Social deficits are a hallmark characteristic among adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), yet few evidence-based interventions exist aimed at improving social skills for this population, and none have examined the maintenance of treatment gains years after the intervention has ended. This study examines the durability of the Program…

"Historical empathy" connotes "perspective taking-in-historical-context," or explaining the intentions that motivated behavior within a framework of beliefs, values, and institutions, among other factors, as they existed at some time and in some place, rather than through contemporary norms and perspectives. As a construct,…

Adolescents struggle with many types of conflicts in their lives. They must define relationships with friends, teachers, parents, and themselves. Disagreements will arise, and without the proper training, many teens are left feeling angry, confused, or depressed. Teaching middle school students to deal with conflict productively at an early age…

Students can avoid poor choices if educators teach them to stop and ask themselves, "Is this the right thing to do?" To be effective, schools must create a climate of high expectations, not only in terms of academic performance, but also to elevate the levels of students' decision-making processes. Educators can do this through coaching, modeling,…

Many students with disabilities have difficulty acquiring social skills, especially those necessary for employment. Students with autism struggle because of problems with (1) theory of mind; (2) reading facial expressions; (3) auditory processing problems; and (4) a lack of exposure to social conventions. Virtual reality and video have been used…

"Voices Literature and Character Education Program" ("Voices LACE"; formerly known as Voices of Love and Freedom and Literacy and Values) is a K-12 program that aims to promote positive character and citizenship values, literacy skills, and social skills. The program contains a curriculum that can be used over any length of…

A language-based social skills instruction intervention used to prepare middle and high school students with emotional/behavioral disorders for return to less restrictive public school placements was evaluated. The daily 50-minute intervention focused on repetitive readings, recitations, and role-playing of skill step procedures until students…

The objectives of this study were to examine outcomes of the Minnesota D.A.R.E. Plus Project on violence-related behaviors among middle school students and mediation analyses that test how the intervention was effective in reducing physical and verbal violence. Twenty-four schools were randomly assigned to the D.A.R.E. middle school curriculum,…