A systematic review was conducted of the research into the use of drama techniques to enhance social-emotional development of people with special needs. Only eight studies that were conducted in the period 1990-2005 met the criteria for inclusion in this review. The conclusions of the review were that there are indications that the dramatic…

Dominated by street after street of granite federal office buildings, the DC was a place that just couldn't jump-start itself into world-class status. Of course, it offered free, topnotch museums, but everyone lived and breathed politics and the town was sorely lacking a throbbing urban pulse. The absence of a major league baseball team said it…

This qualitative case study research design investigated puppetry as a holistic constructivist instructional practice for children with learning disabilities that included puppeteers and special education teachers as coresearchers. The purpose of the study was to investigate how puppetry can be an effective instructional practice for children with…

Many young children demonstrate behavior that teachers find challenging. Accordingly, early childhood and elementary educators must be prepared to support children's social development and use effective practices so that children will be less likely to develop or sustain behavior problems. General education reform and legislation direct schools to…

This study reports on the longitudinal analysis of a structured after-school arts program for Canadian youth, ages 9 to 15 years, from low-income communities where the relationship of peer social support, family interactions, and psychosocial outcomes is evaluated. Multi-level growth curve analyses suggest an increase in prosocial development with…

News reports calling attention to the steady increase in the number of overweight adults have become an accepted part of our media landscape. Worse still, warnings continue that more and more young children, like the adults who care for them, are carrying too much weight. Unfortunately, this bad news about our growing obesity problem isn't just…

This article describes the Asian Indian population and how the myth of the model minority can influence students' access to support services. It is important for school counselors to understand how this minority group experience stressors related to academics, career decision making, and personal/social development. Effective interventions and…

Brendtro, Brokenleg, and Van Bockern (2002) describe the Circle of Courage model for creating environments in which all children can thrive. This approach blends youth developmental research, the wisdom of pioneer workers, and Native American philosophies of child care. This model for reclaiming youth at risk posits four elements as essential for…

Childhood is a universal aspect of the human condition. Yet the landscape of childhood is changing rapidly. On playgrounds young children carry cell phones, and in classrooms children are more sophisticated in their use of computers and digital media than the adults in their lives. Most young adolescents are prolific communicators via text and…

Anxiety is a commonly occurring psychiatric concern in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This pilot study examined the preliminary efficacy of a manual-based intervention targeting anxiety and social competence in four adolescents with high-functioning ASD. Anxiety and social functioning were assessed at baseline, midpoint,…

Refugee children are often admitted into schools having experienced traumatic events. The impact of trauma on children has been well documented and these children frequently have complex needs. The Devon Behaviour Support Team (BST) has offered Art Workshops to schools to support children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and…

Two aspects of young children's cognitive representations of peer relationships-peer affiliative motivation and feelings and beliefs about the self and peers-were assessed among a sample of 75 children (37 girls), who ranged in age from 32 to 76 months (M = 58.2 months). Measures of three aspects of discrete social cognition, encoding of social…

Background: Children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) and mild to borderline intellectual disability (ID) have less adaptive behaviour and more behaviour problems than children with mild to borderline ID. Social information processing appears to be an important mechanism in the explanation of the socially inadequate behaviour of children…

Children around the world are being exposed to traumatic events at a troubling rate. In large, nationally representative studies of children in the United States, researchers have reported that 71% of children have been exposed to at least one potentially traumatic event in the past year, and almost 70% of children have experienced multiple…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the agreement between parent and teacher perceptions of specific social behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Method: Informant ratings were generated concerning 45 children with ASD between the ages of 5 and 14 years who were enrolled in social skills groups at 2 Midwestern…