Individual differences in children's social communication have been shown to mediate the relationship between poor vocabulary or grammar and behavioural difficulties. Moreover, there is increasing evidence that social communication skills predict difficulties with peers over and above vocabulary and grammar scores. The essential social…

This paper argues for a broadening of the analytic scope of research on L2 interactional competence so as to embrace systematic investigation of the linguistic resources that L2 speakers put to use for the specific purpose of coordinating social interaction. The paper first offers a conceptualisation of interactional competence in terms of…

How do school professionals distinguish between social, communication, and behavioral differences observed in typically developing English language learners (ELLs) and those ELL students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)? Informed consideration is necessary to avoid inaccurate identification and to ensure appropriate supports are provided;…

This article draws from American research on ''concerted cultivation'' to compare the parenting logics of 41 upper-middle-class parents in Toronto, Canada. We consider not only how parents structure their children's after-school time (what parents do) but also how the broader ecology of schooling informs their parenting logics (how they…

Cooperative learning has been the centre of worldwide attention because it has been shown to have strong effects on student learning, as well as other positive outcomes. Although the academic, social, affective and psychological outcomes of students taught by cooperative learning are more positive compared with students taught by the traditional…

The recreation of children with High Functioning Autism (HFA) is not well understood. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to compare the recreational engagement of children with HFA and their typically developing peers. Children with HFA (n = 30) and peers (n = 31) were similar on key characteristics that may impact recreation except…

Early detection methods for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in infancy are rapidly advancing, yet the development of interventions for infants under two years with or at-risk for ASD remains limited. In order to guide research and practice, this paper systematically reviewed studies investigating interventions for infants under 24 months with or…

The world of work is changing profoundly, at a time when the global economy is not creating a sufficient number of jobs. Many documents issued by the EU and various researches, carried out by companies and human resources experts, point out that the so-called "soft" skills are closely connected with employability, particularly for young…

Williams syndrome (WS) is associated with an unusual profile of anxiety, characterised by increased rates of non-social anxiety but not social anxiety (Dodd and Porter, J Ment Health Res Intellect Disabil 2(2):89-109, "2009"). The present research examines whether this profile of anxiety is associated with an interpretation bias for ambiguous…

The study focused on social competence (SC) and perceived sense of loneliness of preschool children with hearing loss (HL) in group inclusion (GI, a small group of children with HL is integrated in a standard classroom) and individual inclusion (II, each child with HL is individually integrated into a standard classroom). The relations between…

For the 2014 study, "The Iterative Development and Initial Evaluation of We Have Skills!, an Innovative Approach to Teaching Social Skills to Elementary Students", researchers examined the effects of We Have Skills! (WHS), a supplemental, video-based social skills program for early elementary students. WHS consists of three components:…

The aim of this study was to compare social cognitive profiles of children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and ADHD. Participants diagnosed with an ASD (n = 137) were compared to participants with ADHD (n = 436) on tests of facial and vocal affect recognition, social judgment and problem-solving, and parent- and teacher-report…

Literature on Social Stories cautions that there is little empirical evidence for their effectiveness. Researchers have called for further investigations to determine the components of Social Stories intervention packages that contribute to their efficacy. Gray has introduced a ratio of sentence types to be used in Social Stories. The present…

Adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have shown deficits in switching between rules governing their behaviour, as have high-functioning children with ASD. However, there are few studies of flexibility in lower-functioning children with ASD. The current study investigated this phenomenon with a group of low-functioning children with ASD…

Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP) is a form of therapy grounded in behavioral principles that utilizes therapist reactions to shape target behavior. Despite a growing literature base, there is a paucity of research to establish the efficacy of FAP. As a general approach to psychotherapy, and how the therapeutic relationship produces change,…