The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the second in their latest series of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This series explores afterschool and: the Common Core State Standards, students…

Effective leadership is critical for communities as they work to maintain their vitality and sustainability for years to come. The purpose of the study reported here was to assess confidence levels and community engagement of community leadership program participants in North Dakota State University Extension programs. Through a survey…

As the number of children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is rising, there is increasing demand for evidence-based interventions that are efficient and easy to implement in school settings. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention protocol featuring guided practice, coaching, modeling,…

Children in poverty are at greater risk of academic failure due to impoverished living conditions and a lack of parental nurturance. Mothers' engagement in children's learning can be undermined by maternal depression, placing children at risk for cognitive and motor delays. With intervention, parents experiencing poverty and depression can…

Relationships are important in helping youth, including vulnerable youth, achieve their goals and a transition into adulthood. Having the skills to manage healthy intimate partner relationships can make a difference as youth make decisions related to school, employment, pregnancy prevention, and establishing strong relationships. These skills may…

Good Vibrations is a charity that runs gamelan projects with offenders in prison and on probation. A recent Birmingham City University study investigating the short-, medium- and long-term impact of the project found that participation in a Good Vibrations project acted as a catalyst for positive change. The research found that not only did…

Children with autism have severe and pervasive impairments in social interactions and communication that impact most areas of daily living and often limit independent engagement in leisure activities. We taught four children with autism to engage in an age-appropriate leisure skill, playing the video game Guitar Hero II[TM], through the use of (a)…

During the last 20 years, youth programming has shifted from risk reduction to youth development. While numerous instruments exist to measure selected individual characteristics/competencies among youth, a comprehensive instrument to measure four constructs of personal and social skills could not be identified. The purpose of this study was to…

This study sought to determine the effects of using music and non-music interventions on the social responsive and avoidant behaviours of a preschool child with autism. A single-subject alternating treatment design was used in which two interventions were presented in a similar fashion except for the addition of music during the music condition.…

A 12-week, 32-lesson afterschool intervention was conducted with third-to fifth-grade urban African American boys classified as aggressive. Grounded in attribution theory and organized around the construct of perceived responsibility in self and others, the intervention focused on increasing both social skills and academic motivation. Participants…

The SELF Foundation engaged 287 students at Key, Revere, and Welch middle schools in afterschool tutorials and enrichment activities to support their academic, social, and emotional development. Program impact was measured using reading and math performance, attendance, and disciplinary actions of SELF Foundation students compared to…

This article describes a project about using contact work with people with learning disabilities and autistic spectrum disorder. People with learning disabilities and additional autistic spectrum disorder are at risk of becoming socially isolated because of their difficulties in interacting with others. Contact work is a form of Pre-Therapy, which…

Incorporating general education peers into social skills instructional programs has been effective at increasing social interaction of high school students with intellectual disabilities and autism with their classmates. In this study, communication book use (Hughes et al., 2000), combined with providing the opportunity to interact, was associated…

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulty with attention, impulsiveness, and safety issues; consequently, special measures must be taken to secure their safety. One such measure is canine intervention, which provides children with highly trained service dogs that can respond to their autism behaviors. Social support theory…

American students are increasingly beginning higher education pursuits at community colleges before transferring to four-year universities. The purpose of this study was to identify differences in persistence rates between those students who participated in a transfer transition program and those who did not. The researcher adopted a mixed-methods…