The purpose of the study was to characterize the relationships between behavior problems, academic achievement, and loneliness of students in the upper and lower thirds of a social skills classification. Participants were 733 students (359 boys and 374 girls) ages 9 to 14 years, 642 without learning disabilities (LDs) and 91 with LDs. Their…

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of peer-mediated adaptive physical activity program on problem behaviors of mentally handicapped students. Eight mentally handicapped students and eight peer students with normal development participated in this study, which was designed according to a sequential descriptive design. In the…

A large body of research has reported a positive relation between participation in extracurricular activities (ECA) and improved academic performance, social competence, and school engagement. This study explored the relation between ECA, social competence, and school engagement for students with and at risk of emotional and behavioral disorders…

Consistent evidence points to the importance of the early childhood home environment for children's concurrent and subsequent development. Yet little is known about the long-term association between parental warmth in early childhood and children's social-emotional well-being in late childhood for children with and without disabilities. To explore…

One argument for the inclusion of children with special education needs (SEN) is that they will benefit from the interactions and relationships with their typically developing peers. However, students with SEN tend to be more rejected than their non-SEN peers. Considering the negative consequences of peer rejection on socioemotional development…

A large proportion of students with disabilities (SWD) have social skills deficits that make it difficult for them to succeed in school, work, and life. This quantitative, quasi-experimental, non-equivalent, pretest-posttest, control group study was designed to explore whether SWD can better transfer their learned social skills to natural…

Background: Teenage youth with co-morbid intellectual disability (ID) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) could be at higher risk for behavioral and social difficulties than youth with ID only. Methods: Youth aged 13 years were diagnosed with ID (n = 37), ID/ASD (n = 26), or typical development (TD, n = 98). Mothers and teachers completed measures…

In this study, we identified child- and family-level characteristics most strongly associated with clinical identification of language disorder for preschool-aged children. We used machine learning to identify variables that best classified children receiving therapy for language disorder among a sample of 483 3- to 5-year-old children (54%…

Hearing loss may represent a risk for developing social skills difficulties; however, little is known about the potential risk resulting from unilateral or mild bilateral hearing loss (UMHL). We compared the social skills of 14 children with UMHL and 21 children with moderate to severe hearing loss (MSHL) with those of 123 children with typical…

Positive social experiences with peers are important for children with disabilities attending inclusive early childhood education (ECE). This study investigated the associations between classroom quality; children's verbal, social, and behavioral skills; and the friendships and social acceptance of children with disabilities, while testing the…

Based on peer sociometric reports, we examined how number of friendships, social acceptance, and characteristics of social networks vary as a function of disability profile. We also investigated teachers' awareness of the sociometric status of young children with disabilities. Participants were 86 children with disabilities (63 boys) enrolled in…

Although numerous studies have examined if students of color benefit from having a teacher of the same race/ethnicity, all attention has been paid to students without disabilities. We examine whether the same benefits hold for students with disabilities (SWDs). Using a nationally representative data set of kindergartners, we explored whether SWDs…

Participating in postsecondary activities such as education and employment can increase an individual's independence, contribution to society, and quality of life. However, researchers suggest that students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) engage in these postsecondary activities less than their peers do. The extent to which academic and social…

Young children with challenging behavior may require individualized interventions to facilitate improved outcomes. Visual activity schedules (VAS) have been well documented for improving engagement, transition, and recreation behaviors with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disabilities (ID). However, children…

The present study was designed to investigate (a) which social skills were accepted as critical for success in inclusive classrooms according to the Turkish general classroom teachers and (b) whether the teachers' expectancies related to social skills of the students with and without disabilities differed. The importance dimension of the Social…