Young children on the autism spectrum have minimal social interaction with their peers in inclusive preschool settings, thus limiting opportunities to build social relationships. Research indicates that explicitly training peers how to interact with classmates with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can increase the likelihood of peer-directed…

While research on Western multimedia platforms, such as YouTube, is prolific and interdisciplinary, Asian portals remain unknown. We explore this field by analyzing the juvenile and intercultural uses of a popular visualization system in Japan and China, known as "danmaku" or "danmu". This technology inserts dynamic and…

Obstacles encountered by young adults with intellectual disability (ID) during the transition from high school to post-school employment have great potential to limit an individual's opportunity and/or capacity for self-determination with regard to employment. This qualitative study examines the challenges to self-determination experienced by a…

More students with High Functioning Autism (HFA) are in inclusive settings than ever before, however, the physical combination of students with HFA and their typical peers alone is insufficient to address the social needs of students with HFA. Students with HFA in inclusive settings require evidence-based practices (EBPs) for social skills to be…

Research demonstrates a wide range of positive outcomes for children who are physically active, including higher academic achievement, higher likelihood to attend college, increased success in the workplace, lower heath care costs, and decreased risk for obesity and other health problems (Aspen Institute Sport for All Play for Life; Menestrel…

The purpose of this study was to determine if self-advocacy and social skills were targeted areas of instruction on a collected sample of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). We also measured student attendance at IEP meetings as a potential step towards self-avocation. Utilizing secondary analysis with data collected from 170 IEPs, we…

Teacher stress is at an all-time high, negatively impacting the quality of education and student outcomes. In recent years, mindfulness-based interventions have been shown to promote wellbeing and reduce stress among healthy adults. In particular, mindfulness-based interventions enhance emotion regulation and reduce psychological distress. One…

In the authors' experience, most early childhood and early childhood special educators are quick to endorse the importance of young children's social interactions with each other, particularly in inclusive settings. In this context, it is both ironic and deeply troubling that while giving lip service to peer social skill development, the data…

This study investigated if training and practice-based coaching in an evidence-based program was associated with higher observed treatment integrity (adherence and competence) and if these treatment integrity components were associated with teacher report of child behavioral outcomes in the BEST in CLASS efficacy trial. Participants were 462…

Preschoolers with elevated anxiety symptoms are at high risk not only of developing more severe mental health disorders in later life but are also apt to respond more poorly to intervention if they present with comorbid disruptive behavior. Because early signs of anxiety disorders may not be recognized as such in preschool settings, many children…

The purpose of this study was to examine whether gender would moderate the association between teacher--child relationship and children's social skills in a sample of preschool children. Classroom teachers (N = 32) rated the quality of the teacher--child relationship (Student--Teacher Relationship Scale; STRS) and children's social skills (Social…

Using OpenSimulator, we constructed a 3D virtual playground that affords competition-themed social gaming, role-play gaming and design-themed architectural gaming among high-functioning autistic (HFA) children. A mixed-method, multi-case study was conducted to examine the association between the game task and setting features, learners'…

Schools and school libraries are becoming more diverse. What cultural barriers do you face in your position? Have you come across challenges in how you handle cultural situations with students, teachers, or administrators? If so, have you considered skills that can help you facilitate conversations more effectively? How would you rate your…

This study aimed to establish whether 5- to 7-year-old children with developmental language disorder (DLD) have difficulties explaining actions in terms of intentions and if so, to elucidate the nature of such difficulties. Children with DLD and typically developing chronological age peers (TD group) participated in a production task designed to…

It is assumed that learning on the Serial Reaction Time (SRT) task is related to learning involved in social skill development affected in autism, but this assumption has hardly been investigated. We have therefore examined associations between SRT task learning and social impairment measured by the Social Responsiveness Scale in 72 autistic and…