Animal-human interactions have been found to have positive influences on children across the world. In particular, research supports the benefits of animal-assisted activities in addressing students' social and behavioral problems within the classroom environment. The general information about animal-assisted activities provided in this…

In the classroom, time on-task is critical because it is linked to learning and success. When off-task behaviors occur, substantial learning and instructional time may be lost. Many students with disabilities struggle with remaining on-task, particularly during independent practice periods. Strategies to increase time on-task during classroom…

To one degree or another, inclusion is the word of the day in public schools across the country, and as a result many general education teachers find themselves face-to-face in their classrooms with students who have been diagnosed with behavior disorders (BD). While the behavior of these students is frequently (and euphemistically) referred to as…

Maladaptive adolescent behavior patterns often create escalating conflict with adults and peers, leading to poor long-term social trajectories. To address this, school-based behavior management often consists of contingent reinforcement for appropriate behavior, behavior reduction procedures, and placement in self-contained or alternative…

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits have proven important for designating children and adolescents showing a pattern of particularly severe, stable, and aggressive antisocial behaviors (Frick, Ray, Thornton, & Kahn, 2014). Individuals with secondary CU traits represent a subpopulation that are distinguished from those with primary CU traits by…

West Syndrome is a severe, early-onset epilepsy syndrome, with significant implications for subsequent neurological and cognitive development. While most children with a prior diagnosis of West Syndrome initially follow a normal developmental trajectory, there is evidence of subsequent emergence of clusters of difficulties, including autism…

Adopted children show more problem behaviors than nonadopted children. Given that internationally adopted individuals show earlier puberty than nonadopted individuals, and early puberty is associated with problem behaviors in nonadopted youth, we analyzed data from adopted domestic adoptees to determine whether problem behaviors could be explained…

In issue 37(1) of this journal, the authors published the findings of three studies addressing the status of Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders (CCBD) as an organization and of the field of special education for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD). In order to continue discussion of the status of CCBD, the editors…

Few studies have been found that to assess the factors that explain higher levels of family burden in adults with intellectual disability (ID) and intellectual disability and mental disorders (ID-MD). The aims of this study were to assess family burden in people with ID and ID-MD and to determine which sociodemographic, clinical and functional…

This discussion is drawn from the writings of two eminent founders of strength-based approaches to troubled children and adolescents. August Aichhorn is best known for his classic book, "Wayward Youth," and Fritz Redl as co-author of "Children Who Hate". August Aichhorn and Anna Freud mentored a young educational psychologist, Fritz Redl…

Latent class analyses were used to identify subsets of 217 12-year-old youth with early maltreatment histories based on youth and caregiver reports of externalizing behavior problems. The identified classes were validated using symptom counts and diagnoses for disruptive behavior disorders collected from youth and caregiver reports 2 years later.…

This study investigated the relationships among oppositional defiant attitudes, moral reasoning, moral value evaluation and self-reported delinquent behaviour in adolescents ("N" = 351, "M"[subscript AGE] = 13.8 years, "SD"[subscript AGE] = 1.1). Of particular interest were the moderating effects of age, educational…

The study examines the epidemiology of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) for children with intellectual disabilities (ID; n = 49), children with borderline intellectual functioning (BIF; n = 20), and typically developing children (TD; n = 115). The Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children was administered to mothers at child ages 5, 6, 7, 8,…

The present study examined the degree to which social anxiety predicts aggression in children with high functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASD, n = 20) compared to children with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD, n = 20) or with Oppositional Defiant Disorder or Conduct Disorder (ODD/CD, n = 20). As predicted, children with HFASD reported levels…

Peer tutoring is an instructional strategy that involves students helping each other learn content through repetition of key concepts. This meta-analysis examined effects of peer tutoring across 26 single-case research experiments for 938 students in Grades 1-12. The TauU effect size for 195 phase contrasts was 0.75 with a confidence interval of…