Supporting Students With Disabilities With Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports in the Classroom: Lessons Learned From Research and Practice

Positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) is a widely adopted framework to support the social, emotional, and behavioral growth of all students. This article addresses two key questions related to supporting students with disabilities through PBIS: (a) Why focus on universal classroom PBIS practices?—without support, students with disabilities experience poor outcomes—and (b) How do you implement PBIS in classrooms that support all students?—differentiate and intensify supports.

Treatment Considerations for Adolescents Who Exhibit Cognitive/Communication Problems: A Neuroscience Perspective

Purpose Adolescence is a period of substantial neurophysiological and behavioral growth, representing a second sensitive period of brain development. It is a psychological and social transition period between childhood and adulthood with many beneficial changes occurring, especially with respect to potential responsiveness to clinical intervention. However, adolescent behavioral complexities introduce clinical challenges as well. The purpose of this review article is to review the current neuroimaging research on neurophysiological changes observed during adolescence and the cognitive and social behavioral counterparts, with specific attention to the clinical implications. The review article will then summarize currently available intervention tools that can be utilized by speech-language pathologists working with this population. It will conclude with available evidence-based social-communication approaches that may be applicable as well as available evidence-based supplemental technological cognitive interventions that may be useful in working with adolescents who exhibit language and communication issues. Conclusion As a transition period between childhood and adulthood, adolescence represents a second sensitive period during which there is opportunity for clinically derived beneficial cognitive and communication growth.

Using a Positive Lens

Getting to know students through their positive attributes, along with any obstacles to their success, can lead to academic, social, and behavioral growth. Defining twice exceptional (2e) as those whose high abilities are coupled with learning and/or behavioral challenges, this chapter illustrates 2e using the metaphor of green. This provides a fresh representation what being 2e means and also highlights why conventional educational plans may not be as effective as desired. To engage 2e students, the chapter introduces a practical, dynamic process––The Suite of Tools™—which allows educators to collect information about students’ strengths, talents, and interests and synthesize the information into a strength-based framework. Such information results in the development of personalized options to leverage strengths and interests for skill development, integrate strengths into the curriculum, and develop a personalized menu of talent development opportunities.

The Short Questionnaire to Assess Health-Enhancing (SQUASH) Physical Activity in Adolescents: A Validation Using Doubly Labeled Water

Background:Accurate assessment of physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) among adolescents is important for surveillance, evaluating interventions, and understanding the relation between energy balance and normal physiological and behavioral growth and development. The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of the Short Questionnaire to Assess Health-Enhancing Physical Activity (SQUASH)13 for measuring PAEE among adolescents.Methods:The participants were seventeen adolescents (9 females; Mean age = 17.53; SD = 0.62). Energy expenditure was measured during a 9-day period with doubly labeled water (DLW). The SQUASH was self-administered on the morning of the 10th day and assessed commuting activities, leisure time activities, household activities, and activities at work and school over the previous 9 days.Results:A Bland-Altman plot indicated that the SQUASH underestimated PAEE compared with DLW by a mean difference of 126 kcal·d−1 (95% limits of agreement: –1,207 to 1,459 kcal·d−1), representative of a 10% underestimation. The Spearman rank order correlation coefficient showed there was a significant association between the SQUASH and DLW (r = .50, P = .04), for estimating PAEE.Conclusion:When using a sample of highly active adolescents, the SQUASH is a valid self-report tool for measuring PAEE at the group and individual rank order level.