Many educators struggle to deal with challenging behavior from students diagnosed with one or more emotional disorders, often including oppositional defiant disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and attention deficit disorder. Any combination of these disabilities can make learning challenging for the students and make classroom management even more…

Background: Needle phobias are common in children and adults worldwide. One effective intervention for this phobia is exposure therapy where a participant is gradually exposed to increasing levels of the fear-evoking stimulus while differential reinforcement is applied. This intervention, however, may be difficult to implement with some medical…

In the past decade, the number of children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has steadily increased. A common characteristic of ASD is the presence of stereotypical behaviors (e.g., hand flapping, echolalia), which some have suggested may be associated with heightened arousal and/or anxiety. The purpose of this study is to compare…

The Personal intelligence is one of the multiple intelligences concerned with individuals' internal characteristics. It plays a major role in understanding of oneself in all one's aspects being aware of one's abilities and acting accordingly. personal intelligence also reveals the extent of individual's honesty with themselves and enhances their…

Equine-assisted activities and therapies are increasing in popularity for treatment of ASD symptoms. This research evaluated effects of a 5-week programme of therapeutic riding on social functioning of children/adolescents (N = 15) with ASD. The effectiveness of the programme was evaluated using the autism spectrum quotient, the Vineland Adaptive…

Quality of life assessments were used in this study to determine the behavioral changes of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who participated in equine assisted activities. Behavioral changes of children with ASD participating in 9 weeks of equines assisted activities (EAA) (N = 10) were compared to behavioral changes of…

It is now generally accepted that training parents can be effective in supporting children with behaviour difficulties and given the current climate of decreasing resources there is a strong case for evaluating effectiveness. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a significantly modified version of the standard clinic-based Parent-Child…

To explore the efficacy of equine programming to support positive behavioral development of horse-novice youth, researchers examined trajectories of behavioral change of 5-8th grade students as they participate in an equine facilitated learning program. Behaviors were rated and analyzed to examine group trajectories of change. Results indicated…

The Therapeutic Assessment (TA) model is a relatively new treatment approach that fuses assessment and psychotherapy. The study examines the efficacy of this model with preadolescent boys with oppositional defiant disorder and their families. A replicated single-case time-series design with daily measures is used to assess the effects of TA and to…

This study examined the current issues relevant to implementing evidence-based practices in the context of outpatient treatment for eating disorders. The study also examined the effectiveness of an outpatient treatment program for eating disorders among a group of 196 patients presenting with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or eating disorder…

Ninety-five male juvenile sex offenders in an adventure-based behavior management program (LEGACY) were matched with male juveniles in state treatment-as-usual and other specialized programs in the same state to determine program effectiveness (as measured by rearrest rates). The LEGACY program demonstrated significant treatment effectiveness on…

Autism is the fastest growing disability ever. With the growth comes a lot of questions as to the etiologies and treatment of this condition, often putting parents, schools, and traditional medical personnel at odds with what treatments have efficacy. As the popularity of alternative treatments increase, so does the need for research. …

The most recent figures place the number of juvenile arrests in the United States at 2.11 million. (OJJDP, 2009). In some states, children as young as 10 years old are incarcerated for violent offenses. Crowded juvenile facilities are often unable to meet the needs of these large numbers of youth. The cost to treat offenders within long-term…

A 16-week, bi-weekly, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)-based aggression management training course was conducted with a limited sample of behavioural school students in New South Wales. Attendance, withdrawal and suspension rates over the training period were compared to those of a control period. Parent and teacher feedback, assessed at pre-…

This single-subject action research project examines the effects of animal-assisted therapy on the self-esteem and classroom behaviors of a student with an emotional/behavioral disorder. An 18- year-old male attending a special education school in northeastern St. Paul participated in animal-assisted therapy research for four weeks. Quantitative…