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Behavioral Sciences
Special Issues
Psychosocial and Behavioral Interventions for Youth with Neurodevelopmental Disorders
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Psychosocial and Behavioral Interventions for Youth with Neurodevelopmental Disorders

A special issue of Behavioral Sciences (ISSN 2076-328X). This special issue belongs to the section "Psychiatric, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 1011

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Zachary LaBrot

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Psychology, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA
Interests: school psychology program; applied behavior analysis; neurodevelopmental disorders; early childhood; pediatric psychology
Dr. Margaret Powell

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Psychology, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS 39406, USA
Interests: school psychology program; applied behavioral analysis; autism and related developmental disabilities; pediatric feeding disorders; behavioral interventions; parent training

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorders, ADHD, intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, tic disorders, and others, are a complex group of conditions that greatly affect the personal, social, academic, and occupational functioning of youth. Developmental deficits can range widely from specific impairments, such as reading deficits or inattention, to global impairments such as social skills and intelligence. Further, children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders can exhibit challenging behaviors, such as aggression, tantrums, self-injury, and noncompliance, oftentimes a result of communication and/or cognitive impairments. Access to quality interventions, especially in childhood and adolescence, can lead to meaningful skill acquisition and improved outcomes for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Because of the breadth of neurodevelopmental disorders and the varying levels of impairment, research in the field of psychosocial and behavioral interventions for this population is ever evolving and growing. The aim of this Special Issue is to explore and evaluate the vast pool of expanding research on psychosocial and behavioral interventions for youth with neurodevelopmental disorders. We specifically want to target papers whose aims are to either explore the use of novel interventions or the novel applications of existing interventions. We welcome original research papers, including case studies and meta-analyses, as well as theoretical/conceptual discussion papers, granted they provide a unique or novel approach to advancing the existing literature in the field. We look forward to seeing your contributions.

Abstract Deadline: 30 April 2025
Notification of Abstract Acceptance: 31 May 2025

Dr. Zachary LaBrot
Dr. Margaret Powell
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Behavioral Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • neurodevelopmental disorders
  • developmental disabilities
  • autism spectrum disorder
  • ADHD
  • intellectual disability
  • tic disorders
  • psychosocial intervention
  • behavioral intervention

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 1033 KB  
Article
The Effects of Behavioral Relaxation Training on Academic Task Completion Among Students with Autism in Inclusive Classrooms: A Single-Subject Design Study
by Yitong Jiang, Hongmei Liu, Yin Wang and Xiaoyi Hu
Behav. Sci. 2025, 15(12), 1633; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15121633 - 27 Nov 2025
Abstract
To help students with autism reach their potential, high-quality inclusive education emphasizes the importance of their full participation in school and classroom activities. Academic anxiety, however, can interfere with students’ ability to follow instructions and, thereby, negatively affect their performance. We used a [...] Read more.
To help students with autism reach their potential, high-quality inclusive education emphasizes the importance of their full participation in school and classroom activities. Academic anxiety, however, can interfere with students’ ability to follow instructions and, thereby, negatively affect their performance. We used a concurrent multiple-probe across tasks design within a single-subject research framework to coach students with autism in inclusive settings on relaxation behaviors to reduce their tension and increase their ability to complete tasks in Chinese literacy, mathematics, and English. Results indicated that behavioral relaxation training (BRT) produced positive effects on both behavioral and physiological outcomes and significantly improved academic task completion. Behavior changes stayed at a high level during the maintenance phase. In interviews, both caregivers and students reported positive attitudes toward the intervention, expressed strong acceptance of procedures, and confirmed that relaxation strategies facilitated assignment completion. Study limitations and implications for future research and practice are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychosocial and Behavioral Interventions for Youth with Neurodevelopmental Disorders)
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26 pages, 386 KB  
Article
Hybrid Telehealth Adaptation of COMPASS for Hope: Parent-Mediated Outcomes in Autism
by Alexis D. Rodgers, Brittany A. Dale and Lisa A. Ruble
Behav. Sci. 2025, 15(11), 1561; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15111561 - 15 Nov 2025
Viewed by 445
Abstract
There are limited empirically supported interventions that target three outcomes—behavior of children with ASD (instead of using adjectives such as “disruptive,” “interfering,” “problem,” or “challenging” behavior, we use “behavior” to avoid ableist language), parent stress, and parenting sense of competence. To help address [...] Read more.
There are limited empirically supported interventions that target three outcomes—behavior of children with ASD (instead of using adjectives such as “disruptive,” “interfering,” “problem,” or “challenging” behavior, we use “behavior” to avoid ableist language), parent stress, and parenting sense of competence. To help address this need, we tested a hybrid telehealth adaptation of COMPASS for Hope (C-HOPE), an 8-week parent-mediated program originally offered via face-to-face or synchronous telehealth delivery. The present study incorporated asynchronous group discussion board sessions hosted on a learning-management platform together with synchronous individual coaching sessions by telephone. Using a pre-post design, 10 caregivers completed the intervention. Effect sizes were calculated for three treatment outcomes of child behavior, parent stress, and parenting sense of competence. There was a statistically significant difference in the scores for child behavior, with a large effect size (d = 0.73) and a statistically significant difference in parent stress, with a medium effect size (d = 0.50). No difference was observed for parenting sense of competence. Treatment adherence and caregiver satisfaction for the intervention were acceptable. Findings support the feasibility and promise of combining asynchronous and synchronous telehealth elements to increase access to evidence-based parent-mediated interventions for ASD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychosocial and Behavioral Interventions for Youth with Neurodevelopmental Disorders)
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