Background: Physical activity and structural differences in the hippocampus have been linked to educational outcome. We investigated whether a curriculum-based physical activity intervention correlates positively with children's academic achievement, psychological well-being, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), fitness, and structural…

Learning-related behaviors are important for school success. Socioeconomic disadvantage confers risk for less adaptive learning-related behaviors at school entry, yet substantial variability in school readiness exists within socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. Investigation of neurophysiological systems associated with learning-related…

This article describes the development, implementation, and second-year evaluation of Project Autism Competencies for Endorsement (ACE), a web-based professional development (PD) program that is designed to train teachers currently working in the field to meet the unique and diverse needs of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). A…

Our nation's schools should be safe havens for teaching and learning, free of crime and violence. Any instance of crime or violence at school not only affects the individuals involved, but also may disrupt the educational process and affect bystanders, the school itself, and the surrounding community (Brookmeyer, Fanti, and Henrich 2006;…

Previously, we adapted the Home Situations Questionnaire to measure behavioral non-compliance in everyday settings in children with pervasive developmental disorders. In this study, we further revised this instrument for use in autism spectrum disorder and examined its psychometric properties (referred to as the Home Situations…

Preschool children are being expelled from child care programs at an astonishing rate, often because of challenging behaviors such as aggression, tantrums, and noncompliance. Teachers say they need more training in how to manage these behaviors in child care settings. Early childhood mental health consultation (ECMHC) has been shown to build…

This article explores the varied ways in which schools can respond to students who present with challenging behaviours and who are at risk of disengagement from learning. It sets out a typology of school responses and reflects on the philosophies which underpin each approach. In an effort to rethink the use of suspensions within schools, which…

We assessed the impact of checklist-based training on teaching teams' use of the zone defense schedule. Three teaching teams (lead teacher plus 2 assistant teachers) in an inclusive early childhood program participated. A multiple baseline design across teams was used to determine whether accurate implementation of the zone defense schedule…

Building upon previous evidence for the intergenerational transmission of antisocial behaviors, this research assessed and compared three models seeking to explain links between fathers' antisocial behaviors and children's behavior problems. A representative sample of children from low-income families (N = 261) was followed from age 3 through age…

Background: Self-injurious behaviour (SIB) is a relatively common problem for people with intellectual disabilities and it is known to be associated with various risk markers, such as degree of disability, sensory impairments, and autism (McClintock "et al." 2003). Less is known about its long-term course however. Method: The present…

What we're thinking about behaviorally challenging students and what we're doing to them requires a fresh look. When schools believe that parental discipline explains a child's misbehavior, educators are less likely to consider different explanations for the misbehavior and the full range of interventions that could be implemented at school. And…

This study examined the extent to which maternal attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms predict improvement in child behavior following brief behavioral parent training. Change in parenting was examined as a potential mediator of the negative relationship between maternal ADHD symptoms and improvement in child behavior. Seventy…

Behavioral pain assessment is possible for children and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). However, pain behavior is often misinterpreted as reflecting psychopathology. We examined whether psychopathology alters pain behavior. Caregivers of 123 children (56 girls ages 40 to 258 months) completed the Non-Communicating…

It is now axiomatic that challenging behaviors are defined more profitably by their functions (their motivations) than by their topographies (what they look like). The notion that challenging behaviors can be defined on the basis of their function has led in the past 30 years to a dramatically reconfigured approach to assessment and intervention.…

At an alarming rate, preschoolers are being expelled from child care centers because of disruptive behavior, and elementary schools are dealing with social-emotional behaviors that affect the entire classroom. The authors share the story of a child who would have been one of those expelled from child care and at risk in the elementary school…