Children with autism illuminate the role of social intention in word learning

To what extent do children with autism (AD) versus typically developing children (TD) rely on attentional and intentional cues to learn words? Four experiments compared 17 AD children (M age=5.08 years) with 17 language- and 17 mental-age-matched TD children (M ages=2.57 and 3.12 years, respectively) on nonverbal enactment and word-learning tasks. Results revealed variability in all groups, but particularly within the AD group. Performance on intention tasks was the most powerful predictor of vocabulary in the AD group but not in the TD groups. These findings suggest that word learning cannot be explained exclusively by either attentional or intentional processes, and they provide evidence of a special role for intentional understanding in the vocabulary development of AD children.     

Supporting the education and well-being of children who are looked-after: what is the role of the virtual school?

The Children and Families Act (2014) placed a statutory responsibility on local authorities in the UK to establish a virtual school headteacher with the role of championing the education of all children looked-after within that authority. The current research was designed to illuminate how virtual schools are currently supporting educational outcomes for children looked-after, not only through educational interventions, but also through supporting broader psychological factors that might impact on attainment such as attachment, relationships and mental health. Virtual school headteachers from 29 local authorities completed an online survey about the services they provided to three target groups—children looked-after, foster carers and schools—with a particular focus on the transition years from primary to secondary school, which have been identified as being a difficult time for children looked-after. Using inductive thematic analysis, four overarching themes to service provision were identified: enhanced learning opportunities, specific transition support, well-being and relationships, and raising awareness. Direct work, interprofessional working and the development of supportive environments, particularly guided by attachment theory, were identified as important areas of practice. Practice is discussed in relation to resilience and ecological systems theory and suggestions for future research are identified.

     

Creating information resources and trainings for farmworker-serving community health workers

Background:Farmworker-serving community health workers have limited access to farmworker health research findings, training, and education resources. With funding from the National Library of Medicine, we are working to improve the health information literacy of both community health workers and farmworkers. We conducted focus group discussions with community health workers to explore their experiences providing health education and information to farmworkers, their information-seeking behaviors, and their technology and information needs. Data from the focus groups provided insights into the main areas in which community health workers would like to receive professional development.Case Presentation:Our team, which includes health sciences librarians, developed a resource list of educational materials for farmworker health, videos to increase community health workers'' skills finding health information online, and webinars to introduce these resources to community health workers. Videos, available in Spanish and English, included instruction on finding and evaluating online health information, accessing reputable online consumer health information sources, and advanced searching tips for Google and PubMed. Through three webinars, we introduced the resource list, videos, and design software for creating handouts and infographics to community health workers.Conclusions:Community health workers have a critical role in providing health education and information to farmworkers, and our efforts represent a first step in addressing community health workers'' limited access to professional development. Health sciences librarians are well positioned to partner with interdisciplinary teams working to reduce health disparities and provide resources and training to community health workers, farmworkers, and other underserved communities.     

Job burnout and the school psychologist

School psychologists participating in a workshop on burnout completed Freudenberger's Burnout Questionnaire (1980), identified major job-related stressors, and responded to a list of suggested supervisory, individual, and organizational strategies for prevention. Slightly less than half of the participants appeared on the questionnaire to have burnout problems. Age, years of experience, and sex were not significantly related to the burnout score. Major identified stressors included excessive caseloads, lack of time, and lack of support or appreciation. Reactions to the strategies were positive and hopeful. Implications for training were drawn.     

Nutrition for the young athlete

Athletics is a popular sport among young people. To maintain health and optimize growth and athletic performance, young athletes need to consume an appropriate diet. Unfortunately, the dietary intake of many young athletes follows population trends rather than public health or sports nutrition recommendations. To optimize performance in some disciplines, young athletes may strive to achieve a lower body weight or body fat content and this may increase their risk for delayed growth and maturation, amenorrhoea, reduced bone density, and eating disorders. Although many of the sports nutrition principles identified for adults are similar to those for young athletes, there are some important differences. These include a higher metabolic cost of locomotion and preferential fat oxidation in young athletes during exercise. Young athletes, particularity children, are at a thermoregulatory disadvantage due to a higher surface area to weight ratio, a slower acclimatization, and lower sweating rate. An appropriate dietary intake rather than use of supplements (except when clinically indicated) is recommended to ensure young athletes participate fully and safely in athletics.