In the current study, the researchers qualitatively explored the life significance of a university summer outdoor education (OE) course. The data included 15 in-depth interviews with alumni who had participated in one of the university's summer OE courses over 20 years ago. The researchers interpretively analyzed the interview transcripts and…

Five participants with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) between the ages of 10 and 14 years attended a twice-weekly social skills group for 8 weeks. A multiple probe design across skills with concurrent replication across participants was utilized to assess the effects of social skills training using multiple exemplars and lag schedules on social…

Although social skills training for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often addresses deficits in social communication, restricted and repetitive social behaviors are less frequently targeted in the literature. The present study evaluated a manualized social skills training program, modified to incorporate lag schedules of…

This article addresses six concerns raised by physical education teachers regarding working with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: 1. Creating Engaging Programs; 2. Distracting/Negative Peer Relationships; 3. Emotional Regulation Difficulty; 4. Communicating the Task; 5. Narrow Focus and Adherence to Routines and Structure; and 6. Need for…

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) III, the purpose of this commentary is to describe school-based and school-relevant interventions and instructional approaches for children and youth with autism that have been developed and employed during that time period. The commentary begins with a brief…

Parents seek for their children "something other" than what they usually expect them to acquire through the regular school program, and they turn to extracurricular activities and out-of-school experiences to find it. Teachers know that each student brings to a learning task a "something other"--certain attributes that affect…

This study examined the effects of culturally relevant/responsive, computer-based social skills instruction on the social skill acquisition and generalization of 6 urban African American sixth graders with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). A multiple-probe across participants design was used to evaluate the effects of the social skills…

Autism is primarily a social disorder and deficits in social-orienting may be responsible for the failure of children with autism to initiate critical social behaviors. The purpose of this research was to improve the quality of social interactions of children with autism by implementing naturalistic behavior strategies intervention utilizing a…

Teaching children with autism to interact with their typically developing peers can be a challenge. Previous research has documented that there are many effective ways to teach social interaction; however, interventions in this regard are usually implemented by professionals. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of…

Children with emotional and behavior disorders often have difficulties understanding social cues, responding appropriately in social situations, and initiating age-appropriate interactions with peers and adults. A real-life social activity that is often neglected in social skills training is dining. Dining involves dining etiquette, personal…

A model for teaching children skills to strengthen emotional self-regulation is introduced, informed by the developmental concept of scaffolding. Adult modeling/instruction, role-play and in vivo coaching are tailored to children's level of understanding and skill to promote use of skills in real life contexts. Two-hundred twenty-six…

The study demonstrated the acquisition and generalization into community settings of a chronologically age-appropriate leisure skill with three severely and profoundly mentally retarded adolescents. Results indicated that participants could acquire and generalize use of an electronic pinball machine leisure skill effectively and learn to exhibit…

Four children (ages 4-6) with autism were taught to use gestures in combination with oral communication. Intervention was introduced successively across three response categories that contained gestures representative of attention-directing/getting, affective, and descriptive behavior. Results indicated that all participants acquired this skill…

Examines the effectiveness of a commercially available social skills training program plus classroom reinforcement for use with preschoolers with developmental delays. The combinations of training plus classroom reinforcement resulted in statistically significant increases in sharing behavior. Social skills interventions were viewed favorably by…

The Pacific State Hospital conducted a demonstration experiment with 12 severely and profoundly mentally retarded male adolescents, which concentrated on modifying disruptive, bothersome behaviors while developing basic work skills required for daily activity in sheltered workshops. The experiment provided an integrated program for an entire day,…