The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a policy statement in 2007 urging physicians to screen for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at 18 and 24 months. This study sought to identify the screening practices of pediatricians and family physicians (FPs) in following the AAP guidelines for ASD. A survey was mailed to 1,500 pediatricians and FPs in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Iowa. A total of 481 participants (32%) returned surveys. Results revealed 66 (17%) of the respondents routinely screened for ASD according to AAP guidelines and 162 (41%) respondents screened for ASD but did not follow the guidelines. Pediatricians were more likely to screen for ASD than were FPs. Respondents’ pre-professional education in ASD was significantly associated with their tendency to routinely screen and be confident identifying warning signs of ASD. When physicians administer ASD-specific screenings and identify early signs, they can put children and families on the right path for receiving desperately needed services.
The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between the ability to quickly acquire initial mental graphemic representations (MGRs) in kindergarten and fourth grade literacy skills in children with typical language (TL) and children with language impairment (LI). The study is a longitudinal extension of a study conducted by Wolter and Apel in which kindergarten children with LI and TL were administered early literacy measures as well as a novel written pseudoword task of MGR learning (spelling and identification of target pseudowords). In the current study (4 years later), the authors administered reading and spelling measures to 37 of the original 45 children (18 children with LI, 19 children with TL). The children with LI performed significantly lower than their peers with TL on all fourth grade literacy measures. For both groups, kindergarten initial MGR acquisition ability significantly related to fourth grade real-word reading and spelling. For the children with LI, kindergarten initial MGR acquisition ability also related to fourth grade pseudoword decoding and reading comprehension. Collectively, the findings suggest that initial MGR learning in kindergarten is an essential skill that may uniquely relate to later literacy abilities.
This tutorial is designed to provide academic communication sciences and disorders (CSD) programs, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, with a comprehensive instructional model on evidence-based practice (EBP). The model was designed to help students view EBP as an ongoing process needed in all clinical decision making. The three facets of EBP (research, client/contextual factors, and clinical expertise) are addressed through explicit teaching practices and assignments in didactic coursework and considered in parallel with a concurrent clinical practicum. At the graduate level, the reciprocal nature between theory, research, and practice is emphasized using components such as structured EBP protocols in coursework and clinic, application of clinical case studies that emphasize EBP procedures, and the integration of authentic research assignments. Examples are provided, and ways in which academic faculty and clinical educators can actively engage in creating a shared language and culture at all levels in a CSD program are presented.
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