Digital technology in primary education can both be distracting and increase attentiveness. Many students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) have difficulties with skills that address attention, and teachers are expected to provide support. Such skills are referred to as Executive Function (EF) in neuroscience, relating to self-regulation,…

Taking into account the complementary treatments used today, this study examines the impact of cognitive mindfulness therapy in persons with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). A systematic review was carried out following the PRISMA method, including a total of 34 experimental articles from scholarly journals indexed in Web of…

This study examined long-term mediating effects of the "smalltalk" parenting intervention on children's effortful control at school age (7.5 years; 2016-2018). In 2010-2012, parents (96% female) of toddlers (N = 1201; aged 12-36 months; 52% female) were randomly assigned to either: standard playgroup, "smalltalk" playgroup…

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of two different physical education intervention programmes on cognitive functions (i.e. creativity, attention and impulse control) in primary education students. These dimensions were measured in 168 children (8-12 years) before and after two 8-week intervention programmes with different…

JASP-EMT, the combined Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT) and Joint Attention, Structured Play, and Emotion Regulation (JASPER) interventions, has been found to be effective for promoting social communication in young children with autism (Kasari et al. in J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 53(6):635-646, 2014). The current study examined the effects…

Background: Parent-child interaction is essential in the development of attentional control (AC ) and executive functioning (EF ). Educating parents in AC and EF development may help them to respond more adaptively to their child's developmental needs. Aim: This study aimed to investigate whether parents can be educated to improve interactions…

Naturalistic developmental behavioural interventions are promising approaches for young children with, or suspected of having, autism spectrum disorder. Joint attention, symbolic play, engagement and regulation intervention (JASPER) is a well-researched naturalistic developmental behavioural intervention but, to date, no reviews have specifically…

Introduction: Drinking alcohol has detrimental health consequences, and effective interventions to reduce hazardous drinking are needed. The self-regulation intervention of Mental Contrasting with Implementation Intentions (MCII) promotes behavior change across a variety of health behaviors. In this study, we tested if online delivery of MCII…

Objective: Theory suggests that impaired executive functioning (EF) might explain several symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children. However, only a few studies have examined the efficacy of EF training for the children using randomized control trial designs, and only two of them found significant benefits of the training. Method: We…

This study used a quasi-experimental design to test if a small scale intervention improved self-regulation with 94 kindergarten children in Taiwan. The purpose of this study was to draw on the theory of Vygotsky and examine activities that could fit into the class schedule without substantially changing the basic curriculum and would require…

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is one of the leading causes of intellectual disabilities. Self-regulation in FASD is poorly defined and interpreted in varying ways, making informed clinical decision making difficult. The objective is to operationally define self-regulation in the FASD population using the Walker and Avant (2005)…

As children with autism spectrum disorder become adults, social participation continues to be an area of need. Within creative arts, there is a growing body of literature about the use of theatre arts, improvisational theatre, and improvisational techniques as a way to address social participation for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. The…

This paper, authored in collaboration with researchers from Harvard University's Center for Education Policy Research and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, reviews findings from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) at a partner school, focused on understanding the effects of a direct-to-student intervention on students' mindfulness…

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…

There is a growing need for valid measures that can be administered efficiently in school settings to assess the impact of school-based preventive interventions. The current paper aimed to establish a balance among assessment efficiency, reliability, and the measurement properties of an instrument widely used to assess the impact of school-based…