The paper describes the "Early Social Communication Scales" designed to assess social and communication skills typically acquired in the first 30 months of life. Stressed is the role of the tester as an interactive partner for the infant. Reliability data suggesting reliability over time with the same partner are presented. (Author/DB)

The social/verbal interactions of six employees with moderate or severe mental retardation and six workers without mental retardation were observed in restaurant settings. Among findings was that interactions between workers with mental retardation and the job coach correlated negatively with the workers' initiation of interactions with co-workers…

Addresses the importance of teaching students with hearing impairments zero-order pragmatic-language competencies (PLCs), those communicative and interactive behaviors necessary in everyday social situations to avoid being seen as deviant. Among PLCs are taking turns, initiating or adding to a conversation, and making repairs when necessary. Many…

An observational technique for assessing the social interaction skills of elementary age students with disabilities is described. The procedure focuses on three interaction elements: (1) initiating the interaction, (2) turn taking, and (3) responding to the interaction. The method of data recording and analysis is delineated. (DB)

This guide to Asperger syndrome for teachers describes the underlying impairments of the condition, explains how these may lead to problems in school, and offers practical management suggestions. The first part gives an overview of Asperger syndrome and outlines the three core areas of impairment--social interaction, communication, and lack of…

This study examined the effect of various intervention contexts on the ability of young children (ages 3 and 4 years) with language impairments to effectively direct communications to a partner and to vary communicative intentions. The six children in the study were either nonverbal or in the early stages of developing verbal communication and all…

Reports a study of kindergarten children's strategies for acquiring and protecting status in interactions with peers. Focusing on children's negotiations of relative social standing in face-to-face interactions, discusses strategies children used to improve and defend their relative positions in the social structure of their peer group. (NH)

Discusses methods by which teachers can understand student perceptions and attitudes. Investigates personal academic achievements, relationship of the students to the teachers, and interaction norms of the students with each other. (Author/DB)

This study, involving four staff members in an institution for people with mental retardation, found that a computerized system of prompts to improve staff-client interactions produced more positive statements, improved distribution of interaction among clients, and resulted in delivery of more positive reinforcement than a traditional…

This monograph describes the curriculum and teaching methods used to teach socialization skills at the Boys Town (Nebraska) special residential school for boys with behavioral disorders as well as replications of the Boys Town model in other locations. The model takes the basic techniques of the schools's Family/Home model and applies them to…

The nine readings in this monograph focus on ways to improve the social skills of students with emotional/behavioral disorders. The following readings are included: (1) "Analysis of Literature on Social Competence of Behaviorally Disordered Children and Youth" (Sarup R. Mathur and Robert B. Rutherford, Jr.); (2) "A Validation of Social Skills for…

A model for assessing the interactive sources of communication development in young children is proposed, focusing on the reciprocal behaviors of both adults and children. The model integrates theoretical and empirical findings and is designed for parallel diagnostic and treatment purposes in five areas: social play, turn taking, nonverbal…

Findings are presented from a study of social interactions between hearing-impaired and hearing college students living on one floor of a mainstreamed residence hall at the Rochester (New York) Institute of Technology, home of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. Twelve ethnographic observations were completed, and interviews were…