Developmental and Behavioral Needs and Service Use for Young Children in Child Welfare

To determine the level of developmental and behavioral need in young children entering child welfare (CW), estimate early intervention services use, and examine variation in need and service use based on age and level of involvement with CW by using a national probability sample in the United States

Scholarly Tracks in Emergency Medicine

Over the past decade, some residency programs in emergency medicine (EM) have implemented scholarly tracks into their curricula. The goal of the scholarly track is to identify a niche in which each trainee focuses his or her scholarly work during residency. The object of this paper is to discuss the current use, structure, and success of resident scholarly tracks. A working group of residency program leaders who had implemented scholarly tracks into their residency programs collated their approaches, implementation, and early outcomes through a survey disseminated through the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors (CORD) list-serve. At the 2009 CORD Academic Assembly, a session was held and attended by approximately 80 CORD members where the results were disseminated and discussed. The group examined the literature, discussed the successes and challenges faced during implementation and maintenance of the tracks, and developed a list of recommendations for successful incorporation of the scholarly track structure into a residency program. Our information comes from the experience at eight training programs (five 3-year and three 4-year programs), ranging from 8 to 14 residents per year. Two programs have been working with academic tracks for 8 years. Recommendations included creating clear goals and objectives for each track, matching track topics with faculty expertise, protecting time for both faculty and residents, and providing adequate mentorship for the residents. In summary, scholarly tracks encourage the trainee to develop an academic or clinical niche within EM during residency training. The benefits include increased overall resident satisfaction, increased success at obtaining faculty and fellowship positions after residency, and increased production of scholarly work. We believe that this model will also encourage increased numbers of trainees to choose careers in academic medicine.ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2010; 17:S87–S94 © 2010 by the Society for Academic Emergency MedicinePeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/79229/1/j.1553-2712.2010.00890.x.pd

Characterizing Community-Based Mental Health Services for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Disruptive Behavior Problems

This study describes the characteristics of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) with disruptive behavior problems served in community-based mental health clinics, characterizes psychotherapy process and outcome, and examines differences between children with ASD and a non-ASD comparison group. Results indicate that children with ASD served in this setting are high functioning and diagnostically complex. Certain research-based behavioral and cognitive behavioral psychotherapeutic strategies were observed frequently, while parent training strategies and active teaching strategies were observed less frequently. The intensity or thoroughness with which strategies were pursued was relatively low. Outcome analyses indicate improvement in child symptoms and family functioning. Treatment delivery and outcome were similar for children with and without ASD. These findings represent the first detailed observational data characterizing community-based mental health services for children with ASD

Neural networks and dynamical systems

AbstractModels for the identification and control of nonlinear dynamical systems using neural networks were introduced by Narendra and Parthasarathy in 1990, and methods for the adjustment of model parameters were also suggested. Simulation results of simple nonlinear systems were presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the schemes proposed. The concepts introduced at that time are investigated in this paper in greater detail. In particular, a number of questions that arise when the methods are applied to more complex systems are addressed. These include nonlinear systems of higher order as well as multivariable systems. The effect of using simpler models for both identification and control are discussed, and a new controller structure containing a linear part in addition to a multilayer neural network is introduced

In-Home Training for Fathers of Children with Autism: A Follow up Study and Evaluation of Four Individual Training Components

Literature regarding fathers of children with autism remains sparse, and because mothers are the more common intervening parent, few training methods have focused on fathers. Thus, we sought to evaluate effects of in-home training directed at fathers and their ability to train mothers in the same manner in which they were trained. Fathers were taught four skills commonly associated with in-home training interventions for parents of children with autism: following the child’s lead, imitation with animation, commenting on the child, and expectant waiting. Father skills were evaluated twice a week for 12 weeks during videotaped in-home father–child play sessions. Analyses included visual inspection of graphed data and statistical analyses of father skill acquisition, mother skill acquisition, and child behaviors with both parents. A multivariate repeated measures analysis of 18 dyads revealed significant increases in frequencies of fathers’ imitation with animation, expectant waiting, and commenting on the child. Child initiating rates increased significantly as did frequencies of child non-speech vocalizations. Analysis of mothers revealed significant increases in frequencies of imitation with animation, expectant waiting, and following the child’s lead. Child behaviors had similar results for father and mother sessions. Findings are consistent with those from our first study indicating that fathers can effectively implement skills that promote father–child social interactions and that children respond positively to this approach

Team Collaboration: The Use of Behavior Principles for Serving Students With ASD

PurposeSpeech-language pathologists (SLPs) and behavior analysts are key members of school-based teams that serve children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Behavior analysts approach assessment and intervention through the lens of applied behavior analysis (ABA). ABA-based interventions have been found effective for targeting skills across multiple domains for children with ASD. However, some SLPs may be unfamiliar with the breadth of ABA-based interventions. The intent of this tutorial is to briefly introduce key ABA principles, provide examples of ABA-based interventions used within schools, and identify strategies for successful collaboration between behavior analysts and SLPs.MethodThis tutorial draws from empirical studies of ABA-based interventions for children with ASD within school settings, as well as discussions in the extant literature about the use of behavior principles by SLPs and strategies for interdisciplinary collaboration.ConclusionGiven the prevalence of ASD at 1 in 68 children (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014) and the high cost of serving these children within schools (an average cost of 286% over regular education; Chambers, Shkolnik, & Perez, 2003), the need for effective, comprehensive service provision and efficiency within interdisciplinary teams is paramount. Communication, mutual understanding, and recognition of common ground between SLPs and behavior analysts can lead to successful collaboration