Design Thinking: Assessing the health needs of college students with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.

Background: There is a dearth of literature related to well-being of college students with IDD. The purpose of this study was to use design thinking to identify health-related innovations for college students with IDD.

Method: Two design thinking events were conducted with participants (n = 16).

Relationship of perceived environmental characteristics to self-efficacy and leisure time physical activity among Asian immigrants in the U.S.

Given the high prevalence of physical inactivity among Asian immigrants and its potential negative effects on health, more attention should be paid to identifying factors that might affect their participation in leisure time physician activity (LTPA). This study examined how perceived environmental characteristics are related to self-efficacy and LTPA among Asian immigrants in the United States. This cross-sectional study collected data from an on-line survey administered through Qualtrics, a web-based survey software company.

Health disparities and health promotion needs of college students with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities: A systematic literature review.

A new population of college students is emerging on campuses across the United States: students with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD). With this new and growing population of college students, an important question persists: are their health and wellness needs being identified and met? ProQuest Central, WorldCat, General OneFile, and ArticleFirst were searched in June 2017 using the following criteria: health of college students with IDD, health of adults with IDD, health of adolescents with IDD, and peer-reviewed. Twenty-four articles were selected for final review.

"To Be Quite Honest, If It Wasn't for Videogames I Wouldn't Have a Social Life at All": Motivations of Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder for Playing Videogames as Leisure.

Purpose: Leisure activities are underutilized as a context for intervention in the field of speech-language pathology despite the fact that leisure can be an important context for skill development. The current study investigated the perceptions of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who play videogames as their primary leisure activity regarding the role of videogames in their lives and their motivations for playing videogames.

Method: Qualitative interview methodology was used to investigate the experiences of 10 18-24-year-olds with ASD.

Social Referencing Gaze Behavior During a Videogame Task: Eye Tracking Evidence from Children With and Without ASD.

The purpose of this study was to understand the social referencing behaviors of children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) while visually attending to a videogame stimulus depicting both the face of the videogame player and the videogame play action. Videogames appear to offer a uniquely well-suited environment for the emergence of friendships, but it is not known if children with and without ASD attend to and play videogames similarly. Eyetracking technology was used to investigate visual attention of participants matched based on chronological age.

Physical Activity Mode and Mental Distress in Adulthood.

Introduction: Nearly one fifth of American adults suffer from mental health issues, yet many treatments have side effects and stigma attached. Physical activity can be an effective treatment for mental health disorders, but most promotion efforts fail. One understudied aspect of physical activity is the specific mode, including if it engages others, and how this may relate to mental health.

Opportunities for promoting youth physical activity: an examination of youth summer camps.

Background: Youth summer camp programs have the potential to provide opportunities for physical activity, but little to no research has been conducted to determine activity levels of campers. This study aimed to examine physical activity occurring in day and resident summer camps and how activity levels differed in these camps based upon demographic characteristics.

Methods: Pedometer data were collected during hours of camp operation from 150 day campers and 114 resident campers between the ages of 8 and 12 years old.