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A Delphi consensus methodology was used to adapt the Autism Diagnostic Interview--Revised for the assessment of deaf children with suspected autism spectrum disorder. Each Autism Diagnostic Interview--Revised item was considered by a panel of nine international experts in terms of relevance and acceptability. Modifications were proposed and agreed by the expert panel for 45% of items. The pre-specified criterion for agreement between experts was set at 80% for each item. A first validation of the revised version, adapted for deaf children (Autism Diagnostic Interview--Revised Deaf Adaptation), was undertaken with a UK sample of 78 parents/carers of deaf children with autism spectrum disorder and 126 parents/carers with deaf children without autism spectrum disorder. When compared to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline standard clinical assessments, the Autism Diagnostic Interview--Revised Deaf Adaptation diagnostic algorithm cut-off/threshold scores achieved a sensitivity of 89% (79%-96%) and specificity of 81% (70%-89%) for autism spectrum disorder. The alpha coefficients for each algorithm symptom domain ranged from 0.80 to 0.91, suggesting that the items had high internal consistency. Our findings indicate that the Autism Diagnostic Interview--Revised Deaf Adaptation is likely to be a useful measure for the assessment of deaf children with suspected autism spectrum disorder, although further research is needed.

Purpose: Speechreading (lipreading) is a correlate of reading ability in both deaf and hearing children. We investigated whether the relationship between speechreading and single-word reading is mediated by phonological awareness in deaf and hearing children. Method: In two separate studies, 66 deaf children and 138 hearing children, aged 5-8 years old, were assessed on measures of speechreading, phonological awareness, and single-word reading. We assessed the concurrent relationships between latent variables measuring speechreading, phonological awareness, and single-word reading. Results: In both deaf and hearing children, there was a strong relationship between speechreading and single-word reading, which was fully mediated by phonological awareness. Conclusions: These results are consistent with ideas from previous studies that visual speech information contributes to the development of phonological representations in both deaf and hearing children, which, in turn, support learning to read. Future longitudinal and training studies are required to establish whether these relationships reflect causal effects.

Purpose: We developed and evaluated in a randomized controlled trial a computerized speechreading training program to determine (a) whether it is possible to train speechreading in deaf children and (b) whether speechreading training results in improvements in phonological and reading skills. Previous studies indicate a relationship between speechreading and reading skill and further suggest this relationship may be mediated by improved phonological representations. This is important since many deaf children find learning to read to be very challenging. Method: Sixty-six deaf 5- to 7-year-olds were randomized into speechreading and maths training arms. Each training program was composed of a 10-min sessions a day, 4 days a week for 12 weeks. Children were assessed on a battery of language and literacy measures before training, immediately after training, and 3 months and 11 months after training. Results: We found no significant benefits for participants who completed the speechreading training, compared to those who completed the maths training, on the speechreading primary outcome measure. However, significantly greater gains were observed in the speechreading training group on one of the secondary measures of speechreading. There was also some evidence of beneficial effects of the speechreading training on phonological representations; however, these effects were weaker. No benefits were seen to word reading. Conclusions: Speechreading skill is trainable in deaf children. However, to support early reading, training may need to be longer or embedded in a broader literacy program. Nevertheless, a training tool that can improve speechreading is likely to be of great interest to professionals working with deaf children.

Play is a suite of apparently non‐functional, pleasurable behaviours observed in human and non‐human animals. Although the phenomenon has been studied extensively, no adaptationist behavioural theory of how play evolved can be supported by the available evidence. However, the advancement of the extended evolutionary synthesis and developments in systems biology offer alternative avenues for non‐adaptationist physiological hypotheses. I therefore propose a hypothesis of play, based upon a complex ACh activity that is under agential control of the organism, whereby play initiates ACh‐mediated feedforward and feedback processes which act to: (i) regulate metabolic processes; (ii) form new ACh receptors via ACh mRNA activity; (iii) mediate attention, memory consolidation and learning; and (iv) mediate social behaviours, reproduction and embryonic development. However, play occurs across taxa, but does not occur across all taxonomic groups or within all species of a taxonomic group. Thus, to support the validity of the proposed hypothesis, I further propose potential explanations for this anomaly, which include sampling and observer biases, altricial versus precocial juvenile development, and the influence of habitat niche and environmental conditions on behaviour. The proposed hypothesis thus offers new avenues for study in both the biological and social sciences, in addition to having potential applications in applied sciences, such as animal welfare and biomedical research. Crucially, it is hoped that this hypothesis will promote further study of a valid and behaviourally significant, yet currently enigmatic, biological phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Speechreading (lipreading) is a correlate of reading ability in both deaf and hearing children. We investigated whether the relationship between speechreading and single-word reading is mediated by phonological awareness in deaf and hearing children. Method: In two separate studies, 66 deaf children and 138 hearing children, aged 5-8 years old, were assessed on measures of speechreading, phonological awareness, and single-word reading. We assessed the concurrent relationships between latent variables measuring speechreading, phonological awareness, and single-word reading. Results: In both deaf and hearing children, there was a strong relationship between speechreading and single-word reading, which was fully mediated by phonological awareness. Conclusions: These results are consistent with ideas from previous studies that visual speech information contributes to the development of phonological representations in both deaf and hearing children, which, in turn, support learning to read. Future longitudinal and training studies are required to establish whether these relationships reflect causal effects., Deaf children and adults tend to have poorer reading skills, on average, than their hearing peers (e.g., Conrad, 1979; Qi & Mitchell, 2011). A U.K. study from 40 years ago [...]

For children who are born deaf, lipreading (speechreading) is an important source of access to spoken language. We used eye tracking to investigate the strategies used by deaf (n = 33) and hearing 5-8-year-olds (n = 59) during a sentence speechreading task. The proportion of time spent looking at the mouth during speech correlated positively with speechreading accuracy. In addition, all children showed a tendency to watch the mouth during speech and watch the eyes when the model was not speaking. The extent to which the children used this communicative pattern, which we refer to as social-tuning, positively predicted their speechreading performance, with the deaf children showing a stronger relationship than the hearing children. These data suggest that better speechreading skills are seen in those children, both deaf and hearing, who are able to guide their visual attention to the appropriate part of the image and in those who have a good understanding of conversational turn-taking.

Purpose: We developed and evaluated in a randomized controlled trial a computerized speechreading training program to determine (a) whether it is possible to train speechreading in deaf children and (b) whether speechreading training results in improvements in phonological and reading skills. Previous studies indicate a relationship between speechreading and reading skill and further suggest this relationship may be mediated by improved phonological representations. This is important since many deaf children find learning to read to be very challenging. Method: Sixty-six deaf 5- to 7-year-olds were randomized into speechreading and maths training arms. Each training program was composed of a 10-min sessions a day, 4 days a week for 12 weeks. Children were assessed on a battery of language and literacy measures before training, immediately after training, and 3 months and 11 months after training. Results: We found no significant benefits for participants who completed the speechreading training, compared to those who completed the maths training, on the speechreading primary outcome measure. However, significantly greater gains were observed in the speechreading training group on one of the secondary measures of speechreading. There was also some evidence of beneficial effects of the speechreading training on phonological representations; however, these effects were weaker. No benefits were seen to word reading. Conclusions: Speechreading skill is trainable in deaf children. However, to support early reading, training may need to be longer or embedded in a broader literacy program. Nevertheless, a training tool that can improve speechreading is likely to be of great interest to professionals working with deaf children. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha. 8856356, Speechreading refers to the ability to understand speech on the basis of visual, rather than auditory, perceptual information. More commonly known as lipreading, the term speechreading acknowledges the fact that [...]

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are rarely used to evaluate social and behavioral interventions designed for releasing prisoners. Objective: We use a pilot RCT of a social support intervention (Support Matters) as a case example to discuss obstacles and strategies for conducting RCT intervention evaluations that span prison and community contexts. Method: First, we summarize existing studies with current and former prisoner samples that highlight RCT methodological techniques. Then, we introduce the trial of Support Matters and discuss obstacles and efforts to overcome those obstacles. Results and Conclusions: We focus on factors related to sampling frame, participant eligibility, sample size, engagement, and attrition. We conclude with general recommendations related to project delays, compromised research sites, and retention. This article provides guidance based on lessons learned from an RCT of a social support intervention with releasing prisoners and their loved ones. Barriers discussed and recommendations presented here will help interventionists develop and implement RCTs in prison to community contexts.

Attachment theory, proposed in the 1950s to understand the development of parent-child relationships, is often applied to human–companion animal relationships. I argue the application of this paradigm to test nonhuman animals' social bonds with humans infantilizes mature animals and has a detrimental impact on animal welfare. The premise is that Ainsworth's Strange Situation Test is inappropriate to investigate the emotional ties between domestic animals and humans. Instead, I propose an alternative theory, that dogs form mature social bonds with their guardians, and that the phenomenon known as separation anxiety is the result either of the frustration of mature adult group behaviors, or an overdependency fostered by the guardian. Rather than view mature dogs as comparable to human infants in their social relationships, we should perceive them as socially and emotionally mature at adulthood and shift the focus from attachment-based paradigms to the behavioral ecology and cognition of companion animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this preliminary study was to determine the effectiveness of a female gender-specific substance abuse treatment intervention (Holistic Enrichment for At-Risk Teens, or HEART) in improving problems related to personal and social functioning. A quasi-experimental, 2-group pretest and posttest repeated measures design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a treatment intervention with 101 incarcerated girls who met DSM-IV criteria for substance dependence. A repeated measures MANCOVA revealed that the HEART program appeared to be more effective in reducing problems related to social functioning than the standard treatment substance abuse intervention. At posttest, significant differences were found between the treatment and comparison groups on three of the four measures of social functioning: problems with family, problems with friends, and problems with school. No significant differences were found between the 2 groups on 3 posttest measures of personal functioning. A critical need exists for gender-sensitive substance abuse interventions in female juvenile correctional facilities. Implications for policy, practice, and research are discussed. (Contains 2 tables.)

The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral approach in changing the behavioral and cognitive skills of incarcerated girls participating in a substance abuse treatment program. A repeated measures design was used. The findings of this study revealed that the behaviors (i.e., self-monitoring, self-control, etc.) and cognitive skills (i.e., cognitive concentration, consequential thinking, etc.) of participants improved significantly. Research and practice implications are discussed. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.)

The rise in female delinquency has resulted in large numbers of girls being incarcerated in Youth Development Centers (YDC). However, there are few gender specific treatment programs for incarcerated female adolescent offenders, particularly for those with a history of substance dependency. In this article, we present a Multi-level Risk Model (MRM) for the assessment of adolescent female offenders and illustrate how components of effective gender-specific programming are germane for incarcerated teen girls with substance abuse and co-morbid mental health disorders. Application of this model to the HEART (Holistic Enrichment for At-Risk Teens) is presented. Implications for clinical, organizational, and research issues are discussed. (Contains 1 figure.)

The objective of this preliminary study was to determine the effectiveness of a female gender-specific substance abuse treatment intervention (Holistic Enrichment for At-Risk Teens, or HEART) in improving problems related to personal and social functioning. A quasi-experimental, 2-group pretest and posttest repeated measures design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a treatment intervention with 101 incarcerated girls who met DSM-IV criteria for substance dependence. A repeated measures MANCO VA revealed that the HEART program appeared to be more effective in reducing problems related to social functioning than the standard treatment substance abuse intervention. At posttest, significant differences were found between the treatment and comparison groups on three of the four measures of social functioning: problems with family, problems with friends, and problems with school. No significant differences were found between the 2 groups on 3 posttest measures of personal functioning. A critical need exists for gender-sensitive substance abuse interventions in female juvenile correctional facilities. Implications for policy, practice, and research are discussed. KEYWORDS female juvenile offenders, gender-sensitive intervention, incarcerated adolescent females, psychosocial functioning, substance abuse DOI: 10.1080/10509674.2010.510771

This pilot study examined the effectiveness of an intensive, gender specific substance abuse treatment program, Holistic Enrichment for At-Risk Teens (HEART), on the psychosocial functioning of 30 incarcerated girls. A single-group multiple repeated measures design method was used to determine the effectiveness of the HEART program in reducing psychosocial problems associated with the behaviors of problem substance use and delinquency. The results showed that participants in the HEART program displayed significant improvement in eight of ten areas of psychosocial functioning: mental health, family relation, peer relations, educational status, vocational, leisure and recreational skills, and decreases in aggressive behaviors. The conclusion is that it is critical for juvenile correctional facilities to become sites where effective, empirically based treatment is provided.

The rise in female delinquency has resulted in large numbers of girls being incarcerated in Youth Development Centers (YDC). However, there are few gender specific treatment programs for incarcerated female adolescent offenders, particularly for those with a history of substance dependency. In this article, we present a Multi-level Risk Model (MRM) for the assessment of adolescent female offenders and illustrate how components of effective gender-specific programming are germane for incarcerated teen girls with substance abuse and co-morbid mental health disorders. Application of this model to the HEART (Holistic Enrichment for At-Risk Teens) is presented. Implications for clinical, organizational, and research issues are discussed. KEYWORDS adolescents, female offenders, gender specific, substance abuse

A Delphi consensus methodology was used to adapt the Autism Diagnostic Interview–Revised for the assessment of deaf children with suspected autism spectrum disorder. Each Autism Diagnostic Interview–Revised item was considered by a panel of nine international experts in terms of relevance and acceptability. Modifications were proposed and agreed by the expert panel for 45% of items. The pre-specified criterion for agreement between experts was set at 80% for each item. A first validation of the revised version, adapted for deaf children (Autism Diagnostic Interview–Revised Deaf Adaptation), was undertaken with a UK sample of 78 parents/carers of deaf children with autism spectrum disorder and 126 parents/carers with deaf children without autism spectrum disorder. When compared to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline standard clinical assessments, the Autism Diagnostic Interview–Revised Deaf Adaptation diagnostic algorithm cut-off/threshold scores achieved a sensitivity of 89% (79%–96%) and specificity of 81% (70%–89%) for autism spectrum disorder. The alpha coefficients for each algorithm symptom domain ranged from 0.80 to 0.91, suggesting that the items had high internal consistency. Our findings indicate that the Autism Diagnostic Interview–Revised Deaf Adaptation is likely to be a useful measure for the assessment of deaf children with suspected autism spectrum disorder, although further research is needed. Autism assessment processes need to improve for deaf children as they are currently being diagnosed later than their hearing counterparts and misdiagnosis can occur. We took one of the most commonly used parent developmental interviews for autism spectrum disorder the Autism Diagnostic Interview–Revised and adapted it using international expert advice. Modifications were proposed and agreed by the expert panel for 45% of items; the remaining 55% of items were unchanged. We then tested the revised version, adapted for deaf children (Autism Diagnostic Interview–Revised Deaf Adaptation), in a UK sample of 78 parents/carers of deaf children with autism spectrum disorder and 126 parents/carers with deaf children without autism spectrum disorder. When compared to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline standard clinical assessments, the Autism Diagnostic Interview–Revised Deaf Adaptation diagnostic algorithm threshold scores could identify those deaf children with a definite diagnosis (true autism spectrum disorder positives) well (sensitivity of 89% (79%–96%)) and those deaf children who did not have autism spectrum disorder (true autism spectrum disorder negatives) well (specificity of 81% (70%–89%)). Our findings indicate that the Autism Diagnostic Interview–Revised Deaf Adaptation is likely to prove a useful measure for the assessment of deaf children with suspected autism spectrum disorder and that further research would be helpful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant proportion of health‐ and disability‐sector consumers in Australia speak a language other than English (LOTE) at home. Barriers to service access in culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) populations are acknowledged; however, there is limited data to guide service delivery among care providers. The aims of the present study were to investigate the linguistic diversity of preschool‐aged children and families presenting for diagnostic assessment of developmental delay and disability at the Disability Specialist Unit, a multidisciplinary assessment service, and assess whether CALD status was associated with poorer service engagement. Specifically, it was hypothesized that CALD status would be associated with decreased likelihood of receiving intervention (particularly multidisciplinary intervention) and attending center‐based care, and an increased likelihood of requiring referral to access available government funding. A retrospective record audit was undertaken of 88 clients seen by the Disability Specialist Unit over a 12‐month period to collect information about CALD status (whether a LOTE was spoken at home) and a range of clinically relevant variables including clinical diagnosis/es, age at assessment, involvement with therapies, attendance at center‐based child care, and whether a referral to access government funding was required. Differences between CALD and non‐CALD groups were explored statistically via odds ratios and independent samples t test. Children from CALD backgrounds were significantly less likely than non‐CALD children to be engaged in multidisciplinary therapy at the time of assessment and significantly more likely to require support to access funding than children from non‐CALD families. Furthermore, children from CALD backgrounds were significantly more likely to receive a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and global developmental delay or ID. These findings suggest that children from CALD backgrounds are disadvantaged compared to non‐CALD children with respect to service access at the point of tertiary diagnostic evaluation of a developmental disability. Implications for service delivery are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]