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Recent work using neural networks and crowd-sourced perceptual judgements has shown that human figure drawings contain latent structure that can predict many characteristics of the artist including parent-reported motor function and perceived gender. We extend these approaches to two-dimensional renderings of three-dimensional cubes, assessing whether latent structure in these cube drawings likewise predicts demographic characteristics and motor function measured via a paper-folding task. Drawings produced with marker and paper showed a large predictive relationship with paper-folding (accounting for 59% of the offset variance, 62% of the angle variance, ps < .01). We also observed a complex interaction with gender: better cube-drawings predicted better paper-folding for male-identifying participants, but this relationship was reversed for female-identifying participants, who demonstrated better paper folding abilities overall. The results suggest that cube drawings contain richer structure than previously recognized and can provide a useful nonverbal metric for characterizing aspects of cognitive and motor abilities.

Abstract Background Aged Care Assessment Teams are the assessment component of the Australian aged care system. Their purpose is to undertake needs-based assessments to determine an older person’s eligibility for, and access to Commonwealth-funded aged care services. There are no measures that tell us if the aged care assessment service is of high quality from the perspective of the person being assessed. Quality measures have been developed and introduced in Australian residential aged care facilities. These however, have not considered the perspectives of those living in this setting. Quality measures for home care services have also been recommended. This research aims to address the gap in person-centred quality measures by asking current and future service users of aged care assessment services to vote on the importance of 24 person-centred quality indicators (PC-QIs), that were developed in a previous study using a modified Delphi method approach supported by engagement with a consumer led Advisory Board. Methods This mixed methods study used the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method to reach consensus on a final set of PC-QIs. Twenty-five community-dwelling older people in Brisbane, Australia, voted on the importance of 24 PC-QIs using a five-point Likert scale. A consensus statement for PC-QI elimination was determined prior to participants voting. Voting was undertaken with participants individually either face-to-face or via telephone, in their homes. To capture any narrative provided by participants regarding each PC-QI, participant voting sessions were audio-recorded and subsequently transcribed verbatim. Quantitative data from participant votes for each PC-QI were calculated and statistically described by median, interquartile range, consensus met, percentile, percentile rank, rank order, median and standard deviation. PC-QIs were then assessed against the consensus statement for elimination and rank ordered according to importance to participants. Content analysis of qualitative data from audio transcriptions was conducted to determine the presence of certain words supporting participant votes for each PC-QI. Results No PC-QIs were eliminated during voting. Variation existed among participants’ ratings of importance for each PC-QI. Final quality domains, their respective title, quality indicator descriptor and supporting qualitative data are presented. Five PC-QIs had a median of five, no votes recorded below four, an interquartile range of zero, and a rank order score of one, two and four, out of a possible ten, indicating they were of highest importance to participants. Conclusion Participants reached consensus on 24 evidence-based PC-QIs that represent measures of quality of aged care assessment services from the perspectives of current and future service users.

The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is a popular augmentative and alternative communication intervention for individuals with developmental disabilities that includes six, sequential phases of instruction. We systematically reviewed published and unpublished single-case PECS studies for details about the percentage of participants mastering PECS phases, how long it took participants to master PECS phases (in trials to mastery), and what constituted mastery of PECS phases. We found most participants mastered only the first two phases of PECS, and Phases I, II, and IV showed the slowest and widest variability in trials to mastery. Moreover, participants who were taught the third PECS phase learned to select from an average array of three symbols, which may limit the range of messages they can communicate. We discuss our findings in light of a few important limitations and provide directions for future researchers along with recommendations for professionals who might consider PECS.

The ways in which high schools in rural U.S. communities allocate their staffing and assign roles related to career development impact the preparation of students with disabilities for future employment pursuits. This mixed methods study explored (a) the roles of 291 school staff and administrators in supporting the career development of students with disabilities, (b) how they came to assume these roles, and (c) how they viewed their roles. Findings indicated that special educators self-decided an overwhelming majority of roles in this area and could benefit from increased contributions from school staff in other positions to support the work preparation of students with disabilities. We offer recommendations for extending and clarifying the roles of staff in these rural districts.

We overview several key issues of the past, present, and near future of special education for students with severe disabilities. We contextualize the Telos of special education by briefly remarking on its historical roots in the United States, then delve into several issues we believe are critical for advancing toward better outcomes for students with severe disabilities, including the increasingly alarming shortage of special education teachers and short-sighted responses to address it. We also discuss issues related to curricular decisions, and the apparent tension between access to general education (i.e. academic) curriculum and teaching other life altering repertoires for students with severe disabilities. Attention also is given to the evidence-based practices movement in special education, including the apparent rigidity of intervention protocols and slow advances toward clarifying for whom and under what conditions an intervention is effective. Our intention is to generate discussion about and interest in areas where consensus among stakeholders appears feasible such that policy and law can be influenced in ways that advance toward realizing the Telos of special education for students with severe disabilities.

Additive bilingualism has long been reported as a benefit of immersion education. Nevertheless, the suitability of this form of education and bilingualism for children with special educational needs (SEN) has been much debated. Recent studies show that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), specific speech and language disorder (SSLD), and dyslexia can acquire varying levels of proficiency in a second language. Nevertheless, research has highlighted the fact that many educational professionals, for example, educational psychologists and speech and language therapists, continue to recommend against bilingualism and immersion education for children with SEN. The present study will evaluate whether nine parents of children with ASD, SSLD, and dyslexia enrolled in Irish immersion schools and four parents of children with the same categories of SEN who withdrew their child from Irish immersion education (IME) due to their learning difficulties perceive that IME is suitable for their child. It will also investigate the opinions that they received from educational professionals regarding the suitability of this form of education for their child.

Peer-mediated interventions (PMIs) are evidence-based practices that improve outcomes for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Determining whether peers also benefit substantively from their involvement in these widely used practices is key to establishing the reciprocity of PMIs. This study examined the breadth and depth of ways that peers perceive they are impacted by their experiences in PMIs and the factors that shape this impact. More than 250 secondary and postsecondary peers completed the "Peer-Mediated Impact Survey for Peers" ("PMIS:P"). Peers reported being impacted in multiple positive ways clustered within seven thematic areas: rewarding impact, advocacy impact, changes in views, future impact, social impact, skill and intrapersonal development, and self-worth impact. Several factors were associated with variations in peer impact, including having supported at least one student with autism, supported at least one student who was nonverbal, prior familiarity with a student, received ongoing support from an educator or other school staff, and more time spent together. We provide recommendations for research and practice aimed at addressing the myriad benefits of involving peers in PMIs.

Although the impact of peer-mediated interventions on students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) has been studied extensively, little attention has focused on the peers without disabilities who are so central to these interventions. We reviewed 98 studies to examine the portrait of more than 3,000 peers without disabilities who have participated in peer-mediated interventions involving middle and high school students with IDD. Peer and student demographics were very diverse, as were the methods for peer recruitment and selection, the interventions they delivered, the settings in which they spent time with students with IDD, and the ways in which they were prepared for these roles. However, reporting in these areas was limited across studies. We offer recommendations for strengthening research and practice focused on the contributions of peers within these evidence-based interventions.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the relationships between social determinants of health (SDOH) and outcomes for children born extremely preterm. STUDY DESIGN: This is a cohort study of infants born at 22-26 weeks of gestation in National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network centers (2006-2017) who survived to discharge. Infants were classified by 3 maternal SDOH: education, insurance, and race. Outcomes included postmenstrual age (PMA) at discharge, readmission, neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI), and death postdischarge. Regression analyses adjusted for center, perinatal characteristics, neonatal morbidity, ethnicity, and 2 SDOH (eg, group comparisons by education adjusted for insurance and race). RESULTS: Of 7438 children, 5442 (73%) had at least 1 risk-associated SDOH. PMA at discharge was older (adjusted mean difference 0.37 weeks, 95% CL 0.06, 0.68) and readmission more likely (aOR 1.27, 95% CL 1.12, 1.43) for infants whose mothers had public/no insurance vs private. Neither PMA at discharge nor readmission varied by education or race. NDI was twice as likely (aOR 2.36, 95% CL 1.86, 3.00) and death 5 times as likely (aOR 5.22, 95% CL 2.54, 10.73) for infants with 3 risk-associated SDOH compared with those with none. CONCLUSIONS: Children born to mothers with public/no insurance were older at discharge and more likely to be readmitted than those born to privately insured mothers. NDI and death postdischarge were more common among children exposed to multiple risk-associated SDOH at birth compared with those not exposed. Addressing disparities due to maternal education, insurance coverage, and systemic racism are potential intervention targets to improve outcomes for children born preterm.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and diverse sexual orientation minorities are disproportionately represented in the prevalence of adverse health conditions, even in Canada, suggested as one of the more progressive countries when it comes to social acceptance and human rights protections. This highlights the inclusion of sexual orientation identity as a point of consideration when providers interact with patients and to consider facilitating sexual orientation identity disclosure when accessing health care. This study explored factors associated with different facets of sexual orientation disclosure to primary care providers. A cross- sectional survey of sexual orientation minority participants, 16 years or older, living, working, or residing in Waterloo Region was distributed (n = 437). Modified Poisson regression methods modelled (a) comfort sharing sexual orientation with their regular primary care provider (RPCP), (b) disclosure of sexual orientation to their RPCP, and (c) talking to their RPCP about health issues related to their sexual orientation. Increasing outness within one's social network was consistently significant across all three outcomes of comfort, disclosure, and talking about health issues related to sexual orientation. Self-esteem was also identified as salient in comfort and when talking to providers. The authors also observed significant associations between sexual orientation identity and relationship status variables. Findings highlight important factors to consider in discussing and disclosing sexual orientation identity and associated health issues with health care providers. Implications for practice include training new health care providers and providing opportunities for continued education for established providers to ensure appropriate care is provided based on sexual orientation. KEYWORDS: LGBTQ+, primary care, self-esteem, sexual orientation disclosure, Lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB), and diverse sexual orientation-minority individuals are disproportionately represented in the prevalence of adverse health conditions (Chakraborty et al., 2011; Cochran et al., 2016; Conron et al., [...]