Background: There are approximately 1 billion people in the world with some form of disability. This corresponds to approximately 15% of the world's population (World Report on Disability, 2011). The majority of people with disabilities (80%) live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where disability has been shown to disproportionately…

A burgeoning research literature investigates the sibling relationships of youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their implications for individual adjustment. Focusing on four relationship domains--behaviors, emotions, cognitions and involvement--and toward advancing this generally atheoretical literature, we review and apply tenets from a…

In this conceptual article, we integrate existing literature on early school transitions, ecological systems theory, and student-teacher relationships to propose a framework for investigating the transition to school for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). A review of the literature suggests that the quality of early student-teacher…

Adolescents experiencing the death of a parent face additional challenges in navigating the physical, mental, emotional, and social adjustment associated with adolescent development. This review explores the impact of parental death on adolescent development and offers empirical support for counseling interventions. Factors addressed include…

Background: There have been several reports of successful psychosocial interventions for children with selective mutism (SM), a disorder in which a child consistently fails to speak in one or more social settings (e.g., school) despite speaking normally in other settings (e.g., home). The present literature review was undertaken in order to…

This article reviews the components of social validation and how they apply to social skills assessment for people with disabilities. Components include the social importance of the intervention outcomes, the social significance of the goals, the appropriateness of the procedures, and determination of the optimal levels for target behaviors.…

This paper argues for a broad interpretation of the definition of social maladjustment; presents a hypothetical model of the relationship between adequacy of parenting and adequacy of environment; discusses methods for identifying social maladjustment; and describes programing for prevention and rehabilitation through development of social…

The Self-Esteem Index (SEI), designed to assess self-esteem in school-age children and adolescents, is composed of four self-esteem subscales: Perception of Familial Acceptance, Perception of Academic Competence, Perception of Peer Popularity, and Perception of Personal Security. Discusses these subscales and makes recommendations regarding the…

Based upon evidence that peer rejection is a marker variable asociated with maladaptive social-emotional development and the risk of later maladjustment, psychologists have focused both on understanding the factors contributing to peer rejection and on preventive interventions designed to remediate social adjustment problems evident in grade…

The concept of entrapment, viewed as a conceptual framework for social interaction skills training, is a behavioral process whereby newly acquired social responses come under the control of naturally occurring reinforcers, usually the social behavior of peers. Selection of target behaviors and intervention procedures to promote entrapment are…

The paper addresses the view that many of the secondary students suspended or excluded from school for disruptive behavior may be socially/emotionally handicapped. The legal and service delivery implications of this position are discussed within the context of current Australian special education policy. (DB)

This paper reviews research relevant to the adjustment of adults with learning disabilities (LD) in the areas of academic, occupation/vocational, social, and personal/emotional functioning. After an introduction, methodological concerns are raised in the areas of sampling, definitions, experimental designs, and instrumentation. The review…

The characteristics of students identified as learning disabled are explored in relation to their social adjustment and acceptance. Two different approaches to remediation are discussed: direct remediation of the social skills and behaviors of the learning-disabled students and changing the attitudes of their nondisabled classmates. (Author/PB)

Office discipline referrals (ODRs) are widely used by school personnel to evaluate student behavior and the behavioral climate of schools. In this article, the authors report the results of a review of the relevant literature to evaluate the validity of ODR data as indices of school-wide behavioral climate, the effects of school-wide behavioral…

The paper reviews research studies on identification and treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Studies investigating the three primary ADHD dimensions of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness are initially cited, followed by a review of research in the related dimensions of cognitive attributions/locus of control,…