Publications by authors named "Pickard K"

Unlabelled: Naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention (NDBI) supports early social communication skills in young autistic children. Given their emphasis on child-led learning opportunities, NDBI is thought to be a socially valid approach to autism early intervention. Applied behavior analysis (ABA) practices could be an ideal setting to increase access to NDBIs for young autistic children; however, current ABA services continue to rely primarily on structured and adult-led approaches to teaching, including discrete trial training (DTT), which have been criticized for their intensity, limitations in skill generalization, and possible harms.

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Cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL) is a potentially fatal clonal malignancy of T cells primarily affecting the skin. The most common form of CTCL, mycosis fungoides, can be difficult to diagnose, resulting in treatment delay. We performed single-cell and spatial transcriptomics analysis of skin from patients with mycosis fungoides-type CTCL and an integrated comparative analysis with human skin cell atlas datasets from healthy and inflamed skin.

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In the autism field, there is increasing interest in translating evidence-based interventions (EBIs) into systems that serve young autistic children and their families. Public Early Intervention systems have been a focal point of research-based implementation efforts given that these systems are federally mandated to provide services to children birth to three years of age with developmental delays under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Although a growing number of research studies are now training Early Intervention providers to deliver autism EBIs, this work has been conducted on a relatively small scale and has only just begun to consider the alignment of these models with Early Intervention systems and whether sufficient infrastructure exists to scale up these training efforts and to sustain their public health impact.

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Attributing a visual motion signal to its correct source-be that external object motion, self-motion, or some combination of both-seems effortless, and yet often involves disentangling a complex web of motion signals. Existing literature focuses on either translational motion (heading) or eye movements, leaving much to be learnt about the influence of a wider range of self-motions, such as active head rotations, on visual motion perception. This study investigated how active head rotations affect visual motion detection thresholds, comparing conditions where visual motion and head-turn direction were either congruent or incongruent.

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Dissemination, or the widespread sharing of information, is important for moving research evidence into community practice. Early intervention programs for young autistic children have not yet been widely disseminated to the early childhood workforce. This letter describes factors that may support or prevent dissemination to community-based settings, such as packaging and branding early intervention approaches.

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Purpose: Nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL) is a rare cancer, and large international cooperative efforts are needed to evaluate the significance of clinical risk factors and immunoarchitectural patterns (IAPs) for all stages of pediatric and adult patients with NLPHL.

Methods: Thirty-eight institutions participated in the Global nLPHL One Working Group retrospective study of NLPHL cases from 1992 to 2021. We measured progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), transformation rate, and lymphoma-specific death rate.

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Part C Early Intervention (EI) systems are an entry point to services for autistic toddlers and can be leveraged to facilitate access to autism evidence-based practices (EBPs). However, EI systems are complex and limited research has examined how an EI system's infrastructure (i.e.

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Health disparities are defined as preventable differences in the opportunities to achieve optimal health outcomes experienced by marginalized and underrepresented communities. For families with autistic children, health disparities limit accessing early intervention services-which have been found to improve quality of life and other outcomes. One specific early intervention service in the United States is Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part C Early Intervention programs, which are federally funded interventions for children birth-to-three with developmental delays.

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Parent-mediated interventions (PMIs) are considered an evidence-based practice for fostering social communication skills in young autistic children and for promoting parent responsivity and empowerment, yet barriers to caregiver engagement are evident when PMIs are implemented within historically underserved community settings. Issues of caregiver engagement can reflect a lack of fit between PMIs and the needs of diverse families. We used a mixed methods approach to examine barriers to participating in an evidence-based PMI, Project ImPACT (Ingersoll & Dvortcsak, 2019), within an outpatient setting, as well as strategies that clinicians reported using to deliver and adapt Project ImPACT for minoritized families.

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Background: Recent systematic reviews have indicated that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is effective in reducing anxiety symptoms for autistic and non-autistic children. However, the vast majority of CBT research for autistic youth has been implemented within university settings and primarily by mental health providers. Schools hold great promise to equitably manage the mental health symptoms of autistic youth.

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An expanding evidence base has advocated for delivery of naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBIs) within community systems, thus extending the reach of these practices to young autistic children. The current study examined provider-reported use of NBDIs within a Part C Early Intervention (EI) system and the extent to which provider background, attitudes, and perceived organizational support predicted NDBI use. Results from 100 EI providers representing multiple disciplines indicated reported use of NDBI strategies within their practice despite inconsistent reported competency with manualized NDBI programs.

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Lymphomas are a heterogenous group of lymphoid neoplasms with a wide variety of clinical presentations. Response to treatment and prognosis differs both between and within lymphoma subtypes. Improved molecular and genetic profiling has increased our understanding of the factors which drive these clinical dynamics.

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Naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions are a common and well-researched type of intervention for young autistic children that focus on supporting social communication. These interventions often do not include formal guidelines on how to address disruptive behaviors, even though they are common among autistic children. This study measured how often clinicians delivering a specific naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention, Project ImPACT, adapted how they delivered the program to address disruptive behavior, and how these adaptations related to children's social communication outcomes at the end of their participation in the intervention.

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Plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL) is a rare and aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma associated with immunodeficiency, characterized by uncertain treatment approaches and an unfavorable prognosis. We conducted a multicenter, international, retrospective cohort study, aiming to characterize the clinical features, risk factors, and outcomes of patients with PBL. Data were collected from 22 institutions across 4 countries regarding patients diagnosed with PBL between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 2020.

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Purpose: Latino/a children disproportionately experience academic vulnerabilities, including in reading. Caregiver-mediated interventions can be leveraged to support the bilingual language development of young Latino/a children to prevent these well-documented disparities in reading. However, in leveraging these programs, it is important to weigh Latino cultural values surrounding education, family connection, and learning alongside the barriers and inequities experienced by Latino families.

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Purpose: Feeding problems, ranging from mild to severe, are common in children with autism spectrum disorder. We conducted a 15-item online survey of community providers to gather information on service demand and current treatment approaches for this clinical population.

Methods: Respondents, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, registered dietitians, and Board-Certified Behavior Analysts, were recruited via e-mail listservs, professional conferences, continuing education programs, social media and electronic newsletters.

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Autistic youth frequently experience anxiety that can negatively affect them at home, with friends, and at school. Autistic youth have difficulty accessing mental health care, and this is particularly true for youth from traditionally underserved backgrounds. Providing mental health programs in schools may increase access to care for autistic youth with anxiety.

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Moderate feeding problems and disruptive mealtime behaviors are common in children with autism spectrum disorder. Although parent-mediated interventions are able to support feeding problems in autistic children, most research has occurred within specialty clinics when delivered by highly trained clinicians. Thus, the fit of these interventions within community settings is not clear.

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Parent-mediated interventions are an evidence-based practice for autism in which providers support caregivers in learning and applying strategies that support their child's development. Research has begun to study whether parent-mediated interventions can be effectively delivered in Part C Early Intervention systems. This research has been promising; however, it has been difficult to determine how Early Intervention providers deliver and adapt parent-mediated interventions to meet the needs of the families they serve.

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Early Intervention systems provide therapeutic services to families of young children birth to 3 years with developmental delays and are considered a natural access point to services for young children and their families. Research studies in the autism field have been interested in training providers to deliver evidence-based practices in Early Intervention systems to increase access to services for young children with an increased likelihood of being autistic. However, research has often overlooked that Early Intervention systems prioritize family-centered care, an approach to working with families that honors and respects their values and choices and that provides supports to strengthen family functioning.

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Autistic individuals are at elevated risk for difficulties with emotion regulation (ER) that emerge early in life and are associated with a range of internalizing and externalizing disorders. Existing interventions that support ER have focused on school-age autistic children and adolescents as well as adults. Proactive approaches to improving ER in early childhood are thus needed, as is understanding the approaches by which ER skills can be feasibly supported in this young population.

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Anxiety disorders occur at higher rates in youth with ASD than in neurotypical youth. Although the efficacy of CBT for anxiety in children with ASD is widely supported, factors that influence treatment outcomes are not well understood. This study examined the role of maternal anxiety in treatment outcomes for youth with ASD.

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Article Synopsis
  • A 10-gene panel from blood leukocytes was previously linked to predicting responses to intravenous antibiotics, and this study aimed to see if it could also predict responses to inhaled antibiotics.
  • Results showed a slight improvement in lung function and reduced bacterial counts in sputum, with one specific gene, HCA112, linked to better lung function improvement, suggesting that analyzing inflammatory gene expression could help personalize CF treatment strategies.
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