Thesis (M.A.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed Jan. 22, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 47-54).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 117-123). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 117-123). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2008. / Directed by Susan P. Keane; submitted to the Dept. of Psychology. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jan. 28, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 31-39).

The number of children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who are being served in the public school system has increased dramatically in recent years. During an increased focus on inclusion within education, research shows that students with ASD educated in the general education classroom generally do not have as many friends as their peers without ASD. However, some students with ASD are found to have more friends than other students with ASD. Therefore, additional research must explore potential factors that may be influencing the success with which students with ASD form friendships within the general education classroom. Using a multiple case study ecological approach, this study examines child, peer, and general education teacher factors related to the friendship patterns of three male students with ASD in fourth or fifth grade general education classrooms. Results from this study indicate that consistent with previous research, some students with ASD are found to be more socially embedded within the social network of the general education classroom and report greater levels of social satisfaction than other students with ASD. Findings suggest that for the three participants within this study, having two solid friendships, regardless of the social status of the friends of the student with ASD, may be related to a higher level of social network status and lower levels of self-reported loneliness for students with ASD. Factors that were found to be important for the three target students in this study included quality of social skills, quality of friendship, understanding of the construct of friendship, and general education teacher experience level. Factors that were found to be less important for the three target students in this study included peer attitudes towards children with disabilities, teacher attitudes towards inclusion of students with autism, teacher knowledge of autism, and teacher knowledge and use of evidence-based practices. Possible explanations for these findings, as well as limitations, directions for future research, and implications are discussed.

Social skills training was investigated in an after-school program setting with four seven- and eight-year-old males. Two were Hispanic and two were African-American. Social skills training consisted of a direct instruction, behavioral learning model of skillstreaming as described by McGinnis and Goldstein (1997). There were four major components to each social skills training session: (1) an explanation of the skill being taught; (2) modeling by the researcher of the skill being taught; (3) role play by each of the participants; and (4) performance feedback regarding the role plays. Sessions lasted approximately 30 minutes and were held weekly throughout the intervention phases of the study. The behaviors taught were raising ones hand before leaving the seat, sitting properly in ones seat, and attending to homework or staff instructions. Participants also received reinforcement for performance of the social skills in homework sessions at the after school program, as is consistent with the literature regarding social skills training. However, the reinforcement and behavior learning (direct instruction) components were introduced both in combination and at separate times to experimentally control for the influence of each intervention component. This research design allows for the investigation into the relative effectiveness of direct instruction versus reinforcement in social skills training. Experimental control was demonstrated through the use of a multiple baseline across behaviors design. Direct instruction and reinforcement for behaviors were systematically introduced at separate times, keeping some behaviors under baseline condition while moving others into intervention conditions. Visual analysis of the results indicates that social skills training was effective in improving the three target behaviors of all four students. Direct instruction, reinforcement, and the combination of the two presented together all were effective in improving the target behaviors. Possible intervention effects not related to social skills training may have influenced the behavior of attending.

Studies have shown that increasing eye contact can be accomplished by using reinforcement, prompting, shaping, functional movement training, punishment, and self-monitoring. However, there is a lack of research that evaluates the use of technology as a way to increase eye contact. This study tested the effectiveness of a tablet application at increasing eye contact in children diagnosed with autism. The application requires the child to look at a picture of a person's face and identify the number displayed in the person's eyes in order to receive reinforcement. Data was collected immediately after training, one hour after training, and in the natural environment. The tablet application was not effective at increasing eye contact for any of the three participants. Once the tablet application was shown to be ineffective, the researcher used differential reinforcement to increase eye contact. All three participants showed an increase in eye contact once the differential reinforcement training was implemented.

Students with persistent challenging behaviors are associated with negative school, community, and transition outcomes. The presence of challenging behavior is due in part to social skills deficits that are in need of remediation. Although social skills interventions are commonly provided to this student population, they are often ineffective at promoting behavior generalization and maintenance, which is necessary for improving social outcomes and developing social competency. Social skills interventions also fail to consider the individual characteristics of social skills deficits when they are conceptualized. Function-based social skills and replacement behavior interventions may be effective at addressing these concerns. This dissertation study investigated the effects of function-based social skills and replacement behavior interventions on the problem behavior of three students who attended a public elementary school in rural Central Texas. Results show an experimental effect for two of the three participants when observation data on challenging behaviors for baseline and treatment phases were compared. Generalization of behavior change was also measured for all three participants, with analysis of observation data indicating a positive effect for two of the three participants. vi Maintenance of behavior change was strong for two participants. The limited effectiveness of the intervention for one participant may be explained in part by the absence of intervention components that may have been critical to student success. Lower levels of implementation fidelity also may explain the limited effectiveness of the intervention. A social validity measure indicated that participating teachers and an assistant teacher viewed the interventions positively. A comparison of pre and post intervention scores on the teacher report form of the Behavior Assessment Scale for Children show some improvement in student composite scores, particularly Externalizing Behaviors. However, student composite scores still fell in the Clinically Significant or At-Risk range. / text

Although common in toddlerhood, for most children, antisocial behavior declines with age. The current study examined whether changes in maternal sensitivity, children's social skills, emotion regulation, and hostile attributions account for these declines. Data from 1022 participants, (52% female; 87% Caucasian) from the NICHD SECCYD were examined from 54 months through 6th grade. Analyses revealed that increases in sensitivity, social skills, and emotion regulation predicted decreases in antisocial behavior. Increases in sensitivity predicted declines because they promoted social skills and emotion regulation. Decreases in antisocial behavior predicted subsequent increases in sensitivity, children's social skills, emotion regulation, and decreases in hostile attributions. Increasing sensitivity, children's social skills, and emotion regulation, appear to be critical factors for naturally-occurring declines in antisocial behavior. / text

To date the research in the area of social emotional competence has focused on child-based intervention and outcomes. The findings cite effective approaches to assisting children in the area of social and emotional development involving promotion of appropriate social skills, explicit instruction of behavioral expectations, and support for emotional literacy and awareness (Wester -- Stratton, 1990; Hyson, 2004; Fox et al, 2003; Denham & Burton, 1996). These recommended practices requires teacher knowledge and skill, content knowledge in the area of social emotional developmental, and skills in using pedagogical techniques that support acquisition of the aforementioned areas. Educational researchers and specialists cannot begin to support the advancement of teacher practice in the area of social-emotional competence until they are clear on the methods and behaviors childcare professional currently employ. On the basis of a review of empirical literature, it is clear that limited descriptive information about childcare provider's pedagogical practices in the area of promoting social, emotional, and behavioral competence exists. The intent of this inquiry was to investigate childcare professionals' chosen methods in guiding children's social and behavioral development. After identifying which methods were used, the researcher sought to describe the childcare professional's intention when choosing to use specific pedagogical techniques during large- and small-group instruction. Specifically, the concentration of interest was on the methods used during teacher-initiated instruction (such as large and small group) to guide children's social skill building and behavioral expectation compliance. Research questions were examined using a mixed methodological framework with a descriptive research design component and a phenomenographic approach incorporating stimulated recall. Findings suggest childcare professionals readily and proficiently engage in explicit instruction around behavioral expectations. However, they rarely systematically instruct children on social skills. Childcare professionals seem to rely on the implicit nature of day to day interactions to embed social interactions and reactions. Further, childcare professionals seem to be primed for systematic instruction around the promotion of social skills. They are cognoscente of explicit techniques to guide behavioral expectation compliance but seem to have limited transference from this skill to explicit instruction in social skill acquisition. Additional findings and implications are provided in the text.