Examined a teacher-led intervention that used interpersonal and intrapersonal variables to enhance social relationships and adjust behaviors of elementary and secondary regular and special needs students. Teacher surveys indicated that the intervention had a partial positive effect on classroom social life and a differential effect on elementary…

Investigated individual variation in child vocabulary competence, evaluating mothers' sociodemographics, personalities, and vocabulary and children's' gender, social competence, and vocabulary competence. Specific aspects of children and mothers accounted for variation in child vocabulary knowledge and use. Child's gender and social competence and…

A study involving 170 British Columbia students with autism found that the majority received technology for educational participation while a smaller number received voice output communication aids; some students received both types of technology. The primary goals for the technology use were related to writing, expressive communication, and…

Current views on leadership and leadership competencies overlook nonrational and unconscious aspects of human functioning. Six perspectives on group work leadership are presented, with suggestions for competencies derived from the fields of systems thinking and psychodynamic psychology. Outdoor leaders could benefit from developing their intuition…

Focuses on the nature of peer relationships of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) children, including relationship problems that are commonly manifested in the areas of academic, conduct, and social problems. Finds that children with ADHD experience numerous peer difficulties and may benefit from specially designed intervention. (SD)

Twenty-six suggestions for setting up a class environment in which children with learning or behavior problems can develop friendships are presented, including integrating friendship into the curriculum, teaching necessary social skills, structuring successful recess and lunch periods, honoring children's friendships in placement decisions, and…

Factor analysis of the Childhood Autism Rating Scale found three factors: (1) social impairment, (2) negative emotionality, and (3) distorted sensory response. Subjects with autism were distinguished from subjects with either pervasive or nonpervasive developmental disorders by higher scores on social impairment. Negative emotionality was most…

The article presents advisory activities to help middle school students understand and strengthen relationships with peers and adults. The article also includes seven tips for setting up a sound advisory progrram. (SM)

Adaptations to the Candy Land board game to allow play by children with moderate or severe disabilities are suggested, such as attaching a small photograph of the student to the marker and using large heavily weighted markers. Ways to generalize new skills and gradually remove the adaptations are discussed. (DB)

This article addresses effective techniques for teaching students with emotional disturbances and/or behavior disorders in group settings. Three stages of group development are described with specific teaching strategies for each stage identified and related to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, including needs for safety and trust, belonging and…

Summarizes research on the effects of friendship and group acceptance on adolescents' evaluations of camp, and on the incidence of homesickness among boys ages 8-16 participating in a residential sports camp. Implications for camp involve helping campers develop appropriate social skills and educating staff concerning the symptoms of homesickness.…

Examines research on the fundamental contexts for social contact: the family and networks of social support. It focuses on the processes and dynamics within these systems of relationships that are considered vitally important to normal and abnormal mental and emotional development. (GR)

To explore theoretical issues inspired by the Likert response format, 2 social insight scales were developed and administered to 391 Air Force recruits. Results demonstrate the applicability of the probabilistic response format to measure differences in nontraditional knowledge domains and the existence of a factor that may be interpreted as…

This study evaluated a social skills training program with 18 deaf children (ages 9 to 13) in mainstream settings in three elementary schools in the Canary Islands. It found the intervention improved students' social problem solving skills and their assertive skills. However, no significant differences in social or academic integration as judged…

A survey of 204 parents of gifted students (ages 3-14) found a majority reported their child showed high potential in more than two talent domains. Twenty-seven percent of parents reported that their child's school offers services for special talents and 60 percent reported their child participates regularly in sports activities. (Contains five…