Promoting positive relationships among young children is an important step towards improving their long-term social and academic outcomes. Children who have low rates of interactions with peers, who are identified as self-isolating, and who demonstrate other internalizing behaviors are at-risk for poor social and academic outcomes and therefore,…

The purpose of this study is to better understand why a school avoidant student has a difficult time staying attached to a school community. For a school avoidant student, the school environment is too challenging to manage resulting in an emotional and physical disengagement from school. A school avoidant student will seek to protect themselves…

In contemporary education, multifaceted interventions are needed to engage students in the academic setting and therapy dogs are an approach to reach students' mental, physical, social, or emotional health needs. Moreover, therapy dogs have a direct correlation to student success and motivation. The implementation of therapy dogs on students…

This qualitative study explored the thoughts and perceptions of 16 teachers and their experiences working with special education students. The programming options most often offered by school districts are general education inclusion or a separate resource setting, yet there is a limited amount of research showing actual academic progress to guide…

School personnel were concerned that the disruptive student behaviors at an urban, elementary school in the northeast United States had persisted despite positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) implementation and professional development (PD) for more than 7 years. The purpose of this basic qualitative research study was to explore…

Children with autism often place increased demands on their families due to the nature of their disorders. Research has repeatedly shown that parents of children with autism experience higher levels of stress and lower levels of overall well-being than parents of children with other disabilities, or parents of typical children. Compared to…

The ability to interact with peers and coworkers in online digital networks is essential in learning and business environments. Our digital participatory culture is based on communication in response to purposeful activity and is facilitated by information and communication technologies (ICT). Students with emotional, behavioral, and learning…

Social learning theory contends that group contingent reinforcement can be used as a means of shaping problematic behavior in both academic and nonacademic settings. Prior research has focused on contingent management of academic behaviors with older populations at the college level and younger students both with and without disabilities in the…

The problem behaviors of self-injury, aggression, and stereotypies are among the most troubling and difficult to treat behaviors in individuals with intellectual disability (ID). One factor that has been implicated in the etiology and maintenance of problem behaviors in individuals with ID is adaptive skills deficits. However, the nature of the…