Diagnosis and treatment of the idiopathic inflammatory myopathies.

The idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) are rare disorders with the unifying feature of proximal muscle weakness. These diseases include polymyositis(PM), dermatomyositis (DM) and inclusion body myositis (IBM) as the most common. The diagnosis is based on the finding of weakness on exam, elevated muscles enzymes, characteristic histopathology of muscle biopsies, electromyography abnormalities and rash in DM.

Self-monitoring and at-risk middle school students. Academic performance improves, maintains, and generalizes.

Using a multiple baseline design across six academic settings, we found that teaching 4 at-risk middle school students to self-monitor markedly improved their academic performance as measured by their grades and related academic behaviors. Furthermore, these improvements generalized to settings where self-monitoring was never introduced, and they maintained the following school year. In this charter middle school setting, self-monitoring proved to be an extremely effective intervention.