Achieving Equity in Child and Adolescent Mental Health by Addressing Racism Through Prevention Science.

Prevention science is a multidisciplinary field dedicated to promoting public health and reducing early risk factors that lead to negative health outcomes. It has been used to successfully improve child and family mental health and well-being, including for families affected by adversity. Despite advances in prevention efforts, major public health inequities remain for Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) children and families, in part because of equity-implicit "one-size-fits-all" approaches that do not directly address racism which in part underlies the very health concerns these efforts aim to prevent.

Supporting caregivers within caregiver-mediated interventions: a commentary on Brown et al. (2024).

A substantial portion of interventions designed to support autistic children are also designed to be delivered by caregivers (i.e. are 'caregiver-mediated').

Mind the Gap: Executive Function Is Associated with the Discrepancy Between Cognitive and Adaptive Functioning in Autistic Children Without Cognitive Delay.

Adaptive functioning is central to autistic individuals' independence and well-being. However, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with poor adaptive functioning, even in the absence of cognitive delays or deficits. This study examined how age and executive function associate with adaptive functioning-particularly the gap between cognitive and adaptive functioning.

Irritability as a Transdiagnostic Risk Factor for Functional Impairment in Autistic and Non-autistic Toddlers and Preschoolers.

Trait irritability in toddlerhood is a powerful risk factor for later internalizing and externalizing challenges in non-autistic children, but the predictive clinical utility of irritability is unknown in autism. Irritability is a trait-level emotional response (i.e.

The Processing of Audiovisual Speech Is Linked with Vocabulary in Autistic and Nonautistic Children: An ERP Study.

Explaining individual differences in vocabulary in autism is critical, as understanding and using words to communicate are key predictors of long-term outcomes for autistic individuals. Differences in audiovisual speech processing may explain variability in vocabulary in autism. The efficiency of audiovisual speech processing can be indexed via amplitude suppression, wherein the amplitude of the event-related potential (ERP) is reduced at the P2 component in response to audiovisual speech compared to auditory-only speech.

Resting frontal alpha asymmetry as a predictor of executive and affective functioning in children with neurodevelopmental differences.

The relative difference of resting EEG frontal alpha activation between left and right hemispheres (FAA; i.e., asymmetry) correlates with global approach and avoidance tendencies.

Beyond group differences: Exploring the preliminary signals of target engagement of an executive function training for autistic children.

Understanding both for whom and how interventions work is a crucial next step in providing personalized care to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Autistic children present with heterogeneity both within core ASD criteria and with respect to co-occurring mental health challenges, which may affect their ability to benefit from intervention. In a secondary data analysis of a randomized control trial evaluating an executive function (EF) training with 70 7- to 11-year-old autistic children, we explored: (1) whether co-occurring attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) features or anxiety features at baseline moderated the extent to which children benefited from the EF training.

A method for defining the CORE of a psychosocial intervention to guide adaptation in practice: Reciprocal imitation teaching as a case example.

Interventions that support social communication include several "components," or parts (e.g. strategies for working with children and families, targeting specific skills).

Brief Report: Examining the Links Between Language Processes and Working Memory Impairments in Toddlers and Preschoolers with ASD.

Deficits in working memory have not been fully explored in toddlers and preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We investigated the relationship between language (verbal ability, verbal self-talk) and visuospatial working memory in 2- and 4-year-olds with ASD (n = 65) and typical development (TD) (n = 54). Children with ASD displayed impairments in working memory and verbal ability, but not verbal self-talk, compared to TD peers.

For which younger siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder does parent-mediated intervention work?

In this second of two primary papers, we examined two pre-intervention characteristics that might describe for whom a parent-implemented intervention, "Improving Parents As Communication Teachers," worked. Investigators randomized 97 high-risk siblings and their primary parent to either the Improving Parents As Communication Teachers or control group, used intent-to-treat analysis, and used assessors and coders who were blinded to group assignment. We predicted that a combined risk score (incorporating young siblings' sex, multiplex status, and behavioral risk) would describe the subgroup for whom Improving Parents As Communication Teachers affected the targeted skills related to reducing communication challenges.

Parent utilization of ImPACT intervention strategies is a mediator of proximal then distal social communication outcomes in younger siblings of children with ASD.

Later born siblings of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are at elevated risk for language delay or ASD. One way to manage this risk may be for parents to use techniques taught in proving arents s ommunication eachers (ImPACT) with the younger siblings during the period in which language delay and ASD may be too subtle to be diagnosed. ImPACT targets children's play, imitation, and communication skills.

Gestational Age and Risk of Mortality in Term-Born Critically Ill Neonates Admitted to PICUs in Australia and New Zealand.

Objectives: Gestational age at birth is declining, probably because more deliveries are being induced. Gestational age is an important modifiable risk factor for neonatal mortality and morbidity. We aimed to investigate the association between gestational age and mortality in hospital for term-born neonates (≥ 37 wk') admitted to PICUs in Australia and New Zealand.

Depression and anxiety among HIV-positive men who have sex with men and men who have sex with women in China.

China is experiencing an emerging HIV epidemic among men who have sex with men (MSM). Minority stress theory posits that marginalized populations experience additional stress, which influences experiences of psychological distress and health outcomes. This study aimed to understand psychological distress of MSM relative to men who have sex with women (MSW) in an urban Chinese setting.

Parenting stress in caregivers of young children with ASD concerns prior to a formal diagnosis.

Robust findings demonstrate that parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience high levels of parenting stress that are associated with negative outcomes for families. Although the majority of research on parenting stress has focused on parents of children with an existing diagnosis, parents of young children with concerns about ASD-related behaviors also face many unique challenges before the time of diagnosis. However, no study to date has examined patterns of parenting stress among parents of children with ASD concerns prior to a formal ASD diagnosis.

The relation between parent verbal responsiveness and child communication in young children with or at risk for autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Among preschool-age children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing children, parents' verbal responsiveness (PVR) has long been shown to predict children's later language ability. However, before the age of three, when language develops most rapidly, the early social communication deficits associated with ASD may impact parents' opportunities to facilitate early language development. The aim of this review was to characterize the relation between PVR and the vocal communication ability of children with or at high risk for ASD early in development.

Brief Report: Using a Point-of-View Camera to Measure Eye Gaze in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder During Naturalistic Social Interactions: A Pilot Study.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show reduced gaze to social partners. Eye contact during live interactions is often measured using stationary cameras that capture various views of the child, but determining a child's precise gaze target within another's face is nearly impossible. This study compared eye gaze coding derived from stationary cameras to coding derived from a "point-of-view" (PoV) camera on the social partner.

Proceedings of the 3rd Biennial Conference of the Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC) 2015: advancing efficient methodologies through community partnerships and team science : Seattle, WA, USA. 24-26 September 2015.

Introduction to the 3rd Biennial Conference of the Society for Implementation Research Collaboration: advancing efficient methodologies through team science and community partnerships Cara Lewis, Doyanne Darnell, Suzanne Kerns, Maria Monroe-DeVita, Sara J. Landes, Aaron R. Lyon, Cameo Stanick, Shannon Dorsey, Jill Locke, Brigid Marriott, Ajeng Puspitasari, Caitlin Dorsey, Karin Hendricks, Andria Pierson, Phil Fizur, Katherine A.

Longitudinal prediction of language emergence in infants at high and low risk for autism spectrum disorder.

This study used a prospective longitudinal design to examine the early developmental pathways that underlie language growth in infants at high risk (n = 50) and low risk (n = 34) for autism spectrum disorder in the first 18 months of life. While motor imitation and responding to joint attention (RJA) have both been found to predict expressive language in children with autism spectrum disorder and those with typical development, the longitudinal relation between these capacities has not yet been identified. As hypothesized, results revealed that 15-month RJA mediated the association between 12-month motor imitation and 18-month expressive vocabulary, even after controlling for earlier levels of RJA and vocabulary.

Brief Report: Ages of Language Milestones as Predictors of Developmental Trajectories in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Recognizing early risk markers in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is critical for timely diagnosis and intervention. The purpose of this study was to extend previous findings regarding language milestones to a longitudinal design, in which ages of expressive language milestones (i.e.

The role of peer physical activity champions in the workplace: a qualitative study.

Aims: Peer health champions have been suggested as an important component of multilevel workplace interventions to promote healthy behaviours such as physical activity (PA). There is accumulating quantitative evidence of their effectiveness but as yet little exploration of why and how champions influence peer behaviour. The current study explores the role of peer physical activity champions (PPACs) in influencing colleagues' PA behaviour from the perspectives of both champions and colleagues.

The effects of a physical activity intervention on employees in small and medium enterprises: a mixed methods study.

Objective: Workplaces have potential as a setting for physical activity promotion but evidence of the effectiveness of intervention programmes in small and medium sized enterprises is limited. This paper reports the impact of an intervention which trained existing employees to promote physical activity to their colleagues.

Participants: Eighty-nine previously low-active employees from 17 small and medium sized organisations participated.

Effective small group learning: AMEE Guide No. 48.

The objective of this educational guide is to outline the major facets of effective small group learning, particularly applied to medicine. These are discussion skills, methods, the roles and responsibilities of tutors and students, the dynamics of groups and the effects of individuals. It is argued that the bases of effective small group learning are discussion skills such as listening, questioning and responding.

Levels and patterns of physical activity in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes and associated metabolic and physiologic health outcomes.

Background: The current study objectively assessed physical activity (PA) levels and patterns in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes and compared the metabolic and physiologic health profiles of those achieving and those not achieving the current recommendation of 60 minutes a day (minutes x D(-1)) of at least moderate intensity PA.

Method: 37 children and adolescents (20 boys, 17 girls) aged 12.7 +/- 2.

Skin microvascular reactivity in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes in relation to levels of physical activity and aerobic fitness.

No studies to date have evaluated the relationship between exercise and microvascular function in youth with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Twenty-nine complication free children and adolescents with T1DM were assessed for skin microvascular reactivity, aerobic fitness (VO2peak) and physical activity. VO2peak but not physical activity was significantly and independently associated with maximal hyperemia of the skin microcirculation (p < .