White matter microstructure in obesity and bipolar disorders: an ENIGMA bipolar disorder working group study in 2186 individuals.

Although specific risk factors for brain alterations in bipolar disorders (BD) are currently unknown, obesity impacts the brain and is highly prevalent in BD. Gray matter correlates of obesity in BD have been well documented, but we know much less about brain white matter abnormalities in people who have both obesity and BD. We obtained body mass index (BMI) and diffusion tensor imaging derived fractional anisotropy (FA) from 22 white matter tracts in 899 individuals with BD, and 1287 control individuals from 20 cohorts in the ENIGMA-BD working group.

A preliminary investigation of the clinical and cognitive correlates of circulating vitamin D in bipolar disorder.

The role that vitamin D plays in the cognitive and clinical characteristics of bipolar disorder (BD) is unclear. We examined differences in the levels and deficiency status of vitamin D in an Australian sample of BD patients compared to healthy controls; and determined the extent to which vitamin D is associated with clinical variables and cognitive function in the sample. 22 healthy controls and 55 stable outpatients with a diagnosis of BD and low-grade mood symptomatology provided a sample of blood and completed cognitive tests and clinical measures.

Australian speech-language pathologists' experiences and perceptions of working with children who stutter: A qualitative study.

Purpose: Effective early intervention is recommended to ameliorate the potential long term negative effects of stuttering. Efficacious treatments are available, but speech-language pathologists (SLPs) report finding implementation to be challenging due to a range of clinician, client and clinical context factors. Previous survey-based research has found that SLPs lack self-efficacy working with CWS, however the reasons contributing to this are not well understood.

Leading Diverse Workforces: Perspectives from Managers and Employers about Dyslexic Employees in Australian Workplaces.

Background: Dyslexia is a specific learning disability affecting around 1 in 10 Australian adults. It presents unique challenges for employees in the workforce, yet community and workplace awareness of the challenges of dyslexia is limited. The aim of this preliminary research was to explore the experiences and perspectives of Australian employers and managers responsible for supervising employees with dyslexia in the workplace.

"You Don't Look Dyslexic": Using the Job Demands-Resource Model of Burnout to Explore Employment Experiences of Australian Adults with Dyslexia.

Background: Employment and job security are key influences on health and wellbeing. In Australia, little is known about the employment lifecycle of adults with dyslexia.

Materials And Methods: Using a qualitative research design, this study sought to explore the experiences faced by adults with dyslexia seeking and retaining employment.

An exploratory study of speech-language pathologists' clinical practice in the literacy domain: Comparing onsite practices with telepractice services during COVID-19.

Purpose: To explore speech-language pathologists' (SLP) practice in literacy prior to, and during, COVID-19 to understand the practicalities, feasibility and sustainability of telepractice literacy services.

Method: This exploratory study employed a cross-sectional survey comprising 46 questions covering participants' caseload profile and service delivery models, their assessment and intervention practices and telepractice delivery of literacy services.

Result: Participants were 44 SLPs working primarily in private practice and education with children and adolescents.

Characterisation of Deficits and Sex Differences in Verbal and Visual Memory/Learning in Bipolar Disorder.

Objective: Cognitive impairment is consistently reported in bipolar disorder (BD), but few studies have characterised which memory component processes are affected. Further, it is unknown whether the component processes underlying memory impairment are moderated by sex. The present study examined diagnosis and sex differences in both verbal and visual memory/learning domains in patients with BD and psychiatrically healthy controls.

Characterization of facial emotion recognition in bipolar disorder: Focus on emotion mislabelling and neutral expressions.

Increasing evidence suggests that facial emotion recognition is impaired in bipolar disorder (BD). However, patient-control differences are small owing to ceiling effects on the tasks used to assess them. The extant literature is also limited by a relative absence of attention towards identifying patterns of emotion misattribution or understanding whether neutral faces are mislabelled in the same way as ones displaying emotion.

Speech-Language Pathologist Perspectives of the Implementation of Telepractice-Delivered Stuttering Treatment for School-Age Children.

Purpose: The impact of stuttering can be significant, and effective treatment is critical. Despite evidence supporting direct treatment approaches for school-age children who stutter, a complex set of barriers can prevent access at school. One potential solution is telepractice.

Mindfulness, mood symptom tendencies and quality of life in bipolar disorder: An examination of the mediating influence of emotion regulation difficulties.

Background: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate dispositional mindfulness and its association with depression and manic tendencies, and subjective life quality in bipolar disorder (BD). Furthermore, this study sought to examine the potential mediating effects of emotion regulation difficulties on these relationships.

Method: Twenty-eight healthy controls (HC) and 66 clinically stable outpatients with a DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of BD completed the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Seven Up (7 Up) Seven Down (7 Down) and the Quality of Life in Bipolar Disorder Questionnaire (QoL.

Characterization and interrelationships of theory of mind, socially competitive emotions and affective empathy in bipolar disorder.

Objective: Evidence shows impaired theory of mind (ToM) in patients with bipolar disorder (BD), yet research examining its cognitive and affective components simultaneously is sparse. Moreover, recognition of socially competitive 'fortune of others' emotions (e.g.

An evidence-based synthesis of instructional reading and spelling procedures using telepractice: A rapid review in the context of COVID-19.

Background: Due to COVID-19, many educators and allied health practitioners are facing the challenge of rapidly transitioning to telepractice delivery of instructional reading and spelling procedures without being fully informed of the evidence.

Aims: A rapid review was conducted to provide educators, allied health practitioners and policymakers with a synthesis of valid, relevant and actionable evidence relating to telepractice delivery of instructional reading and spelling procedures. The aim was to investigate the nature and outcomes of studies examining instructional reading and spelling procedures delivered via telepractice to school-aged students.

Treating Childhood Speech Sound Disorders: Current Approaches to Management by Australian Speech-Language Pathologists.

Purpose This study explored the intervention processes used by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to treat children with speech sound disorders (SSDs). Method Semistructured, individual, in-depth interviews were conducted with 11 Australian SLPs. Inductive content analysis was used to classify the data to provide a description of current intervention processes for children with SSDs.

Tablet-Based Apps for Phonics and Phonological Awareness: Protocol for Evidence-Based Appraisal of Content, Quality, and Usability.

Background: The use of mobile apps to manage and promote health is becoming increasingly popular. Mobile apps are gaining popularity particularly in educational and interventional settings owing to their perceived advantages including support for and engagement of individuals with reading difficulties. In the context of COVID-19, the need for technology-based tools has increased.

Understanding familial liability for emotion regulation difficulties in bipolar disorder.

Background: There has been relatively limited work focused on understanding whether relatives of individuals with bipolar disorder (BD) have difficulties in the regulation of emotion, particularly in relation to perceptions about whether emotions can be effectively regulated, or trait behaviours that acknowledge emotions as self-regulators themselves. In this study, we assessed the presence and extent of difficulties in these dimensions of emotion regulation in individuals with BD compared to unaffected first-degree biological relatives (FDR) for the first time.

Methods: In total, 161 participants, including euthymic individuals with BD, unaffected FDRs, and healthy controls, were compared on the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) - a multi-dimensional measure of habitual emotion regulation.

The activity and connectivity of the facial emotion processing neural circuitry in bipolar disorder: a systematic review.

Background: Facial emotion processing abnormalities may be a trait feature of bipolar disorder (BD). These social cognitive impairments may be due to alterations in the neural processing of facial affective information in visual ("core"), and limbic and prefrontal ("extended") networks, however, the precise neurobiological mechanism(s) underlying these symptoms are unclear.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review to appraise the literature on the activity and connectivity of the facial emotion processing neural circuitry in BD.

Morphometric in vivo evidence of thalamic atrophy correlated with cognitive and motor dysfunction in Huntington's disease: The IMAGE-HD study.

In Huntington's disease (HD), neurodegeneration causes progressive atrophy to the striatum, cortical areas, and white matter tracts - components of corticostriatal circuitry. Such processes may affect the thalamus, a key circuit node. We investigated whether differences in dorsal thalamic morphology were detectable in HD, and whether thalamic atrophy was associated with neurocognitive, neuropsychiatric and motor dysfunction.

Processes and challenges in clinical decision-making for children with speech-sound disorders.

Background: Children with speech-sound disorders (SSD) constitute a significant proportion of speech-language pathologists' (SLPs) caseloads. Previous research has investigated the clinical practice of SLPs intervening with children with SSD; however, little is known about the clinical decision-making underpinning their practice.

Aims: The clinical decision-making of SLPs working with children with SSD was explored to understand how their clinical decisions were influenced by: (1) beliefs about what works in therapy; (2) prior clinical experience; and (3) client and service-related variables.

Mobile apps for treatment of speech disorders in children: An evidence-based analysis of quality and efficacy.

Background: Recently there has been exponential growth in mobile health (mHealth) applications (apps) for children with speech disorders. A challenge for health professionals and families is knowing how to find high quality apps that are therapeutically beneficial. We systematically search and critique the quality of mobile apps for childhood speech disorders.

Visuospatial and Verbal Short-Term Memory Correlates of Vocabulary Ability in Preschool Children.

Background: Recent studies indicate that school-age children's patterns of performance on measures of verbal and visuospatial short-term memory (STM) and working memory (WM) differ across types of neurodevelopmental disorders. Because these disorders are often characterized by early language delay, administering STM and WM tests to toddlers could improve prediction of neurodevelopmental outcomes. Toddler-appropriate verbal, but not visuospatial, STM and WM tasks are available.

Computer-based speech therapy for childhood speech sound disorders.

Background: With the current worldwide workforce shortage of Speech-Language Pathologists, new and innovative ways of delivering therapy to children with speech sound disorders are needed. Computer-based speech therapy may be an effective and viable means of addressing service access issues for children with speech sound disorders.

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of computer-based speech therapy programs for children with speech sound disorders.

Quality of Mobile Phone and Tablet Mobile Apps for Speech Sound Disorders: Protocol for an Evidence-Based Appraisal.

Background: Although mobile apps are readily available for speech sound disorders (SSD), their validity has not been systematically evaluated. This evidence-based appraisal will critically review and synthesize current evidence on available therapy apps for use by children with SSD.

Objective: The main aims are to (1) identify the types of apps currently available for Android and iOS mobile phones and tablets, and (2) to critique their design features and content using a structured quality appraisal tool.