Review of Educators’ Needs for Additional Knowledge About Autism in Slovenia

Aim: The project VIS A VIS “Support for professionals in education and employment in the field of autism addresses deficits in systemic support for professionals educating and employing individuals with autism in Slovenia”. The research goal was to determine the professionals' experiences with persons with autism, their knowledge of autism, their assessment of the situation in the field of education for persons with autism, their self-assessment of skills for working with persons with autism and their training needs. Methods: Five online questionnaires were created to gain information from the educators' perspective. Employees in preschool education, basic education, music education, secondary and adult education ant tertiary education participated in the survey. Results: The data provides insight into the needs and challenges that respondents face in their daily practice with persons with autism. Professionals at different levels of education want to acquire additional skills and support to work more successfully with persons with autism. Conclusion: The results form the basis for developing a model of assistance and support for educators in the field of autism. Participants in the survey will have the opportunity to attend free training based on the data collected

Exploring the Parental Experiences in the Media: A Qualitative Analysis of Articles Written by Parents of Children with Autism in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Aim: This paper presents a qualitative study of the experiences of parents raising children with autism, as reflected in the media. The study aimed to explore the lived experiences of parents of children with autism and the challenges they face in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Methods: A content analysis of 20 media articles featuring parents of autistic children was conducted. The articles were selected from a range of sources, including newspapers, magazines, and online news portals. Results: We identified four major themes: supports, education, spousal relationships, and future. It should be noted that these themes are often intertwined. Conclusion: The findings highlight the importance of providing support and resources to parents of children with autism, as well as the need for greater awareness and understanding of the challenges they face. The implications of these findings for policy and practice are discussed, and suggestions for future research are presented

The Status of Inclusive Healthcare Services in Nigeria

https://doi.org/10.33700/jhrs.2.2.8

Micronutrient Supplementation in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Open-Label Trial

Aim: To investigate the change in core and associated behaviours of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) following micronutrient supplementation. Methods: Adolescents and adults with ASD (N=16, aged 11-22) participated in an 8-week open label study of micronutrients supplements. Measures of behaviour and social responsiveness, using Autism Behaviour Inventory – Short (ABI-S) and Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) respectively, were completed by parents and teachers at baseline and end of the study. Paired t-tests were used to compare the pre- and post-treatment mean scores. Results: Eleven participants completed the study. Mean scores on both clinical outcomes showed improvements (decreases) over the study period, but none were statistically significant. Parent-reported ABI-S scores decreased (improved) by 11.5% (effect size=-0.52, p=0.08), teacher-reported ABI-S scores improved by 3.7% (effect size=-0.16, p=0.31), and parent-reported SRS scores improved by 8.6% (effect size=-0.56, p=0.05). There were no adverse events reported. Conclusion: This study adds to the mixed findings of micronutrient supplementation in individuals with ASD, consistent with previous studies. Micronutrients were safely tolerated. In the future, randomized controlled trials with a larger sample size are needed to provide more insight on the potential benefits of micronutrients in ASD

Personality traits and psychosocial adjustment in patients with limb amputation

Purpose: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the relationship between psychosocial adjustment and personality traits since research regarding psychosocial adjustment and variables that influence adjustment in patients with limb amputation is relatively scarce. Methods: There were 63 (81% male) participants in this study. The sample consisted of 51 men and 12 women between the ages of 27 and 86 (M = 56.63, SD = 13.35). The Next Big Five Inventory (BFI 2; Soto & John, 2017) was used to assess personality traits and The Trinity Amputation and Prosthesis Experience Scales – Revised (TAPES-R; Gallagher & MacLachlan, 2000) was used to measure psychosocial adjustment (general adjustment, social adjustment and adjustment to limitation). Results: Extraversion was positively and negative emotionality negatively associated with general adjustment. No significant associations were found between social adjustment and personality traits. Extraversion, agreeableness and open-mindedness correlated positively with adjustment to limitation. Similar pattern of associations was found between personality facets and general adjustment and adjustment to limitation. The strongest associations were found with negative emotionality facet depression. Conclusions: Results indicate that personality traits are associated with psychosocial adjustment in patients with limb amputation. Since this finding can be useful for adaptation to amputation, further research in larger samples is needed

Rehabilitation nurses’ knowledge, experiences, and perceptions of the provision of psychological care for patients post stroke in Ireland: A cross-sectional study.

Introduction:  Early assessment and management of depression and anxiety for patients after stroke is critical. However, suboptimal provision of psychological care is widely reported. Nurses are the largest professional group to care for patients post stroke and have an important role in addressing their emotional wellbeing. Aim: The aim of this paper is to examine nurse’s knowledge, experiences, and perceptions of the provision of psychological care to patients post stroke in Ireland. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive survey design involving both quantitative and qualitative items was administered to a convenience sample of seventy-four (n=74) nurses working in six Irish community hospital rehabilitation units. Results: Findings demonstrate suboptimal psychological care provision for patients post stroke with no formal pre-defined care pathways. Despite nurse’s knowledge of psychological problems and symptomology, participants revealed receiving limited training in psychological monitoring and no systemic allocation of psychological care duties. This research suggests that pre-defined/formal care pathways; access to psychology expertise; further training and support for members of the Multi-Disciplinary-Team has the potential to improve the provision of psychological care for patients post stroke. Conclusions: This study has implications for the reform and development of rehabilitation services in relation to practice, education, and research. It identifies opportunities to support nurses to improve the delivery of psychological care for patients post stroke.

Evaluation of a Pyramidal Parent Training Model in Albania

Introduction: Parenting a child with a disability presents a challenge for parents worldwide. In countries that have limited resources, the challenges of raising a child with autism can be overwhelming. Parent training is one method of providing services to parents and models that account for the realities in developing countries are needed. Method: 20 parents were trained on three intervention strategies. The study used a quasi-experimental design with three pretest conditions and three posttest conditions. The parents were randomly assigned to a training tier where they were trained by either a professional or another parent. Results: Significant changes on the pre-post measures were found. Parents indicated that this training strategy was aligned with their cultural values and that they believed the goals and outcomes of the training were effective.    Conclusion: Pyramidal training represents a training method to help disseminate behavioral interventions to parents in countries with limited resources.

Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder Associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Literature Review and Case Illustrations

Introduction: Irritability has become increasingly prevalent over the past few decades and is often seen in both children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD). Despite this overlap, there has been scant research on treatment for irritability experienced by individuals with co-occurring ASD and DMDD. Objectives: This paper aims to explore the development of DMDD and to shed light on potential treatment regimens that address irritability through case illustrations of individuals who experience co-occurring ASD and DMDD. Methods: Three patients seen through a specialty clinic were selected based on their co-occurring diagnoses of ASD & DMDD. Conclusions: The case illustrations showed that ASD and DMDD often also occurred in the presence of other disorders. Antipsychotics and CBT have shown the most benefits, but mood stabilizers are becoming more prominent for certain combinations of ASD and DMDD. More research is needed on treatment for irritability across co-occurring disorders

Does the Voice Matter? Impact of Voice-Over Instructions on Task Acquisition and Prompting Levels in Video Prompting

Introduction: Opportunities are increasing for individuals with disabilities to live independently. Video prompting is important to increasing independence through observation and imitation of specific behaviors or skills. However, the impact of voice-over instructions has yet to be studied. Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of voice-over instructions on teaching daily living skills to three individuals with disabilities via video prompting. Method: A single-subject adapted alternating treatment design was used. Two versions of each intervention video were created by the researchers and alternated: one without and one with step-by-step voice-over instructions. Four skills were selected: (a) making a bowl of oatmeal, (b) microwaving popcorn, (c) starting a load of laundry, and (d) cleaning the microwave. Data were also collected on the number of prompts to use technology and the number of views for each step. Results: Results showed that the presence of voice-over instructions led to higher levels of task acquisition for all the participants. The number of prompts to use technology decreased for two of the individuals after exposure to both instruction types. The number of views did not appear to be related to the presence of voice-over instructions. Conclusion: Video prompting, with or without voice-over instructions, is an effective way to teach daily living skills and promote independence to individuals with intellectual disabilities

How to establish electronic, scholarly, open access and peer-reviewed journal in small country

Introduction: publishing an electronic, peer-reviewed, open-access academic journal in a small country is really hard work. The advancement of electronic journals during recent years has given professionals in academia a powerful new tool to support learning and research. The purpose of this article is to provide some guidelines about creating electronic, scholarly, open access and peer-reviewed journal in small country through the example of Journal of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. Methods: An analysis of relevant literature, sources from the Internet and published literature, personal experience and observations of the author as editor-in-chief in two similar journals previously. Findings: a new modern academic journal should be open access, peer-reviewed, with international editorial board, having staff who work very dedicatedly. The journal should be set it up on OJS platform, using Creative Commons license for authors and DOI numbers for the articles. Plagiarism detection is a prevention of publication ethics violation. Journal editors should make additional efforts to index journal in lot of scholarly databases and to intend to increase the visibility. Sharing journal content on social media has become an important instrument and platform for editors and researchers as well. Conclusions: Journal of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (JHRS) is a multidisciplinary peer reviewed, international, electronic journal. Editorial office expects your submitted articles in the following weeks and months