Defining Spoken Language Benchmarks and Selecting Measures of Expressive Language Development for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Purpose: The aims of this article are twofold: (a) to offer a set of recommended measures that can be used for evaluating the efficacy of interventions that target spoken language acquisition as part of treatment research studies or for use in applied settings and (b) to propose and define a common terminology for describing levels of spoken language ability in the expressive modality and to set benchmarks for determining a child\u27s language level in order to establish a framework for comparing outcomes across intervention studies.Method: The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders assembled a group of researchers with interests and experience in the study of language development and disorders in young children with autism spectrum disorders. The group worked for 18 months through a series of conference calls and correspondence, culminating in a meeting held in December 2007 to achieve consensus on these aims.Results: The authors recommend moving away from using the term functional speech, replacing it with a developmental framework. Rather, they recommend multiple sources of information to define language phases, including natural language samples, parent report, and standardized measures. They also provide guidelines and objective criteria for defining children\u27s spoken language expression in three major phases that correspond to developmental levels between 12 and 48 months of age

Defining Spoken Language Benchmarks and Selecting Measures of Expressive Language Development for Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Purpose The aims of this article are twofold: (a) to offer a set of recommended measures that can be used for evaluating the efficacy of interventions that target spoken language acquisition as part of treatment research studies or for use in applied settings and (b) to propose and define a common terminology for describing levels of spoken language ability in the expressive modality and to set benchmarks for determining a child’s language level in order to establish a framework for comparing outcomes across intervention studies. Method The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders assembled a group of researchers with interests and experience in the study of language development and disorders in young children with autism spectrum disorders. The group worked for 18 months through a series of conference calls and correspondence, culminating in a meeting held in December 2007 to achieve consensus on these aims. Results The authors recommend moving away from using the term functional speech, replacing it with a developmental framework. Rather, they recommend multiple sources of information to define language phases, including natural language samples, parent report, and standardized measures. They also provide guidelines and objective criteria for defining children’s spoken language expression in three major phases that correspond to developmental levels between 12 and 48 months of age

Judicial Review, Irrationality, and the Legitimacy of Merits-Review

The definition of the irrationality ground of judicial review recognises the constitutional principle of the separation of powers, in allowing for judicial control of the executive only very rarely. The author in a previous article in this study found that the courts, on occasions, had intervened in circumstances where administrative decisions arguably were not irrational. To this end, the purpose of this article is to assess the constitutionality of these seemingly low standards of irrationality. The author does so by reference either to the manner of review employed—the use of the proportionality principle, for example—or the context of the administrative decision under scrutiny, such as the infringement of the applicant’s fundamental rights. The author finds that the cases from the previous article where low standards of irrationality were arguably adopted were, in fact, legitimate according to these chosen methods of evaluation. However, this is an interim conclusion because, for reasons of word length, the author is unable to complete a full assessment here. It is therefore proposed that a subsequent article will continue to examine the constitutionality of these cases. Furthermore, the author will also try and establish a zone of executive decision-making, for reasons of democracy, where the courts are excluded from irrationality review. If the author is unsuccessful in this regard, the final conclusion of this study will inevitably be that low standards of judicial intervention exist without limit—a clear assault on the constitutional principle stated above

“It’s the most important thing - I mean the schooling”: Father involvement in the education of children with autism

Father involvement in education has been shown to result in a range of positive outcomes for typically developing children. However, the nature of paternal involvement in the education of children with disabilities and especially autism has been under-researched and is little understood. This study aimed to explore the nature of the involvement of 25 UK fathers in the education and their children with autism, aged up to 19 years through the use of semi-structured interviews. Findings showed that fathers were highly engaged both directly and indirectly across several dimensions of their children’s education and schooling. Key areas of indirect engagement were involvement in administrative processes necessary for securing an appropriate educational placement; facilitating daily access to school and general support of children’s progress through attendance at school-based meetings and events. Direct support for learning occurred through homework assistance and working on school-related goals. Findings are discussed in relation to diversity and generative models of fatherhood. Implications for greater father inclusion in the education of children with autism are explored with reference to a gender-differentiated approach

First Results from the ISO‐IRAS Faint Galaxy Survey

We present the first results from the ISO-IRAS Faint Galaxy Survey (IIFGS), a program designed to obtain ISO observations of the most distant and luminous galaxies in the IRAS Faint Source Survey by filling short gaps in the ISO observing schedule with pairs of 12 μm ISOCAM and 90 μm ISOPHOT observations. As of 1997 October, over 500 sources have been observed, with an ISOCAM detection rate over 80%, covering over 1.25 deg^2 of sky to an 11.5 μm point-source completeness limit of approximately 1.0 mJy (corresponding to a ~10 σ detection sensitivity). Observations are presented for nine sources detected by ISOPHOT and ISOCAM early in the survey for which we have ground-based G- and I-band images and optical spectroscopy. The ground-based data confirm that the IIFGS strategy efficiently detects moderate-redshift (z = 0.11-0.38 for this small sample) strong emission line galaxies with L_(60 μm) ≳ 10^(11) L_☉; one of our sample has L_(60 μm) > 10^(12) L_☉ (H_0 = 75 km s^(-1) Mpc^(-1), Ω = 1). The infrared-optical spectral energy distributions are comparable to those of nearby luminous infrared galaxies, which span the range from pure starburst (e.g., Arp 220) to infrared QSO (Mrk 231). Two of the systems show signs of strong interaction, and four show active galactic nucleus (AGN)-like excitation; one of the AGNs, F15390+6038, which shows a high excitation Seyfert 2 spectrum, has an unusually warm far- to mid-infrared color and may be an obscured QSO. The IIFGS sample is one of the largest and deepest samples of infrared-luminous galaxies available, promising to be a rich sample for studying infrared-luminous galaxies up to z ~ 1 and for understanding the evolution of infrared galaxies and the star formation rate in the universe

The ISO-IRAS Faint Galaxy Survey

The ISO-IRAS Faint Galaxy Survey will obtain comprehensive space- and ground-based observations of the most distant and luminous galaxies in the IRAS Faint Source Survey. ISO observations are obtained by filling short gaps in the ISO observing schedule with pairs of 11.5μm ISOCAM and 90μm ISOPHOT observations. As of the October 1997 date of this Conference, over 500 sources have been observed by ISO with an ISOCAM detection rate exceeding 803. Ground-based spectrophotometry confirms that the IIFGS efficiently detects moderateredshift, strong emission line Luminous Infrared Galaxies. Spectrophotometry is currently available for 67 galaxies with 0.07 < z < 0. 7 and L_(fir) > 10^(11) L_☉. The galaxies are comparable to nearby LIGs, showing HII/Liner excitation; about 10% exhibit strong AGN characteristics. As a part of this survey we will cover over 1.25 square degrees of sky to an 11.5μm limit of approximately l.0mJy, allowing a sensitive estimate of the 11.5μm logN-logS Relationship. Preliminary ll.5μm source counts suggest substantial evolution in the mid-infrared galaxy population

A UK survey of COVID‐19 related social support closures and their effects on older people, people with dementia, and carers

Abstract Objectives The aim of this national survey was to explore the impact of COVID‐19 public health measures on access to social support services and the effects of closures of services on the mental well‐being of older people and those affected by dementia. Methods A UK‐wide online and telephone survey was conducted with older adults, people with dementia, and carers between April and May 2020.The survey captured demographic and postcode data, social support service usage before and after COVID‐19 public health measures, current quality of life, depression, and anxiety. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to explore the relationship between social support service variations and anxiety and well‐being. Results 569 participants completed the survey (61 people with dementia, 285 unpaid carers, and 223 older adults). Paired samples t‐tests and X2‐tests showed that the mean hour of weekly social support service usage and the number of people having accessed various services was significantly reduced post COVID‐19. Multiple regression analyses showed that higher variations in social support service hours significantly predicted increased levels of anxiety in people with dementia and older adults, and lower levels of mental well‐being in unpaid carers and older adults. Conclusions Being unable to access social support services due to COVID contributed to worse quality of life and anxiety in those affected by dementia and older adults across the UK. Social support services need to be enabled to continue providing support in adapted formats, especially in light of continued public health restrictions for the foreseeable future. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Going for GOLD! Greater Manchester Growing Older with Learning Disabilities: An inclusive research project to reduce social isolation amongst older adults with learning disabilities

This research was part of the Greater Manchester Growing Older with Learning Disabilities (GM GOLD) project, which was carried out by a team of 16 older people with learning disabilities. The aim was to reduce social isolation amongst older adults (aged 50+) with learning disabilities and to find out what makes somewhere an age-friendly place to live for older adults with learning disabilities. The team was supported by 'research buddies' from Manchester Metropolitan University and the partner organisations to conduct interviews and focus groups with 59 older people (aged 50-79 years) with learning disabilities from eight Greater Manchester areas (Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Tameside, Wigan). Later life transitions for people with learning disabilities are particularly disruptive, and they are at particular risk of social isolation and loneliness. People with learning disabilities have the same rights to relationships and to participate in the cultural life of the community as the rest of society. If society, neighbourhoods and communities do not become more inclusive of people with learning disabilities, in addition to the legal, moral and ethical implications, this is likely to result in additional demand for public services