The Family Empowerment Scale was completed by 161 families of children with serious emotional disturbance (SED) or SED along with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Results indicated that membership in a parent support group was a strong predictor of family empowerment, particularly of the systems advocacy and knowledge dimensions of…

Patterns of work and family balance were examined for 184 employed parents of children with serious emotional disorders. Results found that caregivers employed outside the home had higher levels of job stress than those working in the home but reported using work as a way of coping. (CR)

This meta-analysis of 12 studies assessed the efficacy of projective techniques to discriminate between sexually abused and nonsexually abused children. Results indicated the techniques were able to discriminate distressed children from nondistressed subjects, but were less able to discriminate the type of distress. (Author/DB)

The Teacher's Report Form (TRF) was investigated over 3 years for its practical ability to track outcomes in 89 elementary students with emotional disturbances. The students whose placement changed to less restrictive settings demonstrated significant improvement on consecutive TRF's in academic performance, classroom functioning, and aggressive…

A study compared academic progress over 5 years for 61 children with learning disabilities (LD) and 42 children with emotional and behavioral disorders. Findings indicated students with LD made significant progress over time in reading, and this progress was associated with receiving less full-time special education services. (Contains…

Occupational stress ratings from 415 teachers of students with emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) was modeled by regression, using teacher demographic characteristics, working conditions, and the ability to work with children with EBD as factors. All working condition variables, professional experience, and ability to work with externalizing…

Describes the author's experiences directing at an interactive health education theater piece on acquaintance rape. Discusses personal and professional challenges and ethical dilemmas that came up regarding Post Traumatic Stress disorder, the activating of traumatic experiences. Argues that input from healthcare professionals was crucial, and…

This article summarizes a process model designed to help schools include students with complex social, emotional, and behavioral needs in general classroom settings. Challenges to inclusion of these students are identified, and the seven-step model is explained and illustrated through examples of systems change projects throughout New Hampshire.…

This article provides information on elective mutism, a persistent refusal to talk despite the ability to speak and comprehend spoken language. It covers the history, characteristics, classification, differential diagnosis, and treatment of elective mutism. Treatments covered include psychodynamic, family intervention, behavior modification, drug…

A 3-year follow-along study of 422 adolescents with disabilities found associations between being arrested while in school or during the first year after school, and lower personal/social-achievement skills, gender, and disability status. Students with serious emotional disturbance or specific learning disabilities were more likely than students…

School archival records and interviews with school personnel were used to obtain measures of the school-related problems of four groups of eight students: those receiving both foster care and special education for emotional/behavioral disorders (FCED), foster care only, special education only, or neither. The FCED group exhibited the most…

A 3-year follow-along study of 422 students with disabilities in their last year of high school and 1 year later found that students with serious emotional disturbances and demonstrated low personal/social achievement skills were more likely to be victimized than those with other disabilities. Prior victimization, gender, and arrest record also…

Analyzes interviews with four self-injuring young women. Suggests the meaning of self-injury is not the same as the meaning of attempted suicide, and that the two acts are related in the sense that self-injury is an adaptive alternative to suicide. The function of self-injury is a communicative act. The extent to with self-injurers can control…

A study examined the effects of wraparound services on the adjustment of four adolescents with severe emotional disturbances at imminent risk of long-term residential placements. Results indicate significant positive effects in the areas of compliance, appropriate peer interactions, extreme verbal abuse, alcohol/drug use, and physical aggression.…

The first in seven sets of guidelines based on the consensus of experts in the treatment of psychiatric and behavioral problems in mental retardation (MR) focuses on diagnosis and assessment. It includes the definition and levels of mental retardation, difficulties in diagnosing psychiatric and behavioral problems in the presence of MR, assessment…