Examined the relationship between anxiety and performance dimensions of adolescents' social skills and their self-esteem, well-being, coping, and social support. Found that scores on a social skills measure and on measures of the four psychosocial factors were related. The social skills measure identified three subgroups (assertives,…

Discusses the effects of a group counseling intervention on the social problem solving by and employment preparation of students in grades 9 and 10. Mathematics teachers implemented the intervention within a unit on mathematics problem solving. The intervention used a cognitive approach to counseling. Pretest and posttest scores and analyses of…

Analyzes interviews with four self-injuring young women. Suggests the meaning of self-injury is not the same as the meaning of attempted suicide, and that the two acts are related in the sense that self-injury is an adaptive alternative to suicide. The function of self-injury is a communicative act. The extent to with self-injurers can control…

Investigates social support for older adults in the computer-mediated environment. Finds that: satisfaction with Internet providers of social support was significantly higher for high Internet users than for low Internet users, whereas low Internet users were more satisfied with their non-Internet support networks than high Internet users; and…

This article introduces a framework for conceptualizing four forms of cognitive neuroplasticity. The concepts include: (1) homologous area adaptivity; (2) cross-modal reassignment; (3) map expansion; and (4) compensatory masquerade. The limitations of each form of plasticity are presented. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Reports on qualitative analyses on written responses to questions of school violence from school social workers (N=500). Respondents suggest that when a severe and violent event occurs, the entire school community should be cared for in the response. Comments reflect the severe sense of isolation, powerlessness, and despair school staff experience…

Describes the author's experiences in her team-taught multiage classroom (grades 4, 5, and 6) coping with the school district's implementation of a basal reader series. Discusses self-imposed changes versus mandated changes, and how she struggles to weave district mandates with her teaching beliefs and practices. (SR)

A father tells about his son with autism, who is now 26 years old, and describes how his son differs from the portrait of autism presented by professionals. The lessons he learned from his son and how his son helped him to become a more loving person are discussed. (Author/CR)

In this article, a woman who has high-functioning autism discusses her early years, her struggles with finding appropriate employment and her faith. Her movement from Roman Catholicism to Orthodox Christian is recounted, along with the way her religion has helped her through the many trials and tribulations in her life. (CR)

Interviews about their lives were conducted with six high-functioning adults with pervasive developmental disorder and their parents and/or siblings. Restricted interests played a significant role and provided a sense of well-being, however, following demands from their environment and social pressure, participants involved themselves in a process…

A study compared 27 participants with Angelman syndrome to clinical and community participants (n=948) with developmental disabilities of mixed etiology to determine whether Angelman syndrome is associated with a distinctive patterns of behavioral functioning. Those with Angelman syndrome had significantly lower scores on measures of irritability…

Examined in two studies the relation between multiple dimensions of parental support and stress for mothers and fathers of preschool children. Parenting stress included parenting hassles and perceived difficulties in helping the child acquire developmentally appropriate skills. Findings included that for mothers, kin support predicted fewer…

Examined how Asian American actors coped with the constraints of being minorities in an industry where physical appearance is crucial to success. Respondents' narratives reflected such coping strategies as not confronting issues of race, rationalizing that things are much better now for Asian American actors than in previous years, and believing…

A study of 18 families who adopted children with developmental disabilities found that nearly 12 years after their adoptions, families reported generally positive outcomes and good adjustment to their adopted children. Changes in the families were perceived as potential sources of reward as well as sources of stress. (Contains references.)…

Discusses the educational effects of social skills training on 14- to 16-year-old normal adolescents' social learning principles (social skills, self-esteem, well-being, and coping). Finds that the training was successful in several respects: (1) social anxiety decreased; (2) social activity increased; (3) self-esteem improved; and (4) used…