Strategies for curbing disruptions in the classroom include setting expectations, naming and defining behaviors students must learn, modeling appropriate and alternative behavior, setting up routines showing that self-control is important, settling on predictable consequences for blurting out, having children start over if communication breaks…

Interventions that mobilize the parents to coach and reinforce their children's social skills have been shown to improve children's social functioning and decrease inappropriate social behaviors in the home and at school. However, few studies have examined whether these treatment outcomes can be successfully transferred from the research to the…

With the purpose of developing caring and capable children, this book offers teachers and counselors a collection of over 75 activities as teaching and guidance tools. Characteristics of caring and capable children, which reflect the development of empathy, compassion, assertiveness, and self-discipline, are described. The activities are grouped…

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD ADHD) is a labeled neurologically based disorder. This article introduces this disorder, as well as other academic skills disorders. It then discusses the myths and facts about ADD ADHD and presents a clinical algorithm for diagnosis and evaluation of a child with this disorder. Next, recommendations…

This report describes a program for improvement of student social skills to include respect for self and others, conflict resolution, and self-control. The targeted population consisted of first, fifth, and seventh graders located in northwestern Illinois. The problems of deficiencies in social skills were documented. Data were collected from…

This study, involving 4 children (ages 6 and 11) with autism, demonstrated that a self-management technique was effective in improving responsiveness to verbal initiations from others and in extending responsiveness to settings (community, home, and school) without the presence of a treatment provider. Concomitant reductions in disruptive behavior…

A review of 27 studies found that self-monitoring can be successfully used with special education students to decrease inappropriate classroom behavior and to increase attention to task, positive classroom behaviors, and some social skills. Self-monitoring also appears to increase the likelihood of generalizing learned behaviors to new settings.…

A study examined use of a problem-solving intervention to teach classroom skills to a student with moderate intellectual disabilities. The student was taught targeted skills in a resource room and was able to successfully generalize the skills to regular classrooms. Teachers indicated the student's behavior significantly improved during the…

The purpose of this report is to compare changes in social skills, problem behaviors, and academic competence for kindergarten or first grade students identified as being at risk for serious behavior problems who received primary, secondary, or tertiary level preventive interventions. Of the 93 participants in this study, 73% were male; 86% were…

The primary purpose of this study was to assess the test-retest reliability of the Junior Self-Monitoring Scale (JSMS) for use with elementary school children. Subjects were 28 first, 30 third, and 24 fifth graders attending an elementary school in Corvallis (Oregon). The JSMS consists of 24 yes/no items and is scored in the direction of high…

Intended for use by life skills coaches and students, program evaluators, and individuals developing lesson plans and other training materials, this taxonomy includes all of the terminal performance behaviors and corresponding sub-skills required to become and function as a balanced, self-determined person who manages the problems of everyday life…

Adaptation to college by first year university students (N=71), who were exposed to orientation programs which varied the amount of perceived competence and perceived control felt by the student in interpersonal problem situations, was investigated. Skills taught in the four treatment conditions were the basics of assertive behavior,…

The article describes the "Competency Based Curriculum" for the affective domain which is designed to teach children basic social interaction skills necessary to develop and internalize self-controlling behaviors. Instructional activities and assessment tasks are considered for several types of the 11 objectives. (CL)

This digest describes how teachers can use cognitive-behavioral interventions (CBI) to remediate behavioral deficits and excesses by providing students with the tools necessary to control their own behavior. CBIs involve teaching the use of inner speech ("self-talk" )to modify underlying cognitions that affect overt behavior. CBI…

Teachers at every grade level and in every setting are trying to manage and teach students with an increasing diverse range of needs. This paper describes a collaborative study to observe, record, and assess the impact and outcomes of an integrated approach for teaching skills of self-discipline to students considered to be academically at-risk.…