Beyond Time Out and Table Time: Today's Applied Behavior Analysis for Students with Autism

Recent mandates related to the implementation of evidence-based practices for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) require that autism professionals both understand and are able to implement practices based on the science of applied behavior analysis (ABA). The use of the term “applied behavior analysis” and its related concepts continues to generate debate and confusion for practitioners and family members in the autism field. A general lack of understanding, or misunderstanding, of the science and practice of ABA is pervasive in the field and has contributed to an often contentious dialogue among stakeholders, as well as limited implementation in many public school settings. A review of the history of ABA and its application to individuals with ASD is provided, in addition to a discussion about practices that are/are not based on the science of ABA. Common myths related to ABA and ASD, as well as challenges practitioners face when implementing practices based on the science of ABA in public school settings are also described

Autism and the U.K. secondary school experience

This research investigated the self-reported mainstream school experiences of those diagnosed on the autistic spectrum compared with the typically developing school population. Existing literature identifies four key areas that affect the quality of the school experience for students with autism: social skills, perceived relationships with teaching staff, general school functioning, and interpersonal strengths of the young person. These areas were explored in a mainstream U.K. secondary school with 14 students with autism and 14 age and gender matched students without autism, using self-report questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Quantitative analyses showed consistent school experiences for both groups, although content analysis of interview data highlighted some differences in the ways in which the groups perceive group work, peers, and teaching staff within school. Implications for school inclusion are discussed, drawing attention to how staff awareness of autism could improve school experience and success for students with autism attending mainstream schools

In Utero Exposure to Persistent Organic Pollutants and Childhood Lipid Levels

Animal studies have shown that developmental exposures to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) permanently affect blood/liver balance of lipids. No human study has evaluated associations between in utero exposures to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and later life lipid metabolism. In this pilot, maternal plasma levels of PBDEs (BDE-47, BDE-99, BDE-100, and BDE-153) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB-138, PCB-153, and PCB-180) were determined at delivery in participants of GESTation and Environment (GESTE) cohort. Total cholesterol (TCh), triglycerides (TG), low- and high-density lipoproteins (LDL-C and HDL-C), total lipids (TL), and PBDEs were determined in serum of 147 children at ages 6–7. General linear regression was used to estimate the relationship between maternal POPs and child lipid levels with adjustment for potential confounders, and adjustment for childhood POPs. In utero BDE-99 was associated with lower childhood levels of TG (p = 0.003), and non-significantly with HDL-C (p = 0.06) and TL (p = 0.07). Maternal PCB-138 was associated with lower childhood levels of TG (p = 0.04), LDL-C (p = 0.04), and TL (p = 0.02). Our data indicate that in utero exposures to POPs may be associated with long lasting decrease in circulating lipids in children, suggesting increased lipid accumulation in the liver, a mechanism involved in NAFLD development, consistent with previously reported animal data

The p-adic Uniformization of Shimura Curves

Introduction Let us denote by the complex manifold C n R by X. The group Gl 2 (R) acts via linear fractional transformations from the left on X. We consider arithmetically defined subgroups \Gamma ae Gl 2 (R), which are obtained as follows. Let D be a quaternion division algebra over a totally real number field F . We assume that there is a single archimedean place ff : F ! R such that D splits in ff: D\Omega F;ff R ¸ = M 2 (R) At all other archimedian places D is a division algebra. Let G be the multiplicative group of D considered as an algebraic group over Q . We have a natural decom