Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is an important public health problem. It refers to a developmental disability and can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges. According to the previous studies there is no precisely treatment for individuals with ASD. However, they can be improved and can be taught important skills such…

To date there are no evidence-based comprehensive interventions for use in school settings. There are numerous barriers to delivery of high-quality interventions in schools that have limited the transfer of research-based interventions to school settings. "Modular Approach to Autism Programing for Schools (MAAPS)" is a framework for…

Adverse parenting practices, including child maltreatment, interfere with children's adjustment and life outcomes. In this article, Ronald Prinz describes the Triple P--Positive Parenting Program, designed to improve parenting population-wide. Prinz offers four main reasons to take a population approach. First, official records grossly…

Social skills instruction is as important for many students with disabilities as instruction in core academic subjects. Frequently, students with autism require individualized social skills instruction to experience success in general education settings. Literacy-based behavioral Interventions (LBBIs) are an effective intervention that instructors…

Teachers' and parents' importance ratings of social behaviors for 95 preschoolers were examined using the "Social Skills Improvement System-Rating Scales" (Gresham & Elliott, 2008). Multivariate analyses were used to examine parents' and teachers' importance ratings at the item and subscale levels. Overall,…

This article reviews 43 U.S. studies assessing adaptive and challenging behavior outcomes associated with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) who moved from institutions to community residential settings. These studies were published between 1977 and 2010. Longitudinal and comparison group studies were selected based on a…

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 study of three adolescents with autism assessed the use of external reinforcement and self-reinforcement in increasing appropriate conversation. Results found self-reinforcement functioned as effectively as did external reinforcement and suggest that students with autism can be trained to use self-reinforcement to improve their appropriate…

This booklet on teaching social communication skills to individuals with autism discusses selection of social communication objectives, selection of learning environments, and methods of teaching social communication skills. Sample social communication objectives are presented, with a rationale, lead-up activities, teaching procedures, associated…

Discusses the factors affecting the course of conflict as the orientation to the conflict of the parties involved, their personalities, the issues, and the conflict's sociocultural patterns. The article concludes with a discussion of the skills involved in constructive solutions and offers suggestions for research. (GLR)

This paper views effective communication as an essential component of appropriate social behavior, provides definitions and conceptualizations of social skills and social competence within academic contexts, and describes social skills assessment and intervention procedures for school-age children and youth with and without disabilities.…

Areas of social behavior are reviewed in terms of the increasing emphasis on mainstreaming and normalization for children with special needs and the resulting concerns of psychologists and educators with the social interaction difficulties of learning disabled children. These areas of social behavior that contribute to a child's peer interactions…

Research on communication instruction for students with severe intellectual disabilities is reviewed, focusing on the pragmatic elements involved in accomplishing a successful communicative exchange. A federally funded project, called the "Conversation and Social Competence Research Project," is then described. The project sought to…

This paper urges the use of Theatre Rehearsal Technique activities as communication learning experiences for adolescent African-American male learners with behavior disorders. The paper proposes that students may then gain quantifiable success in social communication interactions, and resultant reassessments of their special education placements…

Poor social skills of children with serious learning disabilities may be more limiting than their academic deficits. This paper reviews the social and behavioral issues related to social status, self-control, problem-solving behavior, student-teacher relationships, language and communication skills, individual temperament differences, and learning…