Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulty with developing and generalizing the social skills necessary for long term success. Social skills deficits can often lead to shortcomings in other areas, and can hinder a child's potential for future independence. Currently, many studies addressing this issue use a "train and…

Background: Acquisition and generalization of data analysis skills are perennial challenges for psychology students. Teaching advanced data analysis in a psychology-specific context might improve students' learning. Objective: At a mid-sized public university, we evaluated student outcomes after a new quantitative psychology course taught in the…

Generalization and maintenance of intervention outcomes are of paramount importance in achieving socially significant outcomes within applied behavior analysis. Social skills interventions for young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are widely represented within the empirical literature; however, generalization and maintenance outcomes…

Although the effects of focus of attention (FOA) on the performance of gross motor skills are now well understood, less is known about the role of FOA in naturalistic classroom settings where learners are engaged in the ongoing acquisition and refinement of complex motor skills. The purpose of this study, the first of its kind, was to explore how…

This study reports the effects of an interactive multimedia computer program for teaching social skills to youths with social-adjustment problems. Twelve youths (aged 11-17) were referred by the county diversion program or school guidance counselors. Seven were formally classified as having disabilities and had active Individualized Education…

Differential outcome and differential response to research-based interventions are challenging issues for researchers, teachers, and families of young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this article, the authors present information on responders to an early education program, Project DATA (Developmentally Appropriate Treatment for…

Compares skill-building exercises to preparing for a quiz in a traditional manner in order to determine which activity better encourages the generalization of course material to daily life. Finds that students who participated in the skill-building exercises performed better at applying concepts than students who studied for a quiz on identical…

Reviewed 38 social skills training studies which used social-learning or social-cognitive approach and were published between 1976 and 1985, analyzing methods of outcome assessment. Recommended outcome measures, often not adequately measured, included generalization and durability of treatment effects, and functional analysis of relationship…

Reviews past and present conceptualizations and summarized narrative and meta-analytic reviews of social skills training (SST) outcome studies. Overall, modest effect sizes are reported in the meta-analytic literature, suggesting that SST is a relatively weak intervention strategy. Recommendations for rebuilding SST are provided. (Author/CR)

The effectiveness of the inductive instructional method of general case programming was compared to the deductive approach of rule learning, in attempting to facilitate generalized learning and maintenance of a community living skill for adults with mental retardation. The impact of functional ability on the type of instruction was also assessed.…

Forty-nine adolescents were studied to investigate the initial and long-term efficacy of job-related social skills instruction for students with mild to moderate handicaps. The study determined that students could acquire the skills during classroom instruction and use the skills effectively in simulated situations that reflected actual work…