The relationship between life-skills development and post-high school career plans was examined. Adolescents selecting to go to four-year colleges/universities, two-year colleges, and technical/trade schools differed in terms of life-skills dimensions. Implications for mental-health counselors working with clients in the area of career choice are…

The effectiveness of simultaneous prompting, an instructional procedure which involves presenting the task direction and immediately providing the controlling prompt, was evaluated with four young adults with severe intellectual disabilities. Daily probe sessions assessed acquisition of the target behavior. Results indicated the procedure was…

Camp, with its community living focus, presents a constant source of potential conflicts and offers an ideal environment to help campers develop their problem-solving skills. Steps in social problem solving are listed, and an example of problem-solving skills in action is offered. Counselors can discuss conflicts with campers and ask for group…

A study of three children with autism investigated the effectiveness of a Japanese-based method called "Daily Life Therapy" used at the Boston Higashi School in Massachusetts. Over a two-year period, the students made strong gains in behavior and attending to classroom stimuli, but not necessarily in specific skill areas. (CR)

This study extended use of the One-More-Than technique by using a "cents-pile modification"; one-, five-, and ten-dollar bills; and mixed training of all dollar amounts. Three high school students with moderate mental retardation each learned to use the technique to count out nontrained amounts and to make community purchases. (Author/PB)

Thirty-six adults with moderate to severe mental retardation received either general case programming, rule learning, or attention control instruction in a table-setting learning task. General case programming and rule learning were successful in promoting generalized table setting. Only general case programming facilitated maintenance of…

This article offers a set of principles, procedures, and special considerations for teaching students who are deaf-blind with cognitive disabilities to make their own choices during mealtimes. The article shows how a typical daily activity can be used to teach choice making and how this skill can be increased in complexity as the student…

Uses action research methods to describe one classroom in order to urge English educators to invite their students to participate in literacy and social action. Suggests ways that Mikhail Bakhtin's literary theory can help English teachers and English educators discover and better understand the link of word and deed. (NH)

Describes an intensive habilitation program in Sicily for young adults with severe and profound retardation. Participants in the program showed significant improvement in functional skills and an accompanying reduction in maladaptive and stereotypic behaviors, without complex behavior plans; punishing contingencies; or high dose neuroleptic,…

This article presents early descriptive findings on youths and their experiences in the first 12 to 18 months after leaving foster care as part of the state of Wisconsin's Foster Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study. Findings suggest that the transition to independence is a difficult time for youth leaving the out-of-home care system. (Author/SD)

Presents a review of David K. Brooks' generic life-skills taxonomy. Discusses implications of a life-skills taxonomy in terms of its theoretical and practice fit with key features of mental health counseling. Argues that a life-skills approach based on developmental theory and research provides a practical framework to deliver effective treatments…

This study examined how Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale scores changed in individuals with autism as a function of age and initial IQ. Results revealed that subjects (N=440) improved with age in all domains. The rate of growth on Communication and Daily Living Skills sub-tests was related to initial IQ while rate of growth in Social Skills was…

A study investigated generalization effects of script-based intervention in increasing semantic relation skills among four Korean preschoolers with language disorders. The script-based intervention was effective at increasing all participants' use of semantic relation skills and generalizing the acquired semantic relation skills across non-trained…

In this article, the author, Program Administrator of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) Project New Attitudes in Clearwater, Florida, describes the project. The PCSO is the country's largest law enforcement agency, providing law enforcement services to over 400,000 of its residents who reside in the unincorporated areas of the county and…

In this article, the author describes the Lifeskills for Women program of the Shelby County Division of Corrections (Memphis, Tennessee). The program offers strategies and approaches to reversing faulty cognitive systems and behavioral patterns of incarcerated women preparing for community reentry. First implemented in 1997, and subsequently…