Background: Academic challenges such as losing/not turning in assignments, misplacing materials, and inefficient studying are common in middle-school students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) without intellectual disability. Deficits in organization, planning, prioritizing, memory/materials management, and studying skills [i.e. academic…

There is limited research on job-embedded professional development designed to promote paraprofessionals' use of research-based strategies to support students with disruptive behaviors. This study serves as the first clustered randomized controlled trial to investigate the efficacy of the Behavior Support Coaching for Paraprofessional Model…

Background: Academic challenges such as losing/not turning in assignments, misplacing materials, and inefficient studying are common in middle-school students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) without intellectual disability. Deficits in organization, planning, prioritizing, memory/materials management, and studying skills [i.e. academic…

Background: Students who do not acquire social and emotional skills are at risk for a range of negative outcomes that include emotional and behavioral disabilities, lower school achievement and school failure, peer rejection, substance abuse, and school dropout (Downer & Pianta, 2006; Riggs et al., 2006 Quinn & Poirier, 2004). Tools for…

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID) often have deficits in independent living skills. One way to improve skills in this area is through the use of video modeling (VM) interventions. The purpose of the study was to compare the effects of two VM interventions and a third non-video-based intervention on…

Purpose: (1) To compare demographic, mental health, service usage, and emotional and behavioral characteristics and strengths of youth receiving care from depressed versus nondepressed caregivers and (2) to determine whether a community-based program for reducing problematic behaviors and bolstering strengths is equally effective for youth with…

The aim of the present study was to ascertain the effects of the five-month implementation of the comprehensive inductive educational approach on the social behaviour of kindergarten children. The sample consisted of 52 children in the experimental group and 48 children in the control group, aged from 2.6 to 6.0 years. The kindergarten teachers…

Impairment in the development of reciprocal social interaction and other social skills is one of the defining characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). There is a need for assessment tools that will help guide social skills interventions and document outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential usefulness of two…

A comparison of nonverbal with verbal clinical group interventions suggested that some traditional self-report devices show less differentiation between these two interventions than do measures of group cohesion. A strong, replicable manipulation tested these findings, which were consistent with previous research. (Author/BEF)

LEGO[C] building materials have been adapted as a therapeutic modality for increasing motivation to participate in social skills intervention, and providing a medium through which children with social and communication handicaps can effectively interact. A 3 year retrospective study of long-term outcome for autistic spectrum children participating…

Ten preterm infants in a neonatal intensive care unit were provided with tactile-kinesthetic stimulation. Following treatment, the infants' weight gains and performance on the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale significantly increased, compared to 10 control-group infants, also preterm. The groups showed no differences on length of hospital…