The understanding, expression, and regulation of emotion have been identified as core to everyday communication and psychosocial adjustment in children. The aim of this paper is to review and to compare current clinical and empirical knowledge on emotion recognition, reciprocity, and expression deficits in children diagnosed with autism spectrum…

Drawing from social-ecological systems theory, the authors argue that current research on childhood bullying would benefit from analyses that consider the mesosystem--specifically, how teacher-student relationships can influence children's bullying experiences. The authors provide two theoretical conceptions for how children's peer interactions…

As a psychotherapist and meditation instructor, this author was drawn to what mindfulness teachings say about function of mind and heart in learning. Sakyong Mipham (2003) teaches that the mind is naturally compassionate, open, and receptive. The question becomes, what prevents the arising of these inherent characteristics of love? These same…

The development of babies whose families are homeless can easily be affected by their uncertain living arrangements. The PACT Therapeutic Nursery's attachment-based, trauma-informed, mindfully focused family interventions help these children and families move beyond the trauma of shelter living. In the past year, Nursery clinicians have infused…

The events surrounding Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court will have an effect of college campuses--and not just in the near term. Campuses will be brimming over with concerns about how people treat each other, how people engage with each other, how people of different views can respond to each other and how we form attachments to…

Students with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) often display significant intrusive behaviors and need specific behavioral, social-emotional, and academic supports. Given the background of trauma consistent with a RAD diagnosis, it is imperative that school personnel understand the social-emotional behavioral supports needed to help children with…

Helicopter parents get a bad rap. Teachers and administrators should view them as a resource--not a nuisance. By encouraging open communication, teachers can begin to understand the motivations of these parents and find creative ways to connect them with opportunities to promote their students' academic success and the school's overall…

Attachment disorders are a relatively rare condition affecting children. This is particularly true for those who are adopted or living in foster care, and are thought to be attributed to an interruption in the bonding between a child and his or her caregiver. Attachment disorders are divided into two distinct categories: a predominately withdrawn…

We discuss oral history interviews with academics who laid the foundation of research and pedagogies in daycare for under three-year-olds in Europe and North and South America since the 1970s. Their work is clearly embedded in the social-political context of their country: the left-wing programmes for disadvantaged families in the U.S.A.;…

Caregiver-child relationships offer the first opportunity for a healthy start and the possibility for a secure attachment. Balanced and healthy dyadic emotional communication is referred to as "emotional availability" (EA; Biringen, Robinson, & Emde, 1998). EA in a family is enhanced when there is lower stress, often addressed…

Infants are born primed to develop attachment relationships. However, when infants are hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit at birth, the stress and trauma associated with the highly specialized medical environment can threaten the development of a nurturing and secure caregiving relationship. Infant mental health is an evidence-based…

This paper discusses the purposes that outdoor education does, could and should serve in Singapore. Gert Biesta's conceptualisation of three functions of education is adapted to frame deliberations on the purposes of outdoor education in Singapore's socio-political and educational milieu. The author suggests that outdoor education in Singapore…

Reactive attachment disorder of infancy or early childhood (RAD) was introduced as a psychiatric condition in DSM-III in 1980 (American Psychiatric Association; APA). Students who have this condition, which is associated with experiencing severe social neglect during early development (i.e., before the age of 5), have significant difficulties with…

How do responsive adult-child interactions influence early language development? How do a child's language skills develop in tandem with social-emotional development, executive function, and literacy? What are effective ways to help parents support their child's development? Uncover the answers to these questions in this fascinating book, which…

In the last few decades, grief and loss research in the psychological domain has focused almost exclusively on its dysfunctional nature. I examine what is underneath these questions about pathology and suggest that our discipline is suffering from an attachment wound where we have dissociated from our historical roots when it comes to the study of…