Private speech in children with ADHD and their typically developing peers during problem-solving and inhibition tasks

This study compared private speech of children with ADHD and normal controls during problem solving and inhibition tasks. Thirty-two children (16 children with ADHD and 16 matched controls) aged 6–11 years participated. Consistent with previous studies, children with ADHD produced more task-irrelevant and task-relevant external private speech than control children during problem-solving tasks, but did not differ in their use of task-relevant internal private speech. During the inhibition/attention task (Continuous Performance Test-II), children with ADHD produced more task-relevant external and more task-relevant internal private speech, suggesting that they may have employed a less mature strategy to aid in self-regulation. The educational implications of the current study are that there should be an increased awareness of the developmental nature and functional significance of private speech and how private speech usage may differ in children with ADHD.     

Pedagogical constraints of physical literacy based on cognitive load theory

PROSPECTS - While numerous studies have highlighted the benefits of physical activity on cognitive health, learning, and executive function, maintaining physical activity throughout one’s...     

Expectancies as mediators in the differential-reward conditional discrimination performance of pigeons

In a series of within-subject experiments employing a two-choice delayed conditional discrimination task, pigeons chose correctly more often when kind of correct choice and kind of reinforcer were perfectly correlated than when uncorrelated. Correct choice behavior fell to chance levels when the correlation was reversed or when it was removed by using only one kind of reinforcer. Implications for mediation theories are discussed, with the conclusion being that, although the possibility that instrumental mediators are present in this situation cannot be dismissed, the overall pattern of results indicates that classical mediators are of principal importance in this type of task.     

Early feelings about school and later academic outcomes of children with special needs living in poverty

In this investigation we examined the relation of children's reported feelings about school during kindergarten or first grade to their academic achievement at the end of fifth grade. Participants were children (N = 103) who lived in poverty during early childhood and who were placed on individualized education programs (IEPs) during their elementary school years. Results indicated that early feelings about school predicted fifth-grade outcomes above and beyond predictions based on an assessment of receptive language at age 5. Specifically, general positive feelings about school predicted higher fifth-grade literacy skills whereas feelings of greater competence in academics predicted higher fifth-grade math skills. The findings have implications for interventions with young children who have special learning needs, live in poverty, and report early ambivalent or negative feelings about school.     

Addressing barriers to implementing inclusive education in the Pacific

ABSTRACT

Countries of the Pacific region are currently undergoing significant reforms. While disability inclusive education has been identified as a regional priority by all member nations, implementing inclusive education in the countries of the region can be quite challenging as many barriers continue to hamper the progress of the countries. Unless the barriers are identified and systematically addressed, it is unlikely that the countries will be able to implement a robust and holistic inclusive education strategy. In this paper, we present possible ways in which the countries of the Pacific could make significant progress in implementing a sustainable inclusive education strategy. We used a collaborative approach of co-examining potential barriers that are likely to impede the growth of countries in implementing a comprehensive inclusive education plan of action. We then identified possible strategies that are likely to result in an improved and perhaps more culturally responsive implementation of inclusive education in the Pacific. The most significant barriers identified by the members included: inadequate teacher preparation, stigma and negative attitudes towards people with disabilities, and limited engagement with the local leaders and key stakeholders. Possible strategies for addressing the barriers are outlined and discussed with possible implications for local, regional, and international researchers and policy makers.     

Why keep on keeping on?

As a noted author of childbirth education articles, books, and videotapes, Penny Simkin muses over the changes in maternity care during her career and the lessons she has learned. She searches for reasons to keep on working to bring normal birth to women, especially in an era when medical intervention based on editorials rather than evidence continue to increase.     

Home visiting intervention for vulnerable families with newborns: follow-up results of a randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to: (1) Assess the community utility of a screening tool to identify families with child abuse or neglect risk factors in the immediate postnatal period (2) Determine the social validity and effectiveness of a home visiting program using community child health nurses and offering social work services for identified families, and (3) Identify factors in the immediate postnatal period associated with the child's environment that predict poor adjustment to the parenting role. METHOD: A randomized controlled trial using a cohort of 181 families was undertaken to evaluate the impact of a home visiting program. Mothers were recruited in the immediate postnatal period and allocated either into the home visiting program or into a comparison group. The research design required self-identification into the study by providing positive responses to a range of risk factors. A repeated measures design was used to test parenting stress and maternal depression from the immediate postnatal period to 12-month follow-up and physical child abuse potential to 18-month follow-up. To test whether measures taken in the immediate postnatal period were predictive for poor adjustment to the parenting role, a linear regression model was used. RESULTS: The screening procedure was shown to have utility in the context of recruitment to a research trial and mothers were willing to accept the home visiting program examined by this study from the immediate postnatal period. From as early as 6 weeks the program demonstrated ability to impact positively on maternal, infant, family, and home environment variables (testing 90 randomly allocated intervention vs. 91 comparison families). At follow-up, parental adjustment variables were not significantly different between groups (testing the remaining 68 (75.5%) intervention vs. 70 (76.9%) comparison families) and home environment assessment scores had converged. Predictive analysis of factors measured in the immediate postnatal period revealed an absence of any predictive value to demographic characteristics, which secondary prevention efforts typically target. CONCLUSIONS: Follow-up evaluation did not demonstrate a positive impact on parenting stress, parenting competence, or quality of the home environment confirming the need to test early program success on longer term outcomes. Further, thestudy not only demonstrated that there was a relationship between maternal, family and environmental factors identified in the immediate postnatal period. and adjustment to the parenting role, but also challenged demographic targeting for child abuse and neglect risk. At the same time, the immediate postnatal period presented an exciting window of opportunity to access high-risk families who may otherwise have become marginalized from traditional services.     

Mental health services in schools: A qualitative analysis of challenges to implementation,operation, and sustainability

Schools are increasingly recognized as a critical venue for the provision of comprehensive behavioral and mental health services for students. Unfortunately, difficulties associated with operating programs in schools often prevent evidence‐based practices from being implemented and sustained as intended. In this study, the experiences of school and community providers who were funded through the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative to implement mental health services in a large, urban school district were investigated using a qualitative focus group methodology. Providers identified the major challenges they encountered with implementing, operating, and sustaining their programs as well as the strategies that they used to overcome those challenges. Strategies to enhance support of school‐based mental health programs are discussed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 42: 361–372, 2005.