Raising Children on the Autism Spectrum: Parental Needs

The rates of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnoses have increased rapidly in the past few years. This increase is affecting many American families but the current research literature fails to evaluate the needs of parents who are raising children on the spectrum. Parents of children with Autism experience grief, denial, anger, guilt, depression, isolation, stress, financial difficulties, and marital struggles. The author proposed a mixed methods study to determine services received and satisfaction with those services; level of parental interest in specialized services; how well parents’ needs had been met with existing services; and what services parents of autistic children find they need the most. To answer these questions, parents of children on the autism spectrum were asked to complete a questionnaire about their interests, needs and the usefulness of existing services

The history of education in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, from 1702 to 1954.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Prescribe a bike: reducing income-based disparities in bike access for health promotion and active transport through primary care

Low-income groups have greater potential to gain from incorporating health promotion into daily living using bike-share to increase physical activity and expand transport options. The potential is unmet because of socioeconomics and access. Disproportionate uptake of bike-share by higher income individuals widens the gaps in health equity and transportation equity as bike-share use over-represents males with more resources, less need, and lower health risk. The Prescribe a Bike (RxBike) program, a key focus of this study, is a partnership between primary care providers (PCPs) at an urban safety net hospital and the city’s existing income-based, subsidized bike-share membership. Three studies using quantitative and qualitative methods were performed to: examine utilization of bike-share by Boston residents among subsidized and non-subsidized members; examine perceived attributes of the RxBike program by Boston Medical Center (BMC) PCPs; and evaluate BMC patient referrals. The overarching conceptual model uses elements of theories from health services and organizational behavior, in a public health framework. Analysis of Boston resident utilization at the trip-level (2012-2015) demonstrated overall ridership was increasingly by males and residents of more advantaged neighborhoods. Subsidized members had significantly higher likelihood of living in neighborhoods with socioeconomic and health disadvantage, and less gender disparity when compared to non-subsidized members. The impact was minimal because subsidized members made only 7.17% of trips. The survey of PCPs revealed mismatch between highly favorable opinion of RxBike appropriateness and lower intent to refer. Female gender and not being an urban biker predicted lower likelihood of intent to refer. Examination of open-ended survey comments mirrored quantitative data and expanded on the range of provider biking safety concerns in Boston. From 2013-2015, 27 BMC providers made only 72 referrals to RxBike. Patients referred had high cardiovascular health risk, resided in neighborhoods with extremely high levels of disadvantage, and in neighborhoods without meaningful access to bike-share kiosks. Overall, the subsidized membership extends reach of bike-share to residents of neighborhoods with more health and socioeconomic risk than the rest of the city; RxBike has strong potential to impact this vulnerable population. The most critical matters for program success are safety and neighborhood access

The Emerging Possibility of Religious Charter Schools: A Case Study of Arizona and Massachusetts

In July 2022, Arizona became the first state to create a universal school-choice program by passing the Empowerment Scholarship Account Program, an education savings account (ESA) for all students outside the public school system. Over the past thirty years, Arizona has expanded its school choice offerings, which includes one of the largest charter school systems in the nation. Today, students in Arizona have many choices for school, including traditional public schools, charter schools, magnet schools, secular private schools, and religious private schools. In the future, could one of those options be a religious charter school? Justice Breyer’s dissent in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue warned of the emergence of religious charter schools: “What about charter schools? . . . [W]ould the majority’s rule . . . trigger[] a constitutional obligation to fund private religious schools?” Other scholars have considered this possibility, most earnestly since the Supreme Court’s Espinoza decision in 2020, and one state attorney general proposed his own legal analysis last year. The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa have submitted an application for a Catholic virtual charter school in Oklahoma and received approval in June 2023 to open in fall of 2024, with litigation sure to follow. There are two constitutional questions at stake. First, are religious charter schools constitutionally permissible, and second, if allowed, are they constitutionally required? Although these questions have been explored by scholars in the federal context, less attention has been given within the setting of state constitutions. Given the variations of charter-school laws and state constitutions regarding religious funding, each state’s fact-specific situation could provide a different answer. This Note intends to explore the possibility of religious charter schools in the context of two states: Arizona and Massachusetts. Both states have charter schools as well as language in their state constitutions prohibiting the governmental funding of private schools. However, each state’s education system looks very different, especially concerning public funding for religious schools. Arizona’s encouragement of school choice suggests the state is a strong candidate for religious charter schools, while Massachusetts’s Democratic politics makes it unlikely that school choice would be expanded, and even more so for religious schools. This Note will first explain the general context of charter schools and why religious charter schools could be beneficial. Then, the Note will establish the legal framework supporting religious charter schools, particularly legal precedent on the state action doctrine and religious school funding. Then, the analysis will focus on the possibility of religious charter schools in Arizona and Massachusetts based on each state’s political and legal context. Both states are likely required to support religious charter schools given their current secular charter school systems, but that outcome depends on the state constitutionality of each state’s charter school system itself. Neither state is required to support religious charter schools if there are no secular charter schools. I argue that Massachusetts is more likely to act against religious charter schools, potentially by abolishing the existing charter school system, while Arizona would likely be required to have religious charter schools, assuming a resolution on its charter schools’ legal status. This framework of analysis could be extended to other states, providing a starting point for the viability of religious charter schools elsewhere

Bullous hemorrhagic lichen sclerosus of the breast: a report of two cases and review of the literature

Lichen sclerosus (LS) is a chronic dermatologic condition characterized by atrophic porcelain-appearing plaques that can cause intense discomfort and eventually lead to destruction of local architecture. Lichen sclerosus most commonly arises in the anogenital area, but up to 20% of cases can present on extragenital skin. Rarely, LS can also present with hemorrhage and bullae; the mechanism by which this occurs is unknown. We report two cases of bullous hemorrhagic LS of the breast arising in 66-year-old and 77-year-old women. Bullous hemorrhagic LS of the breast is exceedingly rare, with few reported cases, and presents a diagnostic challenge to clinicians

Glutamate regulates neurite outgrowth of descending neurons in culture from larval lamprey

The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file.Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (December 19, 2006)Includes bibliographical references.Vita.Thesis (M.S.) University of Missouri-Columbia 2005.Dissertations, Academic -- University of Missouri--Columbia -- Neuroscience.In spinal cord-transected larval lamprey, descending brain neurons, most of which are reticulospinal (RS) neurons, regenerate their axons across a transection site and contribute to behavioral recovery. In the present study, DiI-labeled descending brain neurons in larval lamprey were dissociated and cultured. Glutamate application to neurons elicited neurite inhibition and often retraction, which was abolished by kynurenic acid. Glutamate-induced neurite retraction appeared to be due, in part, to calcium influx via voltage-gated calcium channels, since application of high potassium media inhibited neurite outgrowth, an effect that was blocked by Co²+ or Cd²+. Glutamate application in the presence of [omega]-conotoxin MVIIC still inhibited neurite outgrowth, suggesting calcium influx via chemically-gated channels may also contribute. Particularly, N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) application elicited neurite retraction. Glutamate application in the presence of tetrodotoxin (TTX) inhibited neurite outgrowth. Interestingly, TTX inhibited neurite growth, suggesting the neurons may be spontaneously active. Glutamate-induced neurite retraction may be due, in part, to increases in intracellular calcium levels, which possibly involve second messengers (e.g. cAMP). Application of dibutyryl cyclic AMP or Forskolin induced neurite retraction, while 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX) inhibited neurite outgrowth, suggesting that cAMP is normally produced in cultured RS neurons. The agent H89 abolished neurite retraction mediated by glutamate, suggesting that cAMP and protein kinase A are involved in the signaling pathway for glutamate-induced neurite retraction. Results from the present study suggest that glutamate inhibits neurite outgrowth by acting on glutamate receptors, mediating calcium influx via voltage-gated and chemically-gated channels, increasing intracellular calcium, and activating cAMP. Similar intracellular signaling mechanisms may be important for axonal regeneration following spinal cord injury in the lamprey