A large proportion of youth in the juvenile justice system have disabilities (U.S. Department of Education, 2014). Research indicates that the prevalence of youth with disabilities in these settings is four to five times greater than the prevalence of youth with disabilities in public schools. Juvenile justice facilities often face challenges for…

Superhero play has long been thought of as violent, aggressive, and disruptive. Some argue that aggressive play should not be allowed because it exposes children to inappropriate concepts and attitudes and sends the message that the use of aggression can achieve a desired goal. However, educators know that pretend play is an avenue for healthy…

A case study design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of behavioural consultation as a method for improving the social skills of adolescents with Asperger's syndrome. Two case studies were conducted. In each study, two teachers implemented a social skills programme with two to three adolescents with Asperger's syndrome in a group setting with…

Current empirical research about the effects of acceleration on high-ability learners' academic achievement and social-emotional development were synthesized using meta-analytic techniques. A total of 38 primary studies conducted between 1984 and 2008 were included. The results were broken down by developmental level (P-12 and postsecondary) and…

This paper is concerned with the professional efficacy of school counselors and school psychologists that operate under the umbrella of accountability reforms. Research questions addressed counselor and psychologist job roles and responsibilities, as well as their personal perspectives on the impact of accountability reforms on both the classroom…

By using the gap overlap task, we investigated disengagement from faces and objects in children (9-17 years old) with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and its neurophysiological correlates. In typically developing (TD) children, faces elicited larger gap effect, an index of attentional engagement, and larger saccade-related event-related…

This study investigated how children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) make social judgments of social situations and provide justifications for their responses. Fifteen children with ASD and 15 typically developing children (ages from 9 to 13 years old) were presented with eight vignettes, based on the Dewey Story Test (Dewey, 1991) and…

Recently, research has begun to identify cognitive and social-emotional predictors of early academic success. Yet few studies have examined the mechanisms by which children's social-emotional skills are associated with later academic success. The present study examines the associations between preschool emotion knowledge, kindergarten attention…

The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), first proposed by the Russian psychologist L.S. Vygotsky, is frequently cited as the theoretical basis behind Dynamic Assessment (DA). However, this concept has led to varied interpretations and practices in education. This paper outlines readings of the ZPD that motivate many current approaches to DA and…

The theory of emotional intelligence has elicited great interest both in the academic and the nonacademic world. Therapists, educators, and parents want to know what they can do to help children develop their emotional intelligence. However, most of the research in this field has investigated adults' emotional intelligence. This study reviews the…

This study compared the effectiveness of two curricular models of professional development to increase teacher repertoires for instructing students with autism. Specific focus was on the use of a Blended Model of professional development in comparison to a Behavioral Model of professional development in regard to increasing teacher knowledge,…

This study examined the effects of in-service training with performance feedback on preschool teachers' use of classroom preventive practices. Three practices designed to prevent challenging behavior were selected: transition preparations, rule reminders, and social-emotional teaching strategies. Following a brief training on each practice,…

Employment preparation and life skill development are crucial in assisting students identified as having emotional and behavioral disabilities with successfully transitioning to adulthood following high school. This article outlines four initiatives that a school counselor developed with other school personnel to promote work skills, life skills,…

In this article we report Maltese primary and secondary students' perspectives about their school experiences and their mental health. Questionnaires were completed by 281 students. Relationships emerged between students' reports about their involvement in bullying, mental health status, and a range of typical features of school environments. A…

The purpose of this case study was to determine the effectiveness of a combined intervention in remediating the social skills in a first-grader with a disorder from the autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The researcher also aimed to identify the changes observed during the intervention period. The combined intervention consisted of reading…