Exploring a mindfulness-informed social emotional learning program in kindergarten classrooms: The moderating role of participant characteristics on behavioural outcomes

The importance of early intervention using social-emotional learning (SEL) programs is well documented, although less is known about mindfulness informed SEL programs such as MindUP™. Previously, research on MindUP™ has been limited to samples with older children and examining the universal effects, not considering individual characteristics. The present study explored changes in young children’s behaviours, as well as possible subgroup effects based on participant characteristics following MindUP’s™ implementation. MindUP™ was delivered to 285 children in 15-junior/senior kindergarten classrooms across eight high needs schools in a Southwestern Ontario school board. The present study used a subset of those data (N= 159). Educators completed a pre and post-test of the Behavior Assessment Scale for Children (third edition) measuring children’s internalizing behaviours externalizing behaviours and resiliency. Findings indicated positive changes in children’s behaviours including a significant increase in resiliency and decrease in internalizing behaviours. Resiliency outcomes were moderated by degree of behavioural symptoms such that children who displayed at-risk/clinical levels of internalizing behaviours showed significantly greater increases in resiliency than those with lower levels of internalizing behaviours. Unexpectedly, there was no change in children’s externalizing behaviours, as well as no moderation of outcomes by grade or gender. The current study provided unique contributions to the literature on MindUP™ through using a younger sample and examining clinical subgroups. Moreover, this study offers a starting point for more rigorous evaluation of MindUP™ and its impact on the wellbeing of children

The Big Sky Aphasia Program: Patient and Student Training Outcomes

Intensive comprehensive aphasia programs (ICAPs) are a relatively new service delivery model for stroke rehabilitation (Rose, Cherney, & Worrall, 2013). The Big Sky Aphasia Program at the University of Montana meets the criteria for an ICAP and has been intentionally designed with clearly defined intensity parameters, a concern for client, caregiver, and clinician perspectives, and a focus on comprehensive therapy that addresses multiple modalities using strategies and recreational opportunities individualized to the patient

Patient Perspectives & Patient Reported Outcomes of an Intensive Comprehensive Aphasia Program

The purpose of this project was to explore patient perspectives and PROMs for stroke survivors with aphasia who participate in an intensive comprehensive aphasia program (ICAP) that was developed by the PI and is delivered at the University of Montana (Off, et al., 2015; 2017). Patient perspectives and PROMs were used to complement traditionally administered psychometric measures to document patient speech, language, cognition, and psychosocial outcomes following the ICAP. To date, no researchers have documented patient perspectives of their outcomes in the context of an ICAP

Repetition Priming and Anomia: An Investigation of Stimulus Dosage

In a recent review of anomia management, Maher & Raymer reported that 30% of aphasia intervention research from 1946 to 2001 focused on naming; however, despite this proliferation of case reports and small group studies, there is still no clear agreement on how best to manage these deficits (Maher & Raymer, 2004, p. 13). The inconsistency of acquisition, maintenance, and generalization effects observed across participants and types of treatment protocols is likely to stem from an inadequate knowledge base about how subject and treatment variables influence learning. One treatment variable that has received increasing attention over the past two or three years is treatment intensity. Principles of neurobiological learning across both animal and human research suggest that the intensity of treatment is a significant factor for learning. Additional research exploring experience-dependent neural plasticity involved in memory and learning indicates that a large number of trials per session are required to elicit behavioral and/or neural change. Despite a considerable amount of literature examining overall treatment intensity, data are not available regarding the frequency (i.e., stimulus dosage) of treatment at which individuals with aphasia will maximally benefit. A single-subject A-B design with replication across four individuals with aphasia and one healthy non-brain injured gender-matched control participant was used to assess the influence of repeated attempts at picture-naming, coupled with repeated exposure to hearing and reading target words, on the acquisition and maintenance of trained stimuli, and generalization to untrained stimuli. Individuals with chronic aphasia participated in a multi-week repetition priming protocol designed to investigate the influence of stimulus dosage on naming accuracy and latency. Results revealed positive repetition priming effects for trained items across both acquisition and maintenance phases; such positive effects were not observed for untrained stimuli or alternate exemplars. Stimulus dosage manipulations did not consistently influence naming performance for individuals with aphasia

Treatment intensity and the effect of repetition priming on naming performance in individuals with anomia

Clinical aphasia researchers have demonstrated efficacy across both phonological and semantic treatment approaches for individuals with anomia (e.g., Boyle, 2004; Kendall, et al., 2008; Renvall et al., 2007). As this research continues to emerge, clinicians are gaining invaluable knowledge about the ideal treatment approach to select for each client or treatment context. Simultaneously, neuroscience research is progressing rapidly and clinical researchers have begun to manipulate principles of neuroplasticity to optimize treatment paradigms (e.g., Kleim & Jones, 2008; Kurland, et al., 2010; Ludlow et al., 2008). One variable that has gained a substantial amount of attention is treatment intensity; participants who receive a greater number of treatment sessions improve to a greater degree than those who receive conventional aphasia therapy (e.g., Brady, et al., 2012; Meinzer et al., 2011). Research protocols have yet to be designed that systematically manipulate intensity variables to estimate the amount of treatment required to best facilitate improved language skills in persons with aphasia (PWA). That is, a majority of the treatment intensity evidence comes from studies that were designed to assess the efficacy of specific treatment approaches. The purpose of this study was to directly investigate the influence of intensity and repetition on naming performance, while simultaneously removing the issue of treatment approach. A repetition priming paradigm was used to assess the influence of treatment intensity and stimulus dosage on the acquisition and maintenance of picture naming accuracy for PWA