This study explored multisystem protective/risk factors for explaining resilience/adjustment in emerging adults with/without neurodevelopmental disorders facing the transition to a stressful non-academic context, mandatory military service. Participants were 904 conscripts (498 males, 55%) ages 18-25 years (M = 18.70, SD = 0.77) in four groups,…

Individuals with severe academic challenges constitute one of the most vulnerable groups of our society. Science has to find ways to help arm them against life's challenges and cope with the many risk factors that they are usually confronted with. Team sports like baseball seem to be a suitable means of achieving that goal. In this qualitative…

The alarming results of large studies such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP; National Center for Education Statistics, 2012) point to an urgent need for writing support and call for specific and effective methods to foster writing competencies. The main purpose of this paper is to describe an innovative peer-assisted…

This article discusses how a neurodiversity perspective can help educators create learning environments in which all students flourish. The basic premise of neurodiversity is that there is no "typical" mental capacity--no "normal" brain to which all other brains are compared--and because this is the case, educators should look at students with…

School and life achievement patterns for girls and women differ from those of boys and men. While girls have made dramatic progress in school, they need to be inspired to connect to lifelong achievement. Both research and clinical work at the Ohio-based Family Achievement Clinic find that more boys than girls underachieve in school. There is much…

Persons with disabilities have been underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields for many years. Reasons for this include low expectations for students with disabilities, limited exposure to prerequisite courses, lack of role models, and lack of access to individualized supports. This article identifies…

Making the transition from high school to college poses challenges for most students. Moving from a secure, regulated world of secondary education into an unfamiliar environment requiring greater independence can be a destabilizing experience. For students with learning disabilities (LD) and/or Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), managing this…

Describes the "Check and Connect" model of monitoring in a secondary school environment. Students seen as at risk for dropping out of school were assigned a monitor who then built a trusting relationship with the student through which support was given and advocacy provided within the school environment. (MKA)

This paper presents a study designed to produce a change in the behavior and self-esteem of a 9-year-old boy who had been diagnosed as having learning disabilities and poor visual-motor ability. The boy was described by his teachers as having a very short attention span and as exhibiting disruptive behaviors, such as ignoring teacher requests,…

Several years ago the author attended a week-long orientation for a new job she was taking as an English teacher in an affluent suburb of Chicago. On the first day, the school's director of student activities led all of the new teachers in an "icebreaker," wherein they were taught how to juggle. However, the author could not juggle. When it was…

Includes "Filling in the Cracks" (Flores) about an intarsia class for at-risk students; "Closing the Gap--Women in Technology" (Husher) about summer camps for junior high girls; "Work Force of the Future--Multi-Ethnic, Multicultural" (Hall) about vocational education for culturally diverse students;…

This practicum addressed the self-concept and self-esteem problems of 10 upper elementary grade students with learning disabilities through development, implementation, and evaluation of a group counseling program. The program involved educating students about their learning disabilities as well as using counseling strategies which stressed…