Background: In typical development, the unfolding of social and communicative skills hinges upon the ability to allocate and sustain attention toward people, a skill present moments after birth. Deficits in social attention have been well documented in autism, though the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Methods: In order to parse the…

Involving 740 highly gifted math and science students from two different countries, Korea and the United States, this study examined how these gifted adolescents perceived their interpersonal ability and peer relationships and whether there were differences between these two groups by demographic variables. Based on the survey data, results showed…

As a distinguished scholar over the past 45 years, Michel Hersen has left an indelible mark on the field of behavior therapy and clinical psychology. One of his most enduring legacies is his early research work in the area of social skills assessment and training, with special attention to assertiveness training. His basic analogue and clinical…

The present study identified longitudinal trajectories of revenge goals in a sample of at-risk youth (N = 240; 63.3% male) followed from fourth grade through seventh grade. Three revenge goal trajectory groups were identified: a low-stable group, an increasing group, and a decreasing group. The increasing and decreasing groups were initially more…

Siblings are important "peers" for children. Unfortunately, children with autism often do not play or interact often with their typically developing siblings. The purpose of this study was to teach three typically developing children (ages 4-6) skills that were likely to increase the amount and quality of social play interactions with their…

We compare social skills in three groups of males with sex chromosome aneuploidies (SCAs) using the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS). Participants included males with XXY (N = 102, M = 10.08 years), XYY (N = 40, M = 9.93 years), and XXYY (N = 32, M = 11.57 years). XXY had lower (better) SRS scores compared to XYY and XXYY. Scores were not…

Students' concerns about mathematics can significantly affect their ability to learn the subject. In particular, their anxieties and attitudes can greatly affect how they perceive their own mathematical competence, and in return, this may make them reluctant to pursue mathematical studies. Many researchers believe in the role of active learning…

Children with autism spectrum disorder present with a variety of social communication deficits such as atypicalities in social gaze and verbal and non-verbal communication delays as well as perceptuo-motor deficits like motor incoordination and dyspraxia. In this study, we had the unique opportunity to study praxis performance in deaf children…

Bullying is a prevalent problem in school systems in the United States and abroad. This literature review focuses on elementary school-based bullying interventions for students published between 2005-2012. Ten studies reviewed included students from the first grade through the eighth grade from five countries. There were many common themes among…

Borrowing a framework used to study adolescent peer groups, this chapter relates key findings from chapters in this volume to the status or reputation that peers accord a given organized activity, the tendency of activities to channel adolescents toward some relationships and away from others, and the context for peer interactions created within…

The inclusion of animals in therapeutic activities, known as animal-assisted intervention (AAI), has been suggested as a treatment practice for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This paper presents a systematic review of the empirical research on AAI for ASD. Fourteen studies published in peer-reviewed journals qualified for inclusion. The…

A child and adolescent psychiatrist describes the dyadic nature of family conflict and provides practical strategies for preventing and managing interpersonal aggression. When parents ignore basic needs such as sleep, hunger, hydration, safety, and security, their children are likely to display qualities like hyperactivity, hypervigilance. and…

Although there are research findings supporting the positive effects of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), problems have been reported regarding the learning process itself, group formation, and group dynamics. These problems can be traced back to impeded social interaction between group members. Social interaction is necessary (a)…

This paper examines the literature in the area of praise. It considers definitions of praise, types of praise and the effects of praise on learning and behaviour, particularly as it relates to motivation. The evidence base for effective praise is discussed and recommendations for classroom practice are highlighted.

This article examines the use of prompting as an evidence-based strategy to support children with autism to develop their language, communication and social interactions skills. The literature is reviewed using a three-ringed, evidence-based practice model to support evaluation of the use of prompting. The article outlines considerations about the…