Objectives:To find the prevalence as well as to identify the predictors as protective and risk factors of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).Methods:In this analytical cross sectional survey 83 children with ASD age range from 8 to 18 years were selected through convenient sampling technique from five special schools of Lahore city. The Urdu form of a standardized tool was used to assess NSSI.Results:Statistical analysis indicated overall point prevalence of NSSI was 33%. Moreover banging/self-beating (47%), scratching (38), pinching (35%), picking scabs (33%), self-biting (32%), pulling hair (30%) and rubbing skin (19%) emerged as common forms of challenging behavior. Further regression analysis showed that age B(1.68*, P<.05), gender B(3.72, P<.001) and severity level of ASD B(1.85***, p<.0001) as risk factors/positive predictors of NSSI. However early intervention (-0.66***, P<.0001) and involvement of parents in counselling (-2.66*, P<.05) emerged as protective factors/negative predictors of NSSI among children with ASD.Conclusion:Non-suicidal self-injury is a serious challenge among children with ASD. Early intervention, counselling and parental involvement in managing the children with ASD will not only prevent but reduce the challenging behaviors.

This comparative survey was conducted to explore the prevalence of suicidal behavior among the youth without sensory impairment ( n = 595) as well as youth with sensory impairment: visual impairment ( n = 537) and hearing impairment ( n = 535). Suicidal behavior of the participants were assessed by the Urdu form of Suicidal Behavior Questionnaire. Findings indicated the higher prevalence of overall suicidal behavior among the participants with visual impairment (38%) as compared with the participants with (32%) and the youth (13%) without sensory impairment. Odds ratios further confirmed these results by showing the participants with visual impairment higher on suicidal behavior. Moreover access to counseling, monthly income of the parents, and severity level of disability appeared to be positive predictors of suicidal behavior among the participants. Thus, results showed that all of the three groups are at the risk of having suicidal behavior and, therefore, careful measures are required to be taken at prevention and intervention levels.

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Variety of research has shown that footwork training could be beneficial for various aspects of fitness components required for the game of badminton. The main purpose of the current study is to test whether footwork training is beneficial for the strength and agility of colleges badminton players. The sample of the study consisted of 40 college badminton players who were equally divided into two different groups n=20 Experimental Group (EG) and n=20 Control Group (CG). A pre-test and post-test experimental research design was used to conduct the study. Handgrip dynamometer was used to measure the strength of the participants while, Illinois Agility Test (IAT) was applied to measure the agility of the participants. Paired sample-test was used to test the hypotheses. Results indicated significant improvement in the agility of the experimental group (p < .05), however; the control group did not produce any significant improvement (p > .05. It is concluded that footwork training that continued for 6 weeks produced effective results on strength and agility of badminton players at the college level.