Abstract
Two programs suitable for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are presented and empirically evaluated. In the first study a teacher training program for ASD, based on “structured teaching" was developed and evaluated within a Pre-Post (9 months) design. In total, 10 teachers working with 10 students with ASD and mental retardation (mean age 10.0 yrs) in special education classrooms in Germany were involved in the training, which consisted of 3 center-based small group sessions (duration: 14h over 3 months; 2 subgroups with 5 teachers each), followed by 6 individual training sessions in the classroom (mean duration: 3h over 6 months). The Pre-Post outcomes measured by teacher questionnaires indicated significant improvement on the Classroom Child Behavioral Symptom Scale as well as on the corresponding Classroom Teachers’ Stress Reaction Scale. A tendency for improvement was shown on the School Situation Questionnaire. In addition, teachers implemented two structured teaching methods on average in their classrooms. Taking into consideration the methodological limitations including the small sample size, these findings provide some first evidence for the clinical and social validity of the training program examined. In the second study a psychoeducational group training program for parents was developed and evaluated. In total, 23 parents with 24 children with autism participated in the centre-based training program which lasted 3 full-days. The main focus was on teaching a disability concept as well as child management and educational skills. The summative evaluation based largely on the perspectives of parents suggests some evidence for clinical-educational and social validity of the group intervention method examined.

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine peer relationships in children with disabilities in the primary school contexts. Namely, this study aimed to: (1) examine the degree of acceptance and quality of interaction between disabled children and their peers; and (2) investigate the degree of social integration of disabled children in two different school systems (i.e., with and without integration programs for children with disabilities). The sample included 221 students, 14 out of whom were children with disabilities (8 males). The level of acceptance of children with disabilities by their peers was lower than that of children without disabilities. In addiction, there were positive relationships between peer acceptance and the quality and quantity of support received by their peers during small group activities. The most accepted disabled children benefited from higher physical or verbal aids from their peers. Finally, those children who engaged in a higher number of interactions received more physical and verbal reinforcements from their peers. As far as the second objective of our research is concerned, we found that the quality of interactions among children seemed to be affected by the specific integration processes that schools implemented. Considering the primary role played by the environment, these results underline the need for creating proper and facilitating conditions in primary schools to promote the development of educational strategies for children with disabilities.

Abstract
In our paper, attention was focused on the primary triangle made up of mother, father and child, in order to study the meaning of being parents in complex situations like an at-risk pregnancy, or pregnancies with a high probability of premature birth within the thirty-second and thirty-seventh week of gestation (OMS, 1977). Therefore, our study pointed out to parents’ self-images during at-risk pregnancies, which are considered as negative experiences that can affect the process of construction of parental image representation, with respect to the birth and development of the parent-child relationship. Three areas were analyzed: (1) the reconstruction of male and female self-images as being fathers/mothers and the representation of their children’s images during an at-risk pregnancy. To that purpose, we used specific clinical measures, such as verbal semi-structured interviews and graphic-projective tests (IRMAG, Rap.Pa.G, Differenziale Semantico – Semantic Differential, La doppia Luna – The double Moon); (2) the comparison between parents’ self-images either as males and females or as having a parental role, and representation of their children’s images during an at-risk pregnancy; (3) the comparison between the parental self-images deriving from the fact of being parents either for the first time or for the second time. This pilot research included 10 couples aged 25-40, at their first or second parental experience. In particular, all the women admitted to a Palermo-based hospital presented with a pregnancy-related disease. Based on a global analysis of results, we assumed that the majority of women and a lower percentage of men built their own self-images and that of their children in a not-so-well defined manner. In particular, we found that women tried to avoid at-risk pregnancy-related crises by activating defence mechanisms, such as rationalization and denial; these mechanisms, in turn, engendered emotional withdrawal and a slightly better defined representation of their children’s images. We also found feelings of inadequacy in the male group, the tendency to be anxious, especially for women, because of experiencing distress and the pervasive concerns related to their children’s health. Moreover, those couples who had already experienced another pregnancy tended to compare the first event with the second one, and had higher difficulties in elaborating the event than the couples who experienced a pregnancy for the first time. The type of pregnancy-related disease as well as the bond between parents seemed to have affected participants’ self-images. Evidence from this study has spurred further research, with the aim to ascertain whether parents’ self-images might undergo any changes following the premature birth, as well as whether such self-image representations might be affected by the interaction with the “born” child.

Abstract
Nowadays, self-injurious behaviour makes the object of a vivid debate in literature. Studies reviewed in this article witness of the scholars’ high interest in this topic as well as of the lack of common consensus on its definitions. Main definitions of SIB and their position in the most known diagnostic manuals are reported. Moreover, variability of SIB characteristics across studies are analyzed; consistent explanations and difficulties in making commonly shared diagnoses are also discussed, in order to understand the size of such a complex phenomenon.

Abstract
Professional standards for teachers dealing with children with special needs as well as the educational processes required for the implementation of special activities at school have made the object of a vivid debate in the educational and professional fields. The distinction between special-education teachers and regular-class teachers – who are also supposed to deal with children with special needs – should be based on psychological and social studies. This paper aims to contribute to this topic, in particular with regard to the structure of values that underlie vocational training for teachers. Values are commonly considered as concepts or beliefs about longed-for purposes of human existence; they are ordered according to their relative importance, which transcends specific situations and guides the selection and evaluation of behaviours and events. Remarkable differences can be observed in the system of professional values, also with regard to specific variables, such as age, educational level, cultural background and current job. The purpose of this research was to compare different characteristics of the two systems of values (general and professional values) in two teacher categories: regular-class teachers (n = 50) and special-education teachers (n = 50). Schwartz’s Portrait Values Questionnaire (2001) and the Chart of working values (2003) was administered. Results showed remarkable differences between the two systems of values, especially with regard to hedonism, self-orientation, power, stimulation, and self-achievement.

Abstract
Two studies are reported: the first one focuses on the ability to verbally argument the solutions of Raven’s SPM38 test, whereas the second analyzes meta-linguistic abilities in High school students. Participants received a specific instruction for eliciting verbal argumentation of solutions for each item; two scales were developed for the assessment of the argumentations: one (R.ARG.S.) tapped on the right solutions, by measuring the level of abstract reasoning; the other (W.ARG.S.) tapped on the wrong solutions, by measuring the level of incorrectness of the wrong answer. These two kind of scores were calculated in addition to the canonical score (C.S.), based on the number of correct solutions. In order to assess meta-linguistic abilities, the TAM-3 (Pinto e Iliceto, 2007), specifically designed for adolescents and adults, was administered. In the first study, carried out in Naples with 100 High school (Scientific Lyceum) students, 50 girls and 50 boys (mean age: 18.6) with average SES, girls significantly outperformed boys in all the totals of the MAT-3 and in the W.ARG.S., although mean C.S. scores were similar between the two gender subgroups. Correlations between meta-cognitive and meta-linguistic measures were only found within the two tests (SPM38 and MAT-3), but not across them. In the second study, carried out in Rome with 50 High school (Scientific Lyceum) students and 50 High school (Classic Lyceum) students (mean age: 17.6 ), equally distributed by gender, once again girls outperformed the boys in all the totals of the TAM-3, the R.ARG.S and the W.ARG.S, despite the highly similar averages from the SPM38 C.S. Correlations were found both within and across the various tests, except for the only score which did not require argumentations at all, i.e. the C.S. of the SPM38. Results were discussed from theoretical and practical perspectives: on one hand, analysis of argumentative abilities can improve the assessment of cognitive processes in normal students, but on the other hand, it can also contribute to elicit and assess cognitive strategies in persons with Specific Learning Disorders.

Abstract
Detecting the difference between “actual” and “potential” development, as stated in Vygotskij’s theory of “Zone of Proximal Development” (ZPD), is of most importance in the teaching process, especially in the perspective of a “person-tailored teaching”. The actual level of development corresponds to independent problem-solving skills, whereas the potential level can only be observed after mediating to the child the way of performing the task. Therefore, teaching should more strictly correspond to the level of potential development, rather than to that of actual development. The learning potential can be detected using three indicators: the maintaining of what has been learned, the quality and amount of mediation required, and the transfer. In our paper, we reported cognitive profiles and academic learning of two girls with mild mental retardation without any associated diagnosis, matched on chronological age, mental age, IQ and school achievement. The assessment of academic skills showed markedly discrepant performances. Those differences in learning corresponded to a different size in the learning potential, as confirmed by the administration of the Learning Propensity Assessment Device - LPAD (Feuerstein, 1979). Dynamic Assessment, indeed, highlighted a higher potential in the girl presenting with a larger repertoire of academic skills, who had benefited from a more consistent amount of mediation.

Abstract
Williams Syndrome (WS) is a genetic disorder, caused by the deletion of about 25 genes from the region q11.23 of chromosome 7. The clinical phenotype is characterized by: cardiovascular anomalies, psychomotor delay, dysmorphic facial features, connective-tissue abnormalities, hyperacusis etc. About 75% of people with WS have intellectual disability, usually mild-to-moderate, learning disabilities and unique personality features (e.g. anxiety, attention deficit disorder, social disinhibition, etc). Studies on neuropsychological profile of people with WS showed strength in some language abilities, short-term auditory rote memory, facial recognition, social drive and music skills; while weakness were found in visuospatial processing abilities, planning activities, problem-solving, number processing and implicit learning. As far as adaptive functioning profile is concerned, people with WS show good communication and social skills, while daily living skills are relatively impaired. The cognitive-behavioral phenotype (visuospatial deficits, behavioral features, motor coordination impairment and fine/gross motor control problems) influences considerably the independence level of people with WS in the execution of activities related to self-sufficiency and personal care.