A large proportion of students with disabilities (SWD) have social skills deficits that make it difficult for them to succeed in school, work, and life. This quantitative, quasi-experimental, non-equivalent, pretest-posttest, control group study was designed to explore whether SWD can better transfer their learned social skills to natural…

According to international documents, older people have the right to fully develop their skills and and knowledge, and to have a sense of dignity. Seniors with disabilities also have the same rights. For this reason, it is necessary to provide personal development and education that enables a good quality of life, in spite of their disability.…

Children with or at risk of disabilities engage in fewer and less complex social interactions (SIs) than their typically developing peers. The playground is an ideal setting for teachers to promote SIs among children. However, few studies have examined practical and meaningful strategies for supporting teachers in effectively facilitating SIs.…

Sharing materials is a complex social behavior that may lead to long-term development of friendships and concomitant increases in related prosocial behaviors. Given the complexities of sharing behaviors, children with social delays or deficits may not recognize when, how, and with whom to share. Because children with social delays or deficits,…

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be diagnosed as early as 18 months of age. State Early Intervention (EI) programs under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) are serving increasing numbers of children with ASD; however, little is known about outcomes of these services. This study evaluated the impact of EI for…

We examined an intervention package using peer modeling, systematic prompting, and contingent reinforcement to increase the frequency and complexity of board game play and social behaviors in young children with disabilities. Four children with or at risk for disabilities participated with their typically developing peers. Results indicated a…

This study explored the benefits of using preferred interests to model social skills in a peer-mentored environment for students with special educational needs (SEN). Research suggests that in order for true inclusion to take place, students must participate socially with their peers, outside the classroom space. However, funding and availability…

Many populations served by special education, including those identified with autism, emotional impairments, or students identified as not ready to learn, experience social competence deficits. The Social Competence Intervention-Adolescents' (SCI-A) methods, content, and materials were designed to be maximally pertinent and applicable to the…

The term "assistive technologies" refers to the equipment, devices and apparatus, and the services, systems, processes and adaptations made to the environment that support and facilitate their functions, used by persons with special education needs. This study is a literature review of the use of assistive technologies in the education…

Technology in schools is abundant as is the call for evidence-based interventions for students who need additional support to be successful. One promising use of technology is for self-monitoring interventions aimed at improving classroom behavior. In this study, two middle school students with disabilities used a multicomponent, self-monitoring…

This study set out to describe the change in skills of special education students from the perspective of their coworkers at work-based transition sites. The study describes the perspective of 25 coworkers who work with students with disabilities in work-based programs within Riverview Intermediate Unit. The data was collected through open-ended,…

Contemporary models highlight the need to cultivate cognitive and psychosocial factors in developing domain-specific talent. This model was the basis for the current study where high ability youth with self-reported social difficulties (n = 28, 12 with a coexisting disability) participated in a social skills and talent development intervention…

The current study evaluated the play behaviors of children with disabilities (e.g., developmental delays, specific language impairment) who participated in a social communication intervention targeting skills such as initiations, responses, name use, proximity, and turn-taking. Three children who were enrolled in an inclusive classroom met the…

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the turn-taking skills of children with and without disabilities who participated in a social communication intervention targeting peer-directed initiations and responses. Eight children met the selection criteria for inclusion in the study. A multiple baseline design across participants (dyads) was…

The development of social competence for children is critical to their ability to navigate social decision making processes; however, children with complex disabilities have many difficulties in developing social competence. In an educational environment, the optimal setting for a child to develop social competence is within the inclusive…