The value of early intervention programs for children with delays and/or disabilities has been well accepted in the research. Providing appropriate special education services at an early age of detecting academic and behavioral/social problems has proven to be effective at eliminating or decreasing special services at a later age. This…

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…

As a first-grade teacher preparing for the upcoming year, I was shocked to learn that George was on my new roll. His previous teacher wrote that George was a "behaviour problem", was defiant, talked back to adults, didn't speak properly, was behind academically and spent over half of kindergarten in detention. George initially gave me negative…

The Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale (FEATS) is a measurement system for applying numbers to global variables in two-dimensional art (drawing and painting). While it was originally developed for use with the single-picture assessment ("Draw a person picking an apple from a tree" [PPAT]), researchers can also apply many of the 14 scales of the…

The degree to which early adverse experiences exert long term effects on development and how much early adversity may be overcome through subsequent experiences are important mental health questions. The clinical, research and policy perspectives on these questions lead to different answers. From a clinical perspective, change is always possible,…

Providing individual and group counseling has become an identified role for school psychologists working in the school setting. There is an extensive research base that highlights positive outcomes and supports the use of a variety of counseling methods when working with children and adolescents. However, there may exist a host of other outcomes,…

The intensive rise of deviant consciousness and behavior in the population (including consciousness and behavior conducive to crime) has been classified rightly as one of the most dangerous "social disorders" of Russian society. Especially salient is the epidemic of "deviancy in regard to the law" in the consciousness and…

This article contributes to the understanding of the function of behavior for our school-age population. The authors present a perspective that behavior is an attempt to satisfy five basic human needs. The perspective can provide a framework for understanding behavior that has application to completion of functional behavior assessments,…

The growing frequency, duration, and intensity of children's challenging behaviors makes general and special education teachers' professional lives hazardous to their health. The focus of this article is on helping teachers leave the classroom each day with a feeling of accomplishment and a belief that they have made a difference in the lives of…

In recent years there has been much research interest in looking for behavioural phenotypes (or specific profiles of strengths and weaknesses) that are associated with specific conditions--particularly conditions with genetic origins such as Down syndrome. This kind of information may be very helpful in alerting parents and professionals to the…

"Institutional autism" is understood as a "learned behavior" produced by an institutional environment such as an orphanage. Some autistic-like behaviors may be adaptive in an institution, but become mal-adaptive after the child's adoption into a family. A differential diagnosis between autism as a medical condition and learned…

Although the federal government recently mandated the use of functional behavior assessment (FBA) and positive behavioral interventions for students, this legislation has not defined the key features of FBA and has provided little guidance for how such procedures should be completed in a public school setting. As a result, recent evidence suggests…

Behavior management or discipline of students in schools has consistently been reported as one of the major hindrances to educational success in the public schools in the United States. Teachers are often taught behavior management strategies such as establishing rules, routines, and expectations. Other proactive and reactive approaches to…

Providing child-centred play opportunities and re-creating early attachment experiences facilitates a child's social and emotional development, as well as giving time and space for self-expression and relaxation. Play therapists provide these conditions after lengthy and intensive training. Para-professionals are now being trained and supported in…

A child who seems disinterested may actually be depressed, living with parents who themselves are disengaged and depressed as they struggle to adjust. A student with violent outbursts, who might just appear undisciplined, can be reliving the emotion of a turbulent event in a war-torn country, experiencing a heightened "flight or fight" response.…