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This article follows José, a child with autism spectrum disorder, through his communication journey from age 3 to age 11. His journey illustrates many of the characteristics and challenges of individuals with autism spectrum disorders, as they become a part of the literate community in the general education classroom. Collaborative, family-based teaming strategies that supported Jose's language and literacy learning from kindergarten through fourth grade are described. The article credits early, intensive intervention based on the family's concerns and goals for meaningful outcomes and communicative competence across learning contexts and communicative partners. Speech-language pathologists' roles as advocates for all students to have access to the social and literate community are also highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: A hallmark of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is disruption in theory-of-mind development, including the understanding of false beliefs. Previous studies have typically assessed the development of first- and second-order false belief concepts in ASD, with tasks primarily emphasizing physical causality and logical inferencing. The present study investigated how preadolescents and adolescents with ASD performed on false belief tasks that included social inferencing of psychological states as well as logical inferencing of physical states.Method: Two categories of tasks were administered: four traditional logical inferencing tasks and four social inferencing tasks specifically developed for this study. In addition, a prompt hierarchy was included to ascertain if performance on both task types improved. Participants were 45 children and adolescents primarily selected from three urban school districts: 15 adolescents with a previous diagnosis of ASD (ASD group); 15 typically developing children matched for age, gender, and ethnicity (CA group); and 15 typically developing children matched for language age, gender, and ethnicity (LA group).Results: Three findings were pertinent. First, the CA group performed at higher levels than did the LA group and the ASD group on both task sets. Second, although the CA and the LA groups performed equally well on both the logical and the social inferencing tasks, the ASD group performed better on the social inferencing tasks. Finally, the prompt hierarchy significantly improved overall task performance for the ASD and LA groups.Clinical Implications: These findings indicate that task type, variations in vocabulary ability, and the provision of support influenced performance on the false belief tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National trends indicate an increasing number of children identified with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The diagnostic criteria for autistic disorder include deficits in social interaction and communication. The communication support required by children with ASD is varied and complex, requiring collaboration from many disciplines. The speech-language pathologist must combine specialized knowledge of communication with specific knowledge of ASD to provide effective collaboration. This article explores the application of this specialized knowledge through the assessment and intervention process of two unique case studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Programming for data wrangling and statistical analysis is an essential technical tool of modern epidemiology, yet many epidemiologists receive limited formal training in strategies to optimize the quality of our code. In complex projects, coding mistakes are easy to make, even for skilled practitioners. Such mistakes can lead to invalid research claims that reduce the credibility of the field. Code review is a straightforward technique used by the software industry to reduce the likelihood of coding bugs. The systematic implementation of code review in epidemiologic research projects could not only improve science but also decrease stress, accelerate learning, contribute to team building, and codify best practices. In the present article, we argue for the importance of code review and provide some recommendations for successful implementation for 1) the research laboratory, 2) the code author (the initial programmer), and 3) the code reviewer. We outline a feasible strategy for implementation of code review, though other successful implementation processes are possible to accommodate the resources and workflows of different research groups, including other practices to improve code quality. Code review isn't always glamorous, but it is critically important for science and reproducibility. Humans are fallible; that's why we need code review., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Purpose: The purpose of this investigation was to conduct an evidence-based systematic review (EBSR) of peer-reviewed articles from the last 30 years about the effect of different service delivery models on speech-language intervention outcomes for elementary school-age students., Method: A computer search of electronic databases was conducted to identify studies that addressed any of 16 research questions. Structured review procedures were used to select and evaluate data-based studies that used experimental designs of the following types: randomized clinical trial, nonrandomized comparison study, and single-subject design study., Results: The EBSR revealed a total of 5 studies that met the review criteria and addressed questions of the effectiveness of pullout, classroom-based, and indirect-consultative service delivery models with elementary school-age children. Some evidence suggests that classroom-based direct services are at least as effective as pullout intervention for some intervention goals, and that highly trained speech-language pathology assistants, using manuals prepared by speech-language pathologists to guide intervention, can provide effective services for some children with language problems., Conclusion: Lacking adequate research-based evidence, clinicians must rely on reason-based practice and their own data until more data become available concerning which service delivery models are most effective. Recommendations are made for an expanded research agenda.

This study investigated the impact of discourse on engagement in shared storybook reading in children who are language impaired and hard to engage. Although active participation in shared storybook reading in children who are typically developing is well defined, research has shown that the engagement of children with language disorders differ as a result of adult reading styles. To investigate the influence of reading style on children who were hard to engage, four shared storybook-reading sessions were analyzed. Within the highly engaged sessions studied, several discourse features were identified that were supportive of the engagement of children with language impairment who were difficult to engage. These features were a balance of requests and responses between clinician and child, use of various scaffolding measures, and a focus on content through the use of pausing, inflection, and volume. The discourse patterns identified were additional to the strategies associated with dialogic book-reading literature focused on active participation., (Thieme Medical Publishers.)

Purpose: A hallmark of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is disruption in theory-of-mind development, including the understanding of false beliefs. Previous studies have typically assessed the development of first- and second-order false belief concepts in ASD, with tasks primarily emphasizing physical causality and logical inferencing. The present study investigated how preadolescents and adolescents with ASD performed on false belief tasks that included social inferencing of psychological states as well as logical inferencing of physical states., Method: Two categories of tasks were administered: four traditional logical inferencing tasks and four social inferencing tasks specifically developed for this study. In addition, a prompt hierarchy was included to ascertain if performance on both task types improved. Participants were 45 children and adolescents primarily selected from three urban school districts: 15 adolescents with a previous diagnosis of ASD (ASD group); 15 typically developing children matched for age, gender, and ethnicity (CA group); and 15 typically developing children matched for language age, gender, and ethnicity (LA group)., Results: Three findings were pertinent. First, the CA group performed at higher levels than did the LA group and the ASD group on both task sets. Second, although the CA and the LA groups performed equally well on both the logical and the social inferencing tasks, the ASD group performed better on the social inferencing tasks. Finally, the prompt hierarchy significantly improved overall task performance for the ASD and LA groups., Clinical Implications: These findings indicate that task type, variations in vocabulary ability, and the provision of support influenced performance on the false belief tasks.

As the need for services for children with autism and related disorders has increased, so has the need for information about communication assessment and intervention for these children. Each of the articles in this forum considers essential knowledge for meeting the social, behavioral, and communication challenges presented by this population, as well as considerations for the individual variation noted within this population. It is hoped that the knowledge contained in this forum will provide interdisciplinary insight into the challenges of autism and related disorders and a research-based framework for making assessment and intervention decisions.

The evaluation of software in the treatment of a language-learning disability requires analysis of both the technical and conceptual aspects of software development. The Earobics® program is reviewed with this dual purpose. The Earobics® program, as reported by the publisher, is an auditory development and phonics software program that is designed to provide auditory processing and phonemic awareness training. Considered first are the technical aspects of the program, including the program description, hardware requirements, and user friendliness. Next, the conceptual framework motivating the software development is assessed through an analysis of the six games that make up the program. These six games appear to be premised on a combination of auditory processing and phonological awareness principles, which are not necessarily compatible. Finally, the strengths and limitations of the program are examined for the developmental sequence presented in its games and utility of the game sequence in the reading acquisition process.

The purpose of this paper was to identify the needs of parents of children with medically complex needs from their own perception. In order to provide in-depth information, the focus group interview technique was used. Several strong recurrent themes were identified. The most persistent need was for a general organization or framework with which the care providers could operate. Along these same lines, the fragmentation of training, needs and services was consistently stated. A general lack of information in terms of home care and how to plan for the future was identified. Support groups were universally lauded for the invaluable services provided to the care parents.