Prevention of behavioral problems in school settings is essential. When the function of behavior communicates a sensory-based need, as it does for many learners with autism, teachers need to know what to do. Therefore, it is important for teachers to have varied strategies available for use in the support of such learners. The authors present…

In this article, the author talks about the Connections Camp, an innovative therapeutic social skill development program designed to meet the unique needs of youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). For six weeks each summer, youth ages 5-18 have fun while developing skills that lead to improved communication, better coping strategies, and…

Dealing with difficult behavior is a matter of awareness of the factors involved in prediction, prevention, and instruction. This means three things: Teachers know, or can be assisted in thinking through the environmental events and contexts that are associated with higher probabilities of problem behavior. Second, teachers can actively manipulate…

In recent years, the response to intervention (RTI) model has not only gained popularity as an alternate approach to identifying students with learning disabilities but also offered general education teachers a framework for problem solving at the classroom level. The model emphasizes ongoing progress monitoring of student performance to make…

Childhood internalizing problems may occur as early as preschool, tend to be stable over time, and undermine social and academic functioning. Parent emotion regulatory behaviors may contribute to child internalizing problems and may be especially important during the preschool years when parents model emotion coping and regulation for their…

A growing number of children are entering kindergarten without the skills that enable them to be successful in an academic setting. However, it is not children's cognitive skills that concern educators; it is their social and emotional skill deficits that are most troublesome. This article discusses how family and community risk factors can…

Early intervention has become a widely recognised practice because preschool years offer the best timing for preventing early onset conduct problems. Moreover, some factors have been consistently identified as putting children at risk for developing mental health problems, as well as school readiness problems. Such risk factors are poor…

Purpose: The purpose of this tutorial is to provide speech-language pathologists (SLPs) with general information regarding the most commonly prescribed medications for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; e.g., central nervous system stimulants, noradrenergic reuptake inhibitors, alpha-2 adrenergic agonists, antipsychotics,…

The development of learning based interventions has proven to be an effective means of remediating symptoms of autism and PDD-NOS. The central focus of these effects in recent years has been on early intensive behavioral interventions (EIBI) with preschool children. We use the term EIBI since it is the most often used, and we assume, preferred…

Behavioural approaches can be used effectively to teach new skills and to change behaviours that are challenging and not socially adaptive. The behaviour modification approach--now called applied behaviour analysis--is based on the assumption that all behaviours are learned, both the useful ones (new skills) and the ones that are not so useful…

This paper describes how an application of psychodynamic principles and techniques in a school setting can open up perspectives and insights into aspects of loss and mourning, which result in the personal and professional growth of individuals. It discusses applied psychoanalytic work in relation to its clinical base in the consulting room, in…

Positive behavior support (PBS) emerged in the mid-1980s as an approach for understanding and addressing problem behaviors. PBS was derived primarily from applied behavior analysis (ABA). Over time, however, PBS research and practice has incorporated evaluative methods, assessment and intervention procedures, and conceptual perspectives associated…

The majority of children do come to school to learn, but it only takes a few persistent troublemakers to rob an entire class of that opportunity. Disruptions in the form of lateness, talking out of turn, and disrespecting the teacher and other students take a serious toll on the educational process. Polls have shown that parents, teachers, and the…

In American colleges and universities, plagiarism is a hot topic: teachers wail and moan about the rise in student plagiarism (though often without evidence to demonstrate this supposed rise); they complain that the Web has "caused" plagiarism; and at the same time, many believe that technology is the key to "solving" the problem of student…

The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) is a federally funded national resource center designed to support early care and education providers address the social-emotional needs of children birth through age 5 years. Recent research has found that an extraordinarily high number of young children are being…