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Research Findings: This study focused on kindergartens serving low SES families and examined the associations between teachers’ perceptions of their teaching experiences in their classroom and obse...

Classroom climate, especially emotional support in the classroom, shapes children’s academic performance and socioemotional adjustment. This study focused on special education classrooms and examined two factors that may be associated with emotional support in the classroom, teachers’ attachment style and teachers’ perception of their teaching experiences as reflected in their narratives. Data were gathered from 40 special education elementary school classrooms and their teachers. Emotional support, in terms of positive climate, negative climate, teacher sensitivity and regard for students’ perspective, was assessed using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System – K-3. Teachers completed the Experience in Close Relationships Scale to evaluate their avoidant and anxious attachment styles. Teachers’ narratives on their teaching experiences were elicited using the Five-Minute Speech Sample procedure. FMSSs were coded for complexity and negative valence. Avoidance and lower complexity and negative valence of teachers’ narratives were associated with lower positive climate in their classrooms. In addition, avoidance and negative valence of teachers’ narratives were related to lower teacher sensitivity, and negative valence of the narratives was associated with lower regard for students’ perspective. Teachers’ attachment style and their perception of their teaching experiences may be important targets for future research to refine the understanding of the quality of teacher-student interactions and inform teachers’ training and supervision programs.

This study focused on Arab–Israeli mothers of children with ASD, and examined maternal resolution of the child’s diagnosis, and its associations with mothers’ sensitivity to the child, maternal psychological distress, parenting stress, social support, and family demographics. Forty-six mothers and their 2–8 year old sons participated in the study. Mothers were interviewed regarding their resolution of their child’s diagnosis, their child’s ASD symptoms and adaptive behaviors, and completed questionnaires to assess their psychological distress, parenting stress and social support. Maternal sensitivity was observed during two mother–child play contexts, didactic and social play. Resolved mothers were more sensitive to their child during social play, and reported less psychological distress and parenting stress, as well as fewer child ASD symptoms compared with unresolved mothers. Implications for cultural sensitive parental guidance for families of children with ASD are discussed.

The contribution of change over time in parent and child characteristics to parents’ resolution of child's diagnosis was examined among 78 mothers and fathers of children with autism spectrum disorder. Children's characteristics (e.g., mental age and severity of symptoms), parental characteristics (e.g., attachment-related anxiety and stress level), and parents’ resolution of their child's diagnosis (resolved vs. unresolved) were examined at Time 1, and reassessed 3 years later at Time 2. Results indicated a deferential contribution of change in parent and child characteristics among mothers and fathers. An increase in child symptom severity and in maternal attachment-related anxiety, as well as longer durations of time since receiving the diagnosis, significantly predicted maternal resolved status at Time 2. Conversely, none of the changes in children's or paternal characteristics predicted paternal resolved status at Time 2. Results are discussed in relation to child and parental contributions to resolution, the differences in the adjustment and well-being of mothers and fathers of children with autism spectrum disorder, parental growth following receiving the diagnosis, and the need for intervention components specific to parental resolution and attachment-related anxiety.

This study examined the interplay of mothers’ coherent representations of their child (i.e., multidimensional and balanced view); resolution of the child’s ASD diagnosis (i.e., acceptance); and emotional availability to the child in the unique cultural context of Arab-Israeli families. Participants were 46 mothers and their 2–8 year old sons. Coherent representations and resolution of the diagnosis were assessed using narrative measures. Emotional availability (namely, sensitivity, structuring, and lack of intrusiveness and hostility) was observed during mother–child play interactions. Results suggested that coherent and resolved mothers were more emotionally available than incoherent and/or unresolved mothers. These findings highlight the importance of supporting mothers’ ability to accept the child’s diagnosis and see the unique characteristics of the child beyond his ASD symptoms.

We examined whether mothers’ insightfulness – their capacity to “see things from the child's point of view” – and children's attachment, both assessed during the preschool years, are associated with the educational placement of children with ASD in middle childhood and early adolescence beyond the prediction offered by children's IQ and interactive competence. 39 boys with autism and their mothers participated. We assessed mothers’ insightfulness, and children's attachment to their mothers, their intelligence and their interactional competencies. The results supported our hypothesis. The emotional quality of the relationship between the children and their mothers during the preschool age, as reflected in the mothers’ insightfulness and the children's attachment security, predicted children's educational placement in inclusive programs 4.5 and 8.5 years later, over and above the prediction offered by children's IQ and their interactive competence.

This study examined the hypothesis that maternal sensitivity mediates the association between maternal Insightfulness/Resolution and child attachment in a sample of preschool age boys with Autism Spectrum Disorders. This study used the Insightfulness Assessment to assess insightfulness and the Reaction to Diagnosis Interview to assess mothers' resolution. Maternal sensitivity was assessed from mother-child play observations, and the security of children's attachment was assessed using the Strange Situation Procedure. The results supported the mediation model, and their implications for attachment research, research on intervention in autism, and clinical work are discussed.

SYNOPSIS Objective. The goals of the study were to provide descriptive information regarding the Emotional Availability (EA) Scales in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and to examine the contribution of child functioning and diagnosis and maternal parenting stress and psychological distress to EA Scale scores. Design. 45 preschool-age boys with an ASD and their mothers were assessed using the EA Scales. Three play episodes were observed: free play, structured play, and social play. Results. Regarding the first goal, both relative stability in the rank ordering of dyads among episodes as well as differences among the episodes emerged: The free-play episode elicited the lowest scores on the EA Scales, the structured play episode elicited intermediate scores, and the social play episode elicited the highest scores. Results regarding the second goal showed that low-functioning children had lower scores on the child EA Scales than did high-functioning children, and the severity of the child's symptoms was relate...

The association between attachment and symbolic play was examined in a sample of 45 preschool age boys with autism spectrum disorders. Attachment was assessed using the strange situation procedure, and the frequency, duration, diversity and complexity of child-initiated symbolic play was assessed from observations of mother-child interactions during free play and doll play. We hypothesized that children with secure attachments will score higher on measures of symbolic play compared to children with insecure attachments, and that children with organized attachments will also score higher on measures of symbolic play compared to children with disorganized attachments. Only the second hypothesis received support, and the reasons for this, as well as the implications of the findings for attachment theory, are discussed.

In the current study we examined the links between maternal sensitivity and children's secure attachment in a sample of 45 preschool-age boys with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). We hypothesized that mothers of securely attached children would be more sensitive to their children than mothers of insecurely attached children. Children's attachment was assessed using Ainsworth's Strange Situation Procedure (SSP; Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978). Mothers' sensitivity and children's responsiveness to their mothers were assessed using the Emotional Availability Scales (Biringen, Robinson, & Emde, 1993). The findings supported our hypothesis: mothers of securely attached children were more sensitive to their children even when controlling for the severity of children's diagnosis (Autism Disorder vs. Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS)), children's level of functioning (high vs. low), and children's levels of responsiveness. The significance of sensitivity for security of attachment in ASD and the implications of these findings for the validity of the SSP in children with ASD are discussed.

In the current study (a) maternal insightfulness into the experience of the child and (b) resolution with respect to the child's diagnosis and their associations with children's security of attachment were examined in a sample of 45 preschoolers (mean age = 49 months) with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). It was hypothesized that mothers who were insightful and resolved would be more likely to have securely attached children than mothers who were neither insightful nor resolved. The findings supported this hypothesis. The implications of insightfulness and resolution for child attachment in the context of ASD are discussed.

This study examined the associations among mothers' insightfulness into their infants' internal experience, mothers' sensitivity to their infants' signals, and infants' security of attachment to their mothers. The insightfulness of 129 mothers of 12-month-old infants was assessed by showing mothers 3 videotaped segments of observations of their infants and themselves and interviewing them regarding their infants' and their own thoughts and feelings. Interviews were classified into 1 insightful and 3 noninsightful categories. Mothers' sensitivity was assessed during play sessions at home and at the laboratory, and infant-mother attachment was assessed with the Strange Situation. Mothers classified as positively insightful were rated as more sensitive and were more likely to have securely attached children than were mothers not classified as positively insightful. Insightfulness also accounted for variance in attachment beyond the variance explained by maternal sensitivity. These findings add an important dimension to research on caregiving, suggesting that mothers' seeking of explanations for the motives underlying their infants' behavior is related to both maternal sensitivity and infant attachment.