April 17, 1981

The Breeze is the student newspaper of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia

September 10, 1998

The Breeze is the student newspaper of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia

Systematic Review of Job Transition Programs Addressed to Youths With Intellectual Disability

This systematic review aimed to determine what existing job transition programs are evidence-based and methodologically founded. The PRISMA method was used for the review, and the inclusion criteria were to include studies where there were a description of transition programs and functional curriculum for acquiring employment competences; internship experiences in employment context; single-case or group-design studies with youths as participants; and diagnosis of intellectual disability. Forty-six studies were initially selected, and three final articles met all the criteria set for assessing the methodology quality. Although the review results show that more research is needed to provide empirical programs for enhancing the acquisition of employment capabilities, some evidence emerged from the analysis of studies. These concern mainly four aspects: curriculum contents facilitating the development of self-determination and the acquirement of job-related skills, chance to have individualized internships, support of job coaches, and technological solutions and programs anchored in community-based settings

Familial sleep and autism spectrum disorder: a pilot actigraphy study of sleep quality, quality of life and psychological distress

Sleep problems are common among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and can have a negative impact on the child's behaviour and daytime functioning. The current pilot study examined objective measurements of child and parent sleep as factors associated with the stress, anxiety, depressive symptoms, social support and quality of life of parents of children with ASD. Participants were nine children with ASD and their parents (nine mothers and three fathers). Participants wore an actigraph for 7 consecutive days and nights. Measures of sleep habits and quality were used to ascertain child and parent sleep. Measures of parenting stress, anxiety, depressive symptoms, quality of life and social support were collated. Results indicated the emergence of high parental stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms. Significant correlations were observed between parent depressive symptoms, and both subjective sleep quality and child sleep disruptions. The present study found that parental well-being is affected by child sleep problems.peer-reviewe