Educators today are challenged with the task of designing curricula and standards for students of varying abilities. While technology and innovation steadily improve classroom learning, teachers and administrators continue to struggle in developing the best methodologies and practices for students with disabilities. "Models for Effective…

This document examines the function of social conventions among strangers. Conventions are regularities in behavior, sustained by an interest in coordination and an expectation of cooperation. Such regularities may arise temporarily or fall just as temporarily; they may exist in a particular time or place and may take time to evolve. From the…

The article reviews research on social development and social integration of hearing impaired students, pointing up such research limitations as inadequate standardization procedures of assessment tools. Descriptions of promising social skills development programs are also provided. (Author/CL)

The article critiques the current research base concerning the influence of mainstreaming on the social emotional competence of mildly handicapped children and describes a proposed study emphasizing longitudinal analysis, assessment in multiple environments, and the use of multitrait-multimethod methodologies. (Author/DB)

Women who occupy the managerial ranks in today's world lead busy, often frustrating lives. In this study, 75 female managers in business and education were interviewed to determine their feelings about their careers, their major sources of stress, their sacrifices when entering management, the barriers they faced, and how they cope with their…

This paper explores the neural systems underlying social behaviors as they pertain to autism. It discusses major channels for transmission of social-emotional information, neural pathways subserving social behaviors, and social cognition in autism. A hypothesis of autism based on deviant development of the widely distributed neural system…

This article describes a prototype videodisc method of assessing social competence, knowledge, and perception in children with disabilities. It notes major hardware features (Macintosh IIx computer), software features (using SuperCard), improved examinee response modes, and improved data entry techniques. (DB)

The "Handbook of Youth Prevention Science" describes current research and practice in mental health preventive interventions for youth. Traditional prevention research focused on preventing specific disorders, e.g. substance abuse, conduct disorders, or criminality. This produced "silos" of isolated knowledge about the…

This paper describes the planning of a qualitative research methodology to develop strategies to improve and expand social interaction skills of deaf-blind students in supported employment settings. Characteristics of qualitative research are delineated and include: definition of the domain of the research; an evolving study design; behavior…

Results from 13 studies on tutorial programs for social acceptance and academic achievement showed significant gains when involving educable mentally retarded, learning disabled, and behaviorally disordered elementary students as tutors. The studies involved cross-age and peer tutoring roles in both resource tutoring and total class tutoring…

The Test of Practical Knowledge seeks to measure students' skills to handle everyday life situations by assessing three domains: personal knowledge, social knowledge, and occupational knowledge. This paper describes the administration of the test to students in grades 8 to 12, the summation of data, interpretation of scores, standardization,…

The Social Observation for Mainstreamed Environments (SOME) checklist evaluates handicapped preschool children's social skills and readiness for mainstreamed environments. Checklist items represent social behaviors important to successful preschool integration, such as initiating interactions appropriately, obeying class rules, and respecting…

This case study describes a 13-year-old female with autism, mutism, hyperlexia, and spelling ability. Analysis indicated her reading and spelling abilities were dominated by visual rather than phonological processes. Most striking was an apparent social awakening during the 3.5 month period of the study, possibly related to the onset of puberty.…

Girls' bullying is more subtle and less physical than that perpetrated by boys; however, it can be just as powerful, and the emotional repercussions of bullying among girls can be more destructive and longer lasting than the effects of more obvious forms of bullying. Teachers report that quarrels between girls are far more time-consuming and…

The Walker-McConnell Scale of Social Competence and School Adjustment is intended for screening and identifying elementary-aged school children with social skill deficits. The instrument is divided into two components covering adaptive classroom behavior and interpersonal social skills. This paper describes the test's administration, summation of…