Differences in motivation during adolescence relative to childhood and adulthood in autism was tested in a cross-sectional study. 156 Typically developing individuals and 79 individuals with autism ages 10-30 years of age completed a go/nogo task with social and non-social cues. To assess age effects, linear and quadratic models were used.…

Discusses various aspects of adolescents' needs and feelings in relation to their efforts to become competent human beings. (SS)

Recently promulgated national education goals and school restructuring ideas overlook middle-school-aged children's unique needs and circumstances. Schools should foster the development of world-class people, not superemployees. Focus should be on developmental tasks and diverse opportunities for self-exploration, competency development,…

Three case studies are used to illustrate how adolescent male-female relationships in a psychiatric hospital setting can effect growth in the developmental tasks of separation-individuation, identity formation, and preparation for successful adult relationships. (Author/JW)

During the first months after birth, a child's functions begin to emerge. By age three a child is expected to have mastered the basic tasks of (1) good vegetative functioning (management of drives and impulses involved in eating and elimination), (2) perceptual organization and familiarization with the home environment and skills to orient to a…

Guided by a conceptual model linking discrepancies between parent and adolescent developmental expectations and adolescent adjustment and the quality of the parent-adolescent relationship, this study examined adolescent and parent beliefs about the age at which specific competencies should appear. Developmental timetables were grouped into…