate, realistic, comprehensive, actionable, and optimistic. This single source provides the basics and more needed to understand the behavioral aspects of people with intellectual disabilities and the strategies for addressing their needs, to delineate reasonable expectations for services and their outcomes, and to navigate the maze required to access to those services.
This book is indispensable for the knowledge it contains, but its importance extends beyond that. It conveys a message of optimism: the power of possibilities and the promise of making those possibilities happen in the lives of people with intellectual disabilities.
--Judy Favell, Ph.D., BCBA-D
