Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder are likely to demonstrate social impairments that contribute to challenging behaviors and academic difficulties. As a result, the task of improving social communication skills is a critical component to any educational program for this population. Scripting provides an evidence-based and versatile option for…

This study examined conversational turn-taking when reading scripted dialogue versus having a spontaneous conversation. When reading, listeners waited until speakers' turns had been completed before moving to start their own turns, and gap lengths between turns were longer than those of spontaneous, natural conversation. Theatrical performance…

Issues surrounding gender and sexuality are fundamental determinants of either a liberated or restricted human experience, and comprehensive sex education has been recognized as an essential mechanism to help youth process their gender and sexuality in a standardized, open, safe, and healthy atmosphere. In the absence of such education, Y novels…

Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often exhibit challenges with reading development. Evidence-based interventions and specialized approaches to reading instruction are currently being implemented across educational contexts for learners with ASD (Machalicek et al., 2008), yet there is limited understanding of how core ASD features may…

This teacher inquiry project describes how one first grade teacher learned to use coached language supports to improve children's self-control and cooperation. "Courtesy scripts" were created in the process. The development of courtesy scripts and their application in early elementary classrooms is presented. Courtesy scripts are…

The University of Hawai'i at Manoa Assessment and Curriculum Support Center successfully transformed a four-day, in-person Assessment Leadership Institute (ALI) into an online, four-day program designed to cultivate leaders who facilitate collaborative program learning assessment. We share eight successful strategies, including using the flipped…

Scripts in written or auditory form have been used to teach conversational skills to individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but with the proliferation of handheld tablet devices the scope to combine these 2 formats has broadened. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate if a script-based intervention, presented on an iPad…

Objective: College students are a group at risk for contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs). While they are generally well informed about STIs, they do not consistently use condoms. An important element in preventing STIs is safer sex communication, especially with a sexual partner. This may be difficult, however, because of a lack of…

A hallmark of Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is difficulties with social communication, and some learners with ASD experience additional deficits in expressive and/or receptive language that impair their ability to interact with others. However, a strength observed in many learners with ASD is responding to visual cues and structure. The use of…