Purpose: This study aimed to examine the initial efficacy of a parent-assisted blended intervention combining components of Structured TEACCHing and Social Thinking, designed to increase social communication and self-regulation concept knowledge in 1st and 2nd graders (n = 17) diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their parents.…

Background: With rates of autism diagnosis continuing to rise, there is an urgent need for effective and efficient service delivery models. Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) is considered an established treatment for autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, there have been few well-controlled studies with adequate sample size. The aim of this study…

This study describes an evaluation of a read aloud intervention to improve comprehension and vocabulary of first-grade students. Twelve teachers were randomly assigned to an intervention or comparison condition. The study lasted 19 weeks, and the intervention focused on the systematic use of narrative and expository texts and dialogic interactions…

Four-year olds (n=167) in Head Start were assigned to an intervention condition involving an add-on emergent literacy curriculum or the regular Head Start program. Intervention effects were large for writing and print domains and were noted for language when primary caregivers were actively involved in the intervention. (SLD)

The increased prevalence and seriousness of antisocial behavior displayed by today's youths have become serious concerns for parents, educators, and community members. Antisocial behavior has a developmental course that starts with minor offenses in preschool (e.g., whining, teasing, noncompliance) and develops into major offenses (e.g.,…

Families of 159, 4- to 8-year-old children with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) were randomly assigned to parent training (PT); parent plus teacher training (PT + TT); child training (CT); child plus teacher training (CT + TT); parent, child, plus teacher training (PT + CT + TT); or a waiting list control. Reports and independent observations…

This study evaluated effects of training parents of 33 children (ages 3 to 6) with mild/moderate language delays in either effective joint book-reading techniques (using the Whitehurst Dialogic Reading Training Program) or more general conversational instruction. Results suggest the potential of the book-reading training for facilitating language…