Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have deficits in social skills, and interaction with service dogs has been associated with increased social skills for children with ASD. In this telephone survey of 70 parents of children with ASD, children owning dogs had greater Mean scores for social skills, using the Social Skills Improvement System Rating Scale, while those with some type of pe...

The purpose of this study was to consider the goodness of fit of a structural model of the relationship between teachers' job motivation and their social capital and social-emotional skills with the mediation of self-efficacy. The research method was descriptive-correlational. The statistical population included female teachers working in the 10th and 5th districts of Tehran in the second secon...

Previous studies using adult observers are inconsistent with regard to social skills deficits in nonclinical socially anxious youth. The present study investigated whether same age peers perceive a lack of social skills in the socially anxious. Twenty high and 20 low socially anxious adolescents (13-17 years old) were recorded giving a 5-min speech. Unfamiliar peer observers (12-17 years old) v...

This study examined the effect of involvement in mutual support groups on long-term recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and other vulnerable individuals. From qualitative interviews with nine group members, the study identified key themes, benefits, and barriers related to involvement in the groups. Content analysis of the data revealed insights about characteristics of...

In this paper, we describe an architecture for supporting and guiding children story-creation activities. Stories and story telling activities are present in all children developmental stages, assuming distinct roles in each stage. Within the scope of this research, our target population is children aged 7-9 years old, within the portuguese education context within which we are working, for who...

Playgrounds are underutilized for enhancing the social development of young children with special needs. The unstructured, fast-paced nature of play in this setting necessitates using teacher-mediated interventions to enhance inclusion of children with special needs in cooperative interactions with their typically developing peers. In this review, we discuss the importance of moving classroom c...

Lonely individuals may decode social cues well but have difficulty putting such skills to use precisely when they need them--in social situations. In four studies, we examined whether lonely people choke under social pressure by asking participants to complete social sensitivity tasks framed as diagnostic of social skills or nonsocial skills. Across studies, lonely participants performed worse ...

 Integrated into the overall system of care and includes a continuum of step-up and stepdown services within the same provider organization.  Offers a comprehensive and ecological model of multi-model treatment interventions into an integrated whole, designed to meet the individual needs of a child and the child’s family.  Commitment to national standards of excellence, a continuous commitme...

The objective of the studies presented in this paper was to examine whether the need to belong can be used to enhance exercise cognitions and behavior. Two studies examined the effectiveness of framing exercise as a means of boosting social skills (versus health benefits) for self-regulatory efficacy, exercise intentions, and (in Study 2) exercise behavior. In Study 1, inactive adults primed to...