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Alternative education settings (AES; i.e., self-contained alternative schools, therapeutic day treatment and residential schools, and juvenile corrections schools) serve youth with complicated and often serious academic and behavioral needs. The use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) and practices with Best Available Evidence are necessary to increase the likelihood of long-term success for these youth. In this chapter, we define three primary categories of AES and review what we know about the characteristics of youth in these schools. Next, we discuss the current emphasis on identifying and implementing EBPs with regard to both academic interventions (i.e., reading and mathematics) and interventions addressing student behavior. In particular, we consider implementation in AES, where there are often high percentages of youth requiring special education services and who have a significant need for EBPs to succeed academically, behaviorally, and in their transition to adulthood. We focus our discussion on: (a) examining approaches to identifying EBPs; (b) providing a brief review of EBPs and Best Available Evidence in the areas of mathematics, reading, and interventions addressing student behavior for youth in AES; (c) delineating key implementation challenges in AES; and (d) providing recommendations for how to facilitate the use of EBPs in AES.

Social skills deficits characterize a large proportion of students with or at risk for social, emotional, and behavioral disabilities. Social skills are viewed as academic enablers in that they are attitudes and skills that enable students to benefit from academic instruction. Alternatively, problem behaviors are viewed as academic disablers because they compete with the acquisition and performance of academic and social skills. Students lacking social skills and exhibiting competing problem behaviors are in need of systematic social skills interventions to remediate their social skills deficits. This chapter describes what is currently known about the efficacy of social skills interventions using data from both narrative reviews and meta-analyses of the social skills training literature. Based on these reviews, social skills interventions are effective with approximately 65% of students receiving these interventions. Randomized studies produce higher effect sizes, with 82% of students showing improvement compared to only 58% of students in nonrandomized studies. An example of a social skills instructional model using the Social Skills Improvement System-Intervention Guide concludes the chapter.

Children with acquired brain injury (ABI) are at significant risk of serious behavioural and social difficulties. The burgeoning growth of research documenting behavioural sequelae after paediatric ABI has not been met with a concomitant level of research aimed at treating the problem. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether a manualised behavioural intervention support programme could reduce challenging behaviours in children with ABI and improve family-parental well-being and functioning.

A total of 61 parents (48 mothers and 13 fathers) of 48 children aged between three and 12 years with mild, moderate, or severe ABI received an ABI adapted “Signposts for Building Better Behaviour” programme (Hudson et al., 2001) in group-support (GS) or telephone-support (TS) format. Trained “Signposts” practitioners delivered the programme over a five-month period. The programme consisted of nine information booklets, a DVD, and workbook. All families completed pre-intervention and post-intervention evaluations.

On an average parents completed 7.92 out of a possible nine intervention sessions (range 7-9). Parents in both TS and GS formats reported significant reductions in challenging child behaviours irrespective of injury severity. They also reported significant reductions in dysfunctional parenting practices, stress and family burden.

Overall, the current research provides support for Signposts to be used with families of children with ABI in an attempt to ameliorate negative outcomes for family, parent, and child.

Where no psychosocial or interventional support is provided, children with acquired brain injury (ABI) are at significant risk of serious long-term behavioural and social difficulties. The purpose of this paper is to report the six- and 18-month long-term treatment effects of a family centred behavioural intervention to help families manage and prevent challenging behaviours in children following ABI.

In total, 31 parents were followed up at three time points (post-intervention, 6 and 18 months) after participating in an ABI adapted manualised “Signposts for Building Better Behaviour” programme (Hudson et al., 2003).

Attrition rates were highest amongst families caring for a child with mild ABI. The maintenance of treatment effects were detailed for those families who reported a reduction in challenging behaviour immediately post-intervention. There were no significant elevations in challenging child behaviour, maladaptive parenting, or family dysfunction for any participants over the long-term follow-up. Irrespective of injury severity, parents reported high levels of satisfaction and efficacy in the parenting role at 18 months post-intervention.

“Signposts” has further demonstrated its clinical viability by meeting the needs of parents who have a child with ABI in both the short- and longer-term.

Building the resilience of children with intellectual disabilities (ChID) can help reduce the personal, social and economic costs associated with mental ill health among such children. The purpose of this paper is to review the research evidence on resilience in ChID and to suggest areas for further research.

Journal articles published in the last 20 years were searched in on-line databases to find potential papers for this review. The inclusion criteria were to search for published journal articles covering the theme of resilience in ChID and their families. All identified titles and abstracts were screened which resulted in 50 articles. These were scrutinised more thoroughly and 34 remaining articles were selected for review.

Resilience is a dynamic process involving interactions between various risk and protective processes both internal and external to the individual that act to mediate the influences of adverse life events. Five key themes were identified within the literature which helped to form a picture of the current understanding of resilience among ChID and their careers. These were increased risk factors associated with ID, the role of personal attributes on resilience, family and resilience, schooling and resilience, and cultural factors which enhance resilience.

Despite the consistency with which poor outcomes for ChID have been reported there is little investigation of the specific causes, contributory factors and processes that might improve them. This paper contributes to greater understanding of resilience factors for children and young people with ID and provides areas for further research.

The research reported here examines the experiences of women with learning disabilities who have lived at the only specialist refuge available in this country. A full description of the specialist refuge is given and lessons drawn for other learning disability service providers. The importance of safe, women‐only space is emphasised.

Excessive use of work-related information technology (IT) devices can lead to major performance and well-being concerns for organizations. Extant research has provided evidence of the incidence of such problematic IT use in organizations. We extend the understanding of problematic IT use by examining its individual (proximal) and organizational (distal) antecedents.

Drawing from the self-worth theory and the concept of fear of being left behind, we address proximal antecedents that lead to problematic IT use. Drawing from the concept of autonomy paradox, we address distal antecedents of problematic IT use through a positive association with the two proximal antecedents. We report the results of a field study involving 846 individuals who use IT for work. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the data.

The results indicate that the proximal antecedents (IT insecurity and fear of missing out) are positively associated with problematic IT use. The distal antecedents (IT use autonomy and involvement facilitation) are positively associated with the proximal antecedents except for the relationship between IT use autonomy and IT insecurity, which was found statistically non-significant. Furthermore, fear of missing out fully mediates the effect of IT use autonomy on problematic IT use, whereas IT insecurity and fear of missing out fully mediate the effects of involvement facilitation on problematic IT use.

The paper theoretically extends the understanding of problematic IT use and identifies novel its proximal and distal antecedents.

The purpose of this paper is to present the preliminary outcomes of a research which takes gradual exposure in virtual reality (VR) outside the laboratory to empower people with “hidden disabilities” breaking down their barriers towards independent living. It explores the use of VR through smartphones to practically apply gradual exposure to environment stressors that are typically found in busy spaces from one’s own safe environment.

Aberdeen International Airport has kindly accepted to take part to this research as a case study. Following a participatory design and usability testing, a semi-controlled seven-day study was conducted among seven individuals with hidden disabilities to assess user acceptance.

Results showed undeniable participants’ engagement and enthusiasm for the proposed approach, although further research is needed to increase the presence and improve the overall user experience.

The proposed research has been conducted on small cohort of participants outside of a clinical setting. Further engagement with individuals with hidden disabilities is required in order to determine the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

This research presents a methodological and technological framework which contributes effectively to the practicality of VR exposure therapy outside of the laboratory setting, from one’s own safe place.

The purpose of this study was to test a new approach to deviancy training, that is, the shaping and reinforcing of disruptive behaviors in social interaction, which considers not only reinforcement, but also the modeling processes involved, as well as children's roles as either providers or receivers of the training.

Using teacher reports and observations from a semi-naturalistic experimental setting with young children, the authors examined the prevalence of provided and received modeling and positive reinforcement, as well as the concurrent contribution of behavior problems on these processes in friendship dyads using a convenience sample of six-year-old twins (N=783; 386 boys). Frequency analyses and linear and logistic regressions were conducted.

Results indicated that modeling and positive reinforcement – provided and received – were prevalent in this low-risk sample, that behavior problems were associated mainly with provided dimensions, and that deviancy training processes were also displayed between disruptive and non-disruptive children.

Findings are relevant to peer-oriented programs designed to prevent antisocial behaviors. Prevention should target these mixed friendships where deviant behavior likely begins.

This study provides preliminary support for a new measure of deviancy training, underscores the importance of the roles taken by children, and shows that deviancy training takes place between disruptive and non-disruptive young children.

The advent of the Internet and social medial presents major challenges to contemporary social work involving young people and their families particularly in the sphere of fostering.

This discussion paper begins an exploration of how risk and vulnerability, associated with the use of social networking, are usually managed using a traditional model that is rooted in psychologically informed social work.

The discussion then moves to viewing an alternative model of social work that is informed by the sociology of childhood. An argument is made that this model can be effectively used to meet the challenges of safeguarding in a technological age.