Journal of Child Development, Exceptionality and Education

Teaching social skills to individuals with autism spectrum disorder

2025-02-27T12:04:59+00:00

The research aimed to teach “thanking” and “permission-seeking” skills to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) through a direct teaching method. Social skill deficits are a significant limitation for children with ASD. Effective interventions often involve gradually withdrawing instructions to encourage independence. This study focused on three male students, aged 10 and 11, diagnosed with ASD in 2022, who were attending a rehabilitation center in Istanbul, Turkiye. The targeted skills “thanking” and “permission-seeking” were assessed through evaluations provided by teachers and family members. To facilitate learning, researchers employed stories and illustrated sequential cards as educational tools. Data analysis was conducted using a multi-class model with a stratified sampling method. Findings revealed that the direct instruction significantly enhanced the participants' abilities to thank and seek permission. Follow-up observations, conducted two weeks after the intervention, showed that the children were able to demonstrate these skills independently. At the study's conclusion, feedback from both parents and teachers was overwhelmingly positive, indicating that the teaching process effectively improved the children's social skills. This approach underscores the potential for structured, gradual instruction in fostering social skill development in children.

An examination of attachment styles and dissociation among mental health professionals

2025-03-05T17:18:08+00:00

This study examines how mental health professionals experience dissociative processes in the context of their attachment styles. The primary objective of the study is to elucidate the relationship between the potential dissociative processes of individuals working in the mental health field—who are frequently exposed to challenging emotions and traumatic experiences due to the nature of their profession—and their attachment styles. The study highlights that dissociative disorders can significantly impact the daily lives and personal relationships of mental health professionals. It underscores the necessity for these professionals to possess awareness and mastery over such processes and emphasizes the importance of preventive measures against potential emotional harm. Furthermore, it suggests that individualized and protective treatment approaches should be developed within clinical practices to address these processes effectively. Attachment theory, initially proposed by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth, posits that the emotional bonds children establish with their primary caregivers in early life are critical in shaping their psychological structures in adulthood. From this perspective, early bonds with caregivers significantly influence an individual’s psychological framework in adulthood, affecting their ability to interpret and process experiences. Attachment styles, generally categorized into four subtypes—secure, anxious, avoidant, and disorganized—form the fundamental cognitive and emotional frameworks through which individuals perceive and experience the world. Within this theoretical framework, the study explores how dissociative processes interact with attachment styles, the role this interaction plays in the development of dissociative symptoms, and how it ultimately affects individuals working in the mental health field. By investigating these interconnections, this study aims to underscore the significance of the relationship between the dissociative processes mental health professionals experience in their work environments and their attachment styles.

Theories of giftedness and their practical implications: orientation areas of giftedness potential in Türkiye

2025-03-15T15:21:26+00:00

This article explores the theoretical foundations and practical implications of giftedness, with a focus on how gifted potential is identified and nurtured in Türkiye. Giftedness, defined as exceptional ability in domains such as academics, arts, leadership, and creative problem-solving, is examined through historical perspectives and contemporary models, including Renzulli’s Three-Ring Model, Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, and Subotnik’s Talent Development Model. The study highlights the cognitive, emotional, and social characteristics of gifted individuals, supported by neuroscience insights into brain structures enhancing cognitive flexibility. In Türkiye, the education of gifted students primarily occurs through “cience and Art Center (SAC), which emphasize intellectual and artistic development, while institutions like science high schools focus on academic achievement rather than a comprehensive giftedness framework. The article also investigates the orientation of gifted students and their families toward talent domains, revealing a societal preference for lucrative fields like medicine over arts or sports due to economic and cultural factors. Challenges such as economic concerns, and family pressures further complicate career decisions. The findings underscore the need for a multidimensional approach to support gifted individuals’ diverse potentials in Türkiye’s educational landscape

Why time speeds up with age

2025-05-25T10:25:11+00:00

In this literature review, I examine the research that seeks explanation for why children see time moving slow, while adults often say that time flies. Drawing on neurological, emotional, linguistic, and experiential factors, the study explores why children often perceive time as moving more slowly than adults. Rapid synaptogenesis, heightened neuroplasticity, and faster neural firing in childhood create detailed memories of experiences, and it leads to lengthening the feeling of time. As individuals age, increased cognitive efficiency, reduced novelty, and established routines lead to fewer memory anchors and a compressed sense of time. Language development assists children in their understanding of abstract temporal relationships. Emotional intensity and attention shape their feeling of time duration. Differences in heuristics, biological rhythms such as heart rate and metabolism, and the attentional gate model also help explain the widening gap in time perception across the lifespan. Children’s reliance on routines, emotional salience, and relational cues is very different from adults’ dependence on task-based estimation and temporal landmarks. The feeling of time passing depends on biological, cognitive, and emotional development, and it offers an insight into why childhood seems endless and adulthood seems fleeting.