Earlier intervention improves outcomes for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), but existing identification tools are at the limits of standardization with 18-month-olds. We assessed potential behavioural markers of ASD at 18 months in a high-risk cohort of infant siblings of children with ASD. Prospective data were collected using the…

The Early Head Start evaluation included 17 sites drawn from the first two waves of programs started more than a decade ago. By design, the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) selected programs that would reflect the range of service options and context of all extant program rather than choosing a representative sample. The sites…

This article reports on 2 studies investigating a response-to-intervention (RTI) approach to behavior support in 2 second-grade classrooms. The results suggest that a slightly more intensive but efficient targeted intervention ("check in and check out") was effective in supporting the social behavior success of 4 students whose problem behaviors…

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine the stability of behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD) in children with specific speech and language difficulties (SSLD), and the relationship between BESD and the language ability. Methods: A sample of children with SSLD were assessed for BESD at ages 8, 10 and 12 years by both…

The pervasive links between problem behaviors and school adjustment suggest that effective intervention programs to enhance school adjustment must focus both on decreasing the motivation to aggress and increasing the motivation to achieve. We describe a program of intervention research to improve social behavior and academic motivation in…

This study examined socially appropriate and destructive behavior in unconstrained natural environments using a matching law analysis (MLA) of real time observational data. The participants were two school-age children and one adult with mild to moderate cognitive disabilities. Event lagged sequential analysis (SQA) provided the obtained rates of…

Study examined peer sensitivity to (1) differences in the social behaviors of hyperactive and normal comparison peers, and (2) medication-related behavioral differences. Discussion focused on children's detection of treatment-related differences in social behaviors of peers, as well as on the imperfect relation between social behavior and social…

Psychosocial functioning of adult epileptic outpatients as assessed by the Washington Psychosocial Seizure Inventory (WPSI) was compared to that of adult multiple sclerosis (MS) outpatients and normal subjects. When only valid WPSI profiles were considered, the only significant finding was that the epilepsy group and the MS group had more…

Nurture groups are school-based interventions that offer specialist support for children and young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. Initially developed as an early years intervention in the 1970s, nurture groups dwindled in the 1980s but have enjoyed something of a renaissance over the last 15 years. There are now more…

This exploratory research studied middle-class mother's primary reason for registering their young children, mean age 6.9 years, in adapted motor and sports programs and their perceptions of their children upon entering the program and upon completion. Analyses also examined the possible relationship between mothers' age, education or children's…

Youth who present anti-social behavior need powerful interventions that strengthen empathy, counter negative peer influence, and challenge thinking errors. This article recaps some key points about EQUIP, a Positive Peer Culture (PPC)-based cognitive behavioral intervention program for behaviorally at-risk youth, and notes how the program has…

When do interactions on campus involving strong words or questionable conduct reach the point of incivility? What is the line between legitimate freedom of speech and lively debate versus that which causes classroom disruption? What constitutes unacceptable behavior? Although there might not be universal agreement on what standard to use to define…

Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, the aims were (a) to obtain, describe, and compare different solutions of three, five, and six first-order factors raised in the previous literature about the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI); (b) analyze the number and nature of the second-order factors; (c) test which model best reproduces…

The author shares a story about the positive power of nature in the lives of children, particularly those children who are at-risk for school failure. The setting for the story is the Central Child Development Center (CCDC) in Rock Hill, South Carolina, a public preschool with four-year-old kindergarten students (4K) and preschoolers with special…

A single-case study is presented to demonstrate the utility of the simultaneous treatment design to modify the behavior of a first-grade male. One teacher and her aide recorded data and administred the program. (Author)