A canine-assisted reading program, a form of animal-assisted intervention (AAI), is a goal-oriented program that incorporates trained animals--particularly canines--in formal human services. In recent decades, the positive effects of human-animal interaction in supporting the social, psychological, and physiological needs of humans have been…

As funding cuts require schools to do more with less, one main concern is how to continue high-quality learning. That's an ever more difficult proposition where students who have any of a variety of learning difficulties are involved. In such situations an educational therapist can be helpful. Educational therapy is an emerging discipline and…

Solution-focused brief counseling (SFBC) is an efficient and direct approach to therapy that emphasizes problem identification and solutions. A multiple-baseline-across-participants design was used to evaluate the effects of a SFBC intervention on mathematics assignment completion and accuracy across six fifth-grade students who were failing math.…

This article explores the relationship between thinking patterns and emotional skills identified by 2 research-derived measures of emotional intelligence that reflect integrative and positive theories of human behavior. Findings suggest implications for planning educational and counseling interventions to facilitate positive growth and future…

Conductive education (CE) is an intensive, holistic approach to the education of people with physical disabilities that recognizes that teaching and learning are related to the emotional, cognitive, and physical aspects of individuals. Despite its popularity in the United States and throughout the world, research has not demonstrated a clear…

Preparing people with disabilities for employment is an important task. Many individuals have difficulty learning and performing employment skills without support or guidance. This article describes how literacy-based behavioral interventions (LBBIs), instructional interventions that use print or pictures as an instructional medium, can help…

Well-informed teachers of young children recognize the importance of children's social development. The development of social skills lays a critical foundation for later academic achievement as well as work-related skills. Social development is such a key issue with young children that a number of methods to address social skills have been…

Educational therapy is an approach to alleviating a wide range of educationally related problems through consideration of the four foci: specific nature of academics, relationship between student and academics, relationship between therapist and student, and the triadic relationship of therapist, student, and academic work. (CL)

A less aggressive treatment strategy is proposed in the area of children's voice disorders. Speech clinicians are urged not to be over-zealous in imposition of their own voice standards. The potential threat that vocal pathologies hold for children's larynges is felt to be largely over-rated. (Author/JDD)

The article describes the social comparison method of social validation and reports on several studies in which it was used to evaluate interventions with learning disabled (LD) students. Several implications and areas for further study are discussed, relating to the use of the social comparison method in evaluating treatment programs for LD…

The stresses of underachieving gifted children and the reasons for those stresses are examined. These stresses include pressure to be brilliant, creative, popular, and good. Recommendations for dealing with underachievement syndrome are provided, and brief case studies of underachieving gifted children are cited. (JDD)

An overview of the historical development of educational therapy as a treatment model for individuals with exceptional needs is presented, and two major disciplines--the psychoeducational model and the mental health approach--are critiqued. A more comprehensive model of education is proposed. (Author/CL)

The article places in perspective the evolution of curriculum or instructional programs for the mildly handicapped adolescent, identifies several major influences on current practices, and examines the assumptions underlying assessment and intervention in the context of intensive instruction. (DLS)

Sixteen pupils, aged four to six, with various disabilities requiring intervention services in motor skills acquisition, participated in a follow-up study. The study found that gross motor gains resulting from intensive intervention failed to continue once the intervention was withdrawn. Fine motor skills were not affected by the gross motor…

Describes and evaluates a student-administered group-oriented contingency technique for improving the arithmetic performance of grade school children. (KH)