Examining Variables Associated With Age of First Concern and Diagnosis in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract Autism Spectrum Disorder is a disorder that is present during a child’s early developmental ages; affects that child’s ability to communicate and socially interact with others; and involves the presentation of restrictive interests and/or repetitive behaviors. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) symptoms/behaviors are recognized by parents and can be reliably diagnosed at age two but often are not diagnosed until after age four. Delay in diagnosis results in loss of important intervention services that can improve the well-being of children with ASD. This study examined ethnicity, severity of symptoms, and type of symptoms and their effect on the age at which parents first became concerned about their child’s development and the age at which the child was diagnosed with ASD. Data was collected from archived client records at a regional children’s clinic. Results indicated that there were no ethnic differences in age of first parental concern or diagnosis; Severity of symptoms was associated with earlier age of first parental concern and diagnosis; and while parents reported Speech/Communication concerns most often, multiple first concerns was associated with earlier recognition by parents and diagnosis. Efforts should be made to educate the public on the more subtle symptoms and behaviors associated with ASD. It is recommended that autism evaluation services be available in schools as part of pre-school screening services

Course-Level Curriculum Map Pilot Program

Objective: To pilot a newly developed course level curriculum map that documents course learning outcomes, corresponding teaching activities, assessments, student achievement on assessments, and evidence-based changes made subsequently at the course level. Method: The newly developed course level curriculum map was piloted in twelve courses involving nine faculty members. Faculty either retroactively recorded data or utilized the map during the semester. At the conclusion of the pilot period, a focus group was conducted during which seven of the faculty members shared experiences and recommendations. Focus group comments were recorded by three people. Recorders’ notes were compared for accuracy and completeness. Notes were analyzed using ATLAS.ti, a qualitative research program. Results: Qualitative analysis of focus group notes yielded four principal comment codes: learning outcomes, changing activities, documenting changes, and changing assessments. These four main codes document that faculty believe work is needed on writing better course learning outcomes, creating more appropriately matched course activities, better documenting data-driven changes that occur at the course level, and developing appropriate assessments. Implications: Faculty comments support school-wide adoption of course level curriculum mapping. They also suggest a need to provide faculty development on writing precise learning outcomes and mapping them to specific classroom activities to support outcomes achievement. Additionally, curricular changes made at the course level need to be carefully documented and linked to appropriate evidence derived from assessments. The value of the map for inclusion in the dossier for promotion and tenure was also noted

A Transgender Health Care Panel Discussion in a Required Diversity Course

OBJECTIVES: To examine the impact of a panel discussion on transgender health care on first-year (P1) pharmacy students\u27 knowledge and understanding of transgender experiences in an Introduction to Diversity course. DESIGN: The panel consisted of both transgender males and females. After panelists shared their healthcare experiences, students asked them questions in a moderated setting. Students completed evaluations on the presentation and learning outcomes. They also wrote a self-reflection paper on the experience. ASSESSMENT: Ninety-one percent of students agreed that they could describe methods for showing respect to a transgender patient and 91.0% evaluated the usefulness of the presentation to be very good or excellent. Qualitative analysis (phenomenological study) was conducted on the self-reflection papers and revealed 7 major themes. CONCLUSION: First-year students reported that they found the panel discussion to be eye opening and relevant to their pharmacy career. Our panel may serve as model for other pharmacy schools to implement

The Need for Transgender Health Content in the Pharmacy Curriculum

The article, “The Need for Transgender Health Content in the Pharmacy Curriculum,” addresses transgender patients and how they often have complex medical, psychological, and social concerns. According to the article, these patients may not only need to learn to manage complicated medication regimens, which can have significant side effects, but may also face many barriers to treatment. Some of those barriers include difficulties with insurance, fear of discrimination, lack of support, and a mistrust of the healthcare system. Given the important role that medications play in maintaining their quality of life, the article suggests that pharmacists are in a unique position to not only improve the healthcare that transgender patients receive, but also to improve their perceptions of the system. The article also talks about how current literature shows that little has been done to educate pharmacists on the specific needs of the transgender patient. Parkhill and Mathews say that the likelihood that pharmacy students will encounter transgender patients in their pharmacies will increase as more transgender individuals begin to live their lives authentically. And for that reason, they are recognizing the critical need to increase pharmacy student awareness of the healthcare issues facing this population. The article concludes that by increasing education and awareness of the barriers to healthcare that transgender patients face, students will receive the training required to care for their patients in a culturally competent way

Co-writing, Co-knowing. Transforming Epistemologies

Nasz artykuł prezentuje wizję tego, jak procesy tworzenia wiedzy oparte na współpracy w ramach interdyscyplinarnej grupy piszących przedstawicielek kadry akademickiej mogą przekształcić życie zawodowe spędzane w izolacji w rozkwitające życie. W naszym współtworzeniu wiedzy kluczowe znaczenie posiadają zarówno praktyka krytycznie reflektującego nad sobą snucia opowieści oraz elementy zaangażowania, powiązania i bliskich stosunków. Zauważyłyśmy wspólnie, że elementy te zapewniają podstawowe strategie pozwalające na radzenie sobie z izolacją, która w innym wypadku stanowiłaby istotną siłę w naszym życiu zawodowym. Nasze zaangażowanie jest zarówno epistemologiczne, jak i etyczne, ponieważ zaangażowałyśmy się w wytwarzanie wiedzy, ale jednocześnie każda z nas jako jednostka i podmiot etyczny, zaangażowała się w nasze wartości, oraz w to by wcielić je w życie. Wspólnie ucząc się o nas samych, wzmocniłyśmy nasze poczucie tożsamości oraz naszą zdolność do nawigowania w obrębie naszych ograniczeń i granic. Poprzez wspierającą, intencjonalną i refleksyjną współpracę poddałyśmy rewizji proces tworzenia wiedzy jako coś w sposób fundamentalny społecznego i relacyjnego oraz steoretyzowałyśmy go jako coś ugruntowanego w specyficzności narracji współdzielonego przeżytego doświadczenia.Our article offers a vision of how collaborative processes ofknowledge-making in an interdisciplinary faculty writinggroup can transform professional lives of isolation into onesthat flourish. Central to our co-creation of knowledge arethe practice of storytelling in a critical self-reflective manner andthe elements of commitment, connection and relationship.Together we have found that these elements provide basicstrategies for managing the isolation that would otherwisebe a significant force in our working lives.Our commitment is epistemological and moral, as wecommit to knowledge-making, but also to each other asindividuals and as moral agents, to our values, and to bringingour values into our work. Learning about ourselvestogether can enhance our sense of identity and our ability tonavigate limits and boundaries.Through supportive, intentional and reflective collaboration,we re-vision knowledge-making as fundamentally socialand relational, and theorizing as grounded in the specificityof narratives of shared, lived experience

Creating inclusive communities: preparing the university for a cohort of deaf-sign language users in initial teacher education

This chapter reports on a new initiative in Dublin City University (DCU) to provide, for the first time, access to initial teacher education (ITE) for a group of Deaf students who use Irish Sign Language. It presents results of an evaluation into a multifaceted and holistic programme of capacity building in preparation for this cohort at university level, targeting hearing students, staff and university facilities. The aim of the capacity-building programme was to create a warm campus climate for Deaf students, where they felt they belonged to the university ‘family’. Findings demonstrated that this is being achieved by creating a student and staff body that is committed to (a) direct communication with Deaf students in their first language, and (b) validating the Deaf lived-experience

Examining the highs and lows of teacher self-efficacy for special class teachers working with learners with Autism/Autism spectrum disorder

Background According to data provided by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), between 2020 and 2021, there was a 15% increase in the number of special classes specifically for learners with Autism/Autism Spectrum Disorder (A/ASD) attached to mainstream schools in the Republic of Ireland. Given the considerable growth in A/ASD classes in schools, examining the Teacher Self-Efficacy (TSE) of teachers working there enables us to identify strengths and areas for professional development (PD). Method This paper reports the findings from an Irish study into Teacher Self-Efficacy (TSE) of teachers working in special classes for learners with A/ASD. The study involved a large sample (n = 139) of teachers responding to an online questionnaire. The questionnaire included the Autism Self-Efficacy Scale for Teachers (ASSET). Results Analysis of the completed questionnaires reveals that the areas teachers feel least confident in are their abilities to train peer models, to teach play skills, and to translate assessment information into teaching objectives to the students. They felt most confident in their ability to use visual supports to foster student independence, to describe their student’s characteristics that relate to A/ASD, and to communicate and work effectively with parents or caregivers. Conclusions The findings of this study present implications for professional development for teachers of learners with A/ASD, namely that upskilling is needed in training peer models, play skills, and translating assessment information into teaching objectives. The results also add further evidence to the use of the ASSET as a reliable measure of assessing the Teacher Self-Efficacy for teaching students with A/ASD

Teacher self-efficacy of primary school teachers working in Irish ASD classes

This study investigated the perceived Teacher Self-Efficacy (TSE) of primary school teachers in Ireland who are working in special classes for students with autism. Furthermore, it sought to examine whether these perceptions of TSE were related to special class teaching experience, their engagement in professional development pertaining to autism, and their perceptions of principals’ instructional support. An online questionnaire was administered to 139 of these teachers. The findings indicated that participants had a relatively high sense of TSE. Correlation analyses identified statistically significant, positive correlations between the three independent variables and the dependent variable of TSE

Sympatric woodland Myotis bats form tight-knit social groups with exclusive roost home ranges (dataset)

The article relating to this dataset is available in ORE: http://hdl.handle.net/10871/15799Dataset associated with the PLOS journal article with the same title. The two sets of data in the Excel file were used to create the networks in the Tiff file.Natural Environment Research Council (NERC