$1.9 Million NIH Grant to Fund Children\u27s Health Research

Medical Center will use award to build infrastructure, expand pediatric clinical trial

Sandersons to Chair 100MillionCampaign,Commit100 Million Campaign, Commit 10 Million Gift

Effort will benefit pediatric care at UMMC and help children statewid

UMMC Neonatal Suite, Simulation Area Give Babies Best Possible Start

New facilities aimed to help infants with low birth weight or congenital defect

Eli, Abby Manning Pledge $1M to Children\u27s of Mississippi\u27s Campaign

Drive aims to expand neonatal ICU and surgical suites, create new imaging departmen

The Design of an IEP Decision Aid: A Tool for Diverse Parents of Children with Autism

Decision-making is a universal process that occurs constantly in life. Parent participation in educational decision-making is recognized as important by special education law, by special education and school psychology literature (Christenson & Sheridan, 2001; IDEIA, 2004;). Partnership in decision-making is especially important for parents of diverse culture and SES, who participate at lower rates, and for whom participation and partnership may mean different things (Epstein, 2001; Gaitan, 2004). Within that population, partnering with parents of children with autism is a priority due to the complex effects of autism on children's communication, socialization, and behavior, a plethora of available resources and interventions, and negotiation of those resources and roles of schools with the expectations of parents. Decisions that diverse parents must make are often complex and their priorities may be different than those of the professionals with whom they work (Dunlap & Fox, 1999; Mandell & Novak, 2005). One method that has been used in the field of medicine, and to a lesser degree in education, is the use of decision-making aids to enhance joint decision-making between patients and providers or between parents and educational professionals (Giangreco, Cloninger & Iverson, 1998; O'Connor et al 2009). However, when these tools are reviewed, few posit a theoretical basis, and when educational decision tools are evaluated using an international quality criteria checklist, they fall short in addressing specific populations and encouraging parents to identify their values and in a process for making decisions, and focus on professionals as the administrator of the tool. This study utilized design research methodology to develop a grounded theory model of IEP decision-making for diverse parents of elementary-aged children with autism in Kansas City, KS public schools and to create a decision aid based in the grounded theory and other sources. Participants report a variety of types of decisions that parents make when working with their IEP team, as well as the interaction and influence of varying layers of child, parent, family, systemic, and relational factors into parents' decision-making process. Participants report four general types of parent response when presented with IEP decisions. In partnership with an Advisory Board comprising parent and professional participants, the grounded theory, decision aid standards, and other resources served as a basis for the design of an IEP decision aid tool

Examining social competence, self-perception, quality of life, and internalizing and externalizing symptoms in adolescent females with and without autism spectrum disorder: a quantitative design including between-groups and correlational analyses

BACKGROUND: Adolescent females with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are an understudied population, yet are also quite vulnerable, due to the increased complexities of social interaction and increased risk for internalizing symptoms in adolescence. Most research literature currently focuses on males with ASD, limiting our understanding of social experiences for females with ASD, and thus the potential to better inform supports and intervention to promote social-emotional functioning. This study examined similarities and differences in selected indicators of social-emotional health (social competence, self-perception, quality of life) and problematic behaviors such as externalizing and internalizing symptoms for adolescent females with and without ASD. METHODS: This study employed a quantitative design utilizing correlational analysis as well as t test comparisons to examine selected indicators of social-emotional health and problematic symptoms using the Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS), Youth Quality of Life Instrument (YQOL), and the Self-Perceptions Profile for Adolescents (SPPA) for adolescent females with ASD in relation to their typically developing peers. RESULTS: Significant differences were found between females with and without ASD in terms of their self-ratings of social-emotional health and problematic behaviors. The no-ASD group rated themselves higher across all areas of social-emotional health. Findings also suggest strong relationships between these constructs, especially for females without ASD. Parent reports of autism symptoms and social-emotional health indicated that as symptoms of autism are more severe, so too was the impact on individuals’ social competence. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent females with ASD perceive themselves as having lower social competence, self-worth, and quality of life and higher levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms as compared to their typically developing peers. Parent ratings indicate that higher levels of autism symptoms relate to lower levels of social competence. These findings lend support to the postulate that adolescent females with ASD are more vulnerable than their typically developing counterparts due to the compounded impact of ASD symptoms on social-emotional health and the higher risk for internalizing disorders for adolescent girls. Limitations and implications for further research and intervention are discussed

Interleukin-6 gene (IL-6): a possible role in brain morphology in the healthy adult brain

Background: Cytokines such as interleukin 6 (IL-6) have been implicated in dual functions in neuropsychiatric disorders. Little is known about the genetic predisposition to neurodegenerative and neuroproliferative properties of cytokine genes. In this study the potential dual role of several IL-6 polymorphisms in brain morphology is investigated. Methodology: In a large sample of healthy individuals (N = 303), associations between genetic variants of IL-6 (rs1800795; rs1800796, rs2069833, rs2069840) and brain volume (gray matter volume) were analyzed using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Selection of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) followed a tagging SNP approach (e.g., Stampa algorigthm), yielding a capture 97.08% of the variation in the IL-6 gene using four tagging SNPs. Principal findings/results: In a whole-brain analysis, the polymorphism rs1800795 (−174 C/G) showed a strong main effect of genotype (43 CC vs. 150 CG vs. 100 GG; x = 24, y = −10, z = −15; F(2,286) = 8.54, puncorrected = 0.0002; pAlphaSim-corrected = 0.002; cluster size k = 577) within the right hippocampus head. Homozygous carriers of the G-allele had significantly larger hippocampus gray matter volumes compared to heterozygous subjects. None of the other investigated SNPs showed a significant association with grey matter volume in whole-brain analyses. Conclusions/significance: These findings suggest a possible neuroprotective role of the G-allele of the SNP rs1800795 on hippocampal volumes. Studies on the role of this SNP in psychiatric populations and especially in those with an affected hippocampus (e.g., by maltreatment, stress) are warranted.Bernhard T Baune, Carsten Konrad, Dominik Grotegerd, Thomas Suslow, Eva Birosova, Patricia Ohrmann, Jochen Bauer, Volker Arolt, Walter Heindel, Katharina Domschke, Sonja Schöning, Astrid V Rauch, Christina Uhlmann, Harald Kugel and Udo Dannlowsk

Officials Cut Ribbon on Oxford Nursing School Facility

OXFORD, Miss. – The next generation of registered nurses is being educated by the University of Mississippi School of Nursing in newly renovated classrooms and labs at the South Oxford Center, which school officials hope will boost the number of nurses in north Mississippi