The present study examined genetic and shared environment contributions to quantitatively-measured autism symptoms and categorically-defined autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Participants included 568 twins from the Interactive Autism Network. Autism symptoms were obtained using the Social Communication Questionnaire and Social Responsiveness…

There are few support services for parents of children with a disability in Jordan. The present exploratory study investigated whether the provision of an education program in Jordan for mothers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder increased mothers' understanding of their child's behaviour, improved the mothers' coping skills, and reduced…

Many schools are faced with the prospect of soaring absenteeism rates, despite the use of traditional truancy courts and other legal interventions. A recent trend in the literature has been to explore alternative, hybrid, and multidisciplinary approaches to address the underlying obstacles to school attendance. These programs are often integrated…

Background: Although staff attitudes towards individuals with intellectual disability (ID) whose behaviour challenges may be an important part of a positive support culture, very little research has focused on the development of training specifically designed to change staff attitudes. Positive contact is hypothesised to be an effective way to…

Background: The Manchester Attachment Scale-Third party observational measure (MAST) was developed to assess secure attachment style for adults with intellectual disabilities. The psychometric properties of the MAST were examined. Materials and Methods: Professional carers (N = 40) completed the MAST and measures related to the construct of…

Though professionals working with children on the autism spectrum who display challenging behaviour routinely receive training in the use of both positive behavioural support techniques and physical interventions, such training is rarely provided for the parents of these children. This article reports on the impact of training provided for family…

Discrepancies among informants' ratings of a given child's behavior complicate the study of linkages between child behavior and academic achievement. In the current study, we examined the potential moderating effect of informant type on associations between behavior and two types of achievement in a longitudinal growth model that…

Background: Attention problems are among the most prevalent neurobehavioral morbidities affecting very preterm (VPT) born children. The first study aim was to document rates of persistent attention/hyperactivity problems from ages 4 to 9 years in a regional cohort of VPT born children. The second aim was to examine the extent to which persistent…

Little is known about Australian high-performance school-age athletes' experiences as victims of the tall poppy syndrome. Tall poppies are successful individuals bullied by those who are less successful in order to "normalize them." Nineteen current or previous national or international high-performance school-age athletes were…

The current study explored the extent to which a common measure of perceived implementation of critical features of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) predicted fidelity of implementation 3 years later. Respondents included school personnel from 261 schools across the United States implementing PBIS. School teams completed the…

This longitudinal study examined associations between changes in School Connectedness and changes in Affiliation With Deviant Peers among students from high-poverty backgrounds during the year immediately following the transition to middle school. Sixth-graders (N = 328) attending two middle schools in a large school district completed measures of…

The retention and resilience of teachers are subject to many influences. Children's behaviour is often cited as a major source of stress for teachers and a challenge to their resilience. We suggest that an understanding of teachers' attributions and efficacy beliefs may provide the foundations for work to support teachers. We outline…

Given theoretical and empirical support for the importance of peer play within the preschool classroom to early learning, the present study tested the hypothesis that associations between teacher-reported problem behavior and academic skills were mediated by difficulties in peer play (disruptive and disconnected play), for a representative sample…

Boys' underachievement and oppositional behavior in school has for a long time been the target of various public debates. Drawing on ethnographic data from fieldwork in two Swedish secondary schools, this article explores how the influential theory of boys' anti-school culture can be interpreted as a master narrative that is reproduced, but also…

Purpose: This study describes the development and validation of the Group Climate Instrument for Children aged 8 to 15 years (GCIC 8-15), which purports to measure the quality of group climate in residential care. Methods: A confirmatory factor analysis was performed on data of 117 children in Dutch residential youth care. Reliability analysis was…