This study describes the development and evaluation of a behavioral parent training protocol via telecommunication for three parents of preschool children with autism, with limited access to behavioral expertise. A single-subject, multiple baseline experimental design across child behaviors, replicated across parents, was used to evaluate the…

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder display impairments in social interactions and communication that appear at early ages and result in short- and long-term negative outcomes. As such, there is a need for effective social skills training programs for young children with autism spectrum disorder--particularly interventions capable of being…

In the current study, we investigated the effects of an instructional package (i.e., response prompting, sentence frames) on sentence writing for three middle school participants (ages 12-13) with moderate to severe disabilities. We employed a multiple probe across behaviors design to evaluate the efficacy of the intervention package and also used…

Although there is a recognised need for effective practices to support students on the autism spectrum in mainstream schools, there is a research to practice gap in the area of autism and education, whereby evidence-based intervention may take decades to translate into mainstream classroom practice. Thus, current recommendations are that, rather…

Youth with autism spectrum disorders frequently experience significant symptoms of anxiety. Empirically supported psychosocial interventions exist, yet access is limited, especially for families in rural areas. Telehealth (i.e. videoconferencing) has potential to reduce barriers to access to care; however, little is known about the feasibility or…

This study examines the impact of repeated exposures on word learning of preschool children with and without hearing loss (HL) in quiet and noise conditions. Participants were 19 children with HL and 17 peers with normal hearing (NH). Children were introduced to 16 words: 8 in quiet and 8 in noise conditions. Production and identification scores…

The current study evaluated the effectiveness of Superheroes Social Skills, a multimedia social skills package, in improving social responsiveness and social initiation behaviors of four elementary school children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The program was implemented in a public school setting in the southwestern United States for…

This report evaluates a developmental project designed by School 21 and the University of Cambridge to improve Year 7 students' oracy skills. The project involved developing an Oracy Skills Framework, which sets out the physical, linguistic, cognitive, and social-emotional oracy skills required by students for education and life. Other components…

Preschool parent interventions may produce downstream benefits if initial intervention gains are sustained and improve later socialization experiences. This study explored associations between initial effects of the REDI (Research-based Developmentally Informed) Parent program and later benefits. A randomized trial involving 200 Head Start…

Accumulating research has identified family behavioral interventions as an empirically supported psychosocial treatment for students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The mechanisms behind the effectiveness of these interventions, however, have been less well studied. The current study examined possible mediators of improvement…

This article evaluates the efficacy of a training program focused on increasing emotional intelligence (EI), which was developed for Italian high school students. The training was constructed using an ability-based model of EI. It was hypothesized that specific training would increase both ability and self-reported EI and reduce levels of…

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and Standard Raven Progressive Matrices (SPM) results from 26,300 children from differing ethnic backgrounds showed that it was possible to approach proportionate representation in the referral process, but not to achieve it in the selection process for either the WISC-R or the SPM. (SLD)

Infant intelligence from birth until the age of two was measured to determine the usefulness of infant intelligence tests. Twenty infants were tested regularly over the two-year period. Results showed neither simplex nor other long-term patterns of interrelationship among the infant intelligence scores obtained. The study concludes that the…

This paper, part of an evaluation of the early intervention project at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center, deals primarily with results of the Bayley Mental Development Index (MDI). The MDI was administered to experimental and control infants from lower socioeconomic background at 6, 12 and 18 months of age. Results (discussed in…

A summary of the research activities of 13 Head Start regional evaluation centers is presented in three sections: research on children, research on parents and families, and research on classrooms, teachers, and social organizations of Head Start centers. Studies are grouped under appropriate subheadings, such as "language" or…