The Use of Self-Management Procedures by People With Developmental Disabilities: A Brief Review

Self-management procedures, such as self-monitoring, self-administering con-sequences, and self-instructing, are frequently taught to people with develop-mental disabilities. In this paper, research examining the use of self-management procedures is reviewed and critiqued. Areas for future investiga-tion are discussed. Recently, people with developmental disabilities have been taught to man-age their own behavior. Several advantages for the use of self-management procedures have been suggested: (a) it offers the possibility of control over behavior when the natural contingencies are too delayed, too improbable, or too small to be effective (Malott, 1984); (b) learned behaviors may be more likely to generalize and maintain in unsupervised or novel situations (Agran & Martin, 1987; Baer, 1984; Fowler, 1984); (c) acting without con-stant direct supervision by others is valued by society and may help the person to be viewed more positively (O’Leary & Dubey, 1979; Whitman, 1990); and (d) people often prefer situations in which they have some con-trol and opportunities for control may increase participation, reduce prob-lem behaviors, and improve satisfaction without detriment o performanc