Students generally find themselves in listening situations, but they may not prefer this mode. A study of Arkansas educators' personality traits and communication abilities found that educators were either reactors, workaholics, or persisters. They interacted well with others like themselves but demonstrated limited potential to interact with…

Authentic learning consists of applying relevant knowledge, thinking skills, and interpersonal skills to solving real-world problems. Students assume roles of firsthand investigators, writers, artists, or other practitioners committed to producing a product or a service. A Connecticut high school's video-production company embodies a successful…

Personality-motivation was compared for age- and gender-matched individuals with Williams (n=35) or Prader-Willi (n=35) syndromes or mental retardation due to nonspecific causes (n=35). Each syndrome featured aberrant motivational profiles and similarities were found across groups in social interaction, anxiety, and orderliness. Recommendations…

A study analyzed the acquisition of communicative functions and means in 15 children and youth with autism over a one-year period. Participants made advances in skills development in both functions and means. Functions appeared to follow a developmental sequence from behavior regulation to social integration to joint attention. (Author/CR)

Reviews concepts and practices in the enhancement of peer relationships among young children in the context of play experiences with particular emphasis upon the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities. Examines definitions and typical developmental patterns of social competence and offers some best-practice guidelines based on…

Teachers and parents rated the social skills of 61 inner-city black elementary-school students. Teachers perceived students as having more social skills and fewer problem behaviors than did parents. Parents and teachers differed most on their assessments of female students. (SLD)

Cooperative games program was conducted with second graders who had a previous problem with low cooperative skills and excluding children. These games are a viable intervention for counselors to promote cooperation, fun, good health, and positive social interaction. A shift in attitude was observed during the program, as well as an improvement in…

Describes a child-based intervention focused on skills of social entry, maintaining interactions, and solving problems for five boys with attention-deficit disorder. Parents were taught skills of debriefing, problem solving, and goal setting. Behavioral changes were considered socially valid, and all parents and child subjects viewed social skills…

Responds to Miguel, Forness, and Kavale, who argued that the social skills deficits typically found in children with learning disabilities are largely due to the comorbidity of learning disabilities with psychiatric disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depressive disorder. This review finds this relationship for LD…

A study investigated the effectiveness of a school-based prevention program consisting of social skills activities, peer tutoring, and individual and class-wide behavioral management components for improving the behaviors of 38 students (ages 5-11) with emotional disturbances. Results indicated that inappropriate behaviors decreased and positive…

Three adults with deafness who were raised in oral English settings and denied access to sign language chose to learn sign language as adults. Although they valued their ability to converse in English, they found the lack of spontaneity in communication left them isolated in school and family interactions. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

A study compared two approaches for teaching cooperative play to six children (ages 4-12) with autism. In one approach, children observed cooperative play before participating. In the second approach, participants verbally described the modeled play episode before participating. Participants failed to acquire cooperative play until the verbal…

A study tested the effect of controlled contact with children with developmental disabilities on the attitudes of 62 Israeli volunteer college students toward children with disabilities. The main finding indicates the association between contact and attitudes was related to the time of exposure to a person with disability. (Contains references.)…

Examined relation between fathers' and children's communicative skills and child behavior problems early and late in the Head Start school year. Found that the structural models for externalizing and internalizing behavior confirmed the hypothesis that father communication was linked to child communication skills and child communication was linked…

Nancy's recent psychotic episode left her an anxious, fearful person. Participating in an adventure therapy program enabled her to connect with peers, regain social skills and physical stamina, adjust to a full-day activity, regain her confidence, reconstruct purpose and meaning in life, and follow through on plans to complete university and get a…