Positive behavior support has gained attention in recent years as an effective practice for reducing challenging behaviors in children and youth with a variety of disabilities including autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The goal of positive behavioral interventions for students with ASD is to prevent and reduce the occurrence of interfering…

Despite their formal dissimilarity, problem behaviors (e.g., substance misuse, binge eating, self-harm) may share a common function. According to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), this shared function is "Experiential Avoidance," the process of avoiding, escaping or otherwise altering unwanted private events (e.g., thoughts, feelings,…

Students studying addictive diseases must come to understand, among other issues, the interplay between intimate partner violence (IPV) and substance abuse. Statistics are important, but case examples elucidate for the students what to "listen" for in their meetings with clients. The purpose of this article is to provide several case examples of…

Bullying is a prevalent problem for many elementary school students, and it is associated with physical injury and depression. Objectives: Students engaged in this teaching activity will be able to identify bullying behaviors as well as list and demonstrate strategies to effectively deal with bullying situations. Target Audience: Fourth- and…

Conduct disorder (CD) is one of the most common childhood psychiatric disorders. Some research has focused on reducing conduct difficulties through parent training programmes. However, there has been limited research focusing on early intervention services that deal with emotional and/or conduct problems in a community setting. The aim of this…

Public schools in the United States are predicated upon some common, albeit contested, understanding of a "normal" child. Such an identity comes with corresponding rules of behavior. In this study, we use identity politics as the primary lens through which to interpret the experiences of students at an alternative middle and high school. Through…

This study examined the relationship between repetitive behaviors and sensory processing issues in school-aged children with high functioning autism (HFA). Children with HFA (N = 61) were compared to healthy, typical controls (N = 64) to determine the relationship between these behavioral classes and to examine whether executive dysfunction…

Fifty-nine community college presidents and chancellors in 16 states report on the damage caused by rogue trustees. While the damage to presidents, other trustees, and faculty and staff is alarming, the damage these trustees cause the college suggests that the rogue trustee may be the single most destructive force ever to plague an educational…

Research examining set-shifting has revealed significant difficulties for adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). However, research with high-functioning children with ASDs has yielded mixed results. The current study tested 6- to 13-year-old high-functioning children with ASD and typically developing controls matched on age, gender, and IQ…

It's no surprise that school districts are as vulnerable to fraud as the private sector or any other segment of government. Crimes in districts include collusion with outside vendors who provide kickbacks to employees, misuse of district-issued credit cards, embezzlement of district funds, and theft of district property. "Fraud happens…

Teachers were beginning to see teasing, taunting, bullying, and other damaging behaviors in their group of toddlers. This article describes two class activities--a relay race and singing during transitions--that allowed all the children to experience success and thus helped the class overcome the negative behaviors.

Psychopathy is a personality disorder that includes interpersonal-affective and antisocial deviance features. The Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI) contains two underlying factors (fearless dominance and impulsive antisociality) that may differentially tap these two sets of features. In a mixed-gender sample of undergraduates and prisoners,…

Although concerns about peer contagion are often cited in critiques of group treatments for troubled youths, few studies have examined the effects of exposure to deviant peers in residential group care settings. This study used administrative data of youth served at Boys Town, a nationally-known group care provider. Using latent class growth…

The impact of exposure to violence in the media on the long-term development and short-term expression of aggressive behavior has been well documented. However, gaps in this literature remain, and in particular the role of violent media exposure in shaping violent and other serious antisocial behavior has not been investigated. Further, studies of…

Although alterations of emotion processing are recognized as a core component of autism, the level at which alterations occur is still debated. Discrepant results suggest that overt assessment of emotion processing is not appropriate. In this study, skin conductance response (SCR) was used to examine covert emotional processes. Both behavioural…