Assessing Interdisciplinary Trainees' Objective and Self-Reported Knowledge of Autism Spectrum Disorder and Confidence in Providing Services.

The importance of accurate identification and high-quality intervention for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is indisputable. Clinicians from multiple professions need adequate knowledge of ASD to make appropriate referrals to specialists, conduct thorough evaluations, and provide effective interventions. ASD knowledge development for many professionals may start at the pre-service training level.

Bilingual and Home Language Interventions With Young Dual Language Learners: A Research Synthesis.

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review was to determine what bilingual or home language interventions have been found to be effective for 2- to 6-year-old dual language learners who have language impairment (LI) or are at risk for LI.

Method: We conducted ancestral searches and searches of electronic databases, hand-searched article bibliographies, and searched 19 journals for experimental, quasiexperimental, or single-subject studies.

Results: The review yielded 26 studies that were coded for quality, frequency and duration of the intervention, number of participants, location of intervention, interventionist, language(s) of intervention, and reported or calculated effect sizes.

Narrative Intervention for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Purpose: This study was conducted to determine whether a narrative intervention program that targeted the use of mental state and causal language resulted in positive gains in narrative production for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Method: Five children (2 girls and 3 boys) who had been diagnosed with ASD participated in the study. Children ranged in age from 8 to 12 years and were recruited through an autism clinic.

Academic outcomes of very low birth weight infants: the influence of mother-child relationships.

It is commonly accepted that parent-child interactions are bidirectional and complex and are influenced by many different factors. The current study examined the academic and behavioral skills in the early elementary years of preterm infants and the influence of their early mother-child interactions on these skills. Using a sample of 21 premature infants and their mothers, this study found that positive early interactions during feeding were related to later mutual enjoyment during a teaching task at school age, but early maternal depression was not.