Your search

Changes in federal legislation guiding occupational therapy practice in educational environments have required modifications in the way therapists evaluate children in these settings. New methods in turn require new tools. This article will describe one new tool designed to assist school-based practitioners in their assessment of the impact of sensory processing and praxis difficulties on educational performance. The Sensory Processing Measure is an assessment tool that promotes team collaboration by examining performance across multiple natural environments and also considers the relationship between sensory processing, praxis and social participation. Part One of this paper provides a description of the assessment tool and its proposed uses while in Part Two, examples of the use of the measure will be presented.

In this paper, we contribute to an agenda of developing culturally informed practices, centering specifically on working with Asian Indian and Asian Indian American families. We report the results of a modified Delphi study in which we asked advanced members of the counseling field who are of Asian Indian origin to share their insight relative to family therapy with those who identify as Asian Indian or Asian Indian American in the U.S. Panelists offered a multitude of recommendations, including the importance of: careful assessment that acknowledges within group similarities and differences; attention to extended family ties and intergenerational dynamics; understanding issues of immigration, acculturation, and discrimination; and development of treatment approaches that are congruent with Asian Indian cultural values, beliefs, and practices.

Measurement constitutes a central issue in determining effectiveness of couple and family therapy (CFT). A review of 274 CFT outcome studies published in 25 mental health journals between 1990 and 2005 is presented. Goals of this review were to (1) provide a broad, empirically based overview of CFT outcome research, (2) examine measurement of treatment outcomes, and (3) appraise reporting practices. Findings indicate that a wide range of instruments continue to be used in CFT outcome research, although a foundation for a more integrated and coherent assessment battery has been established. Implications for the field are discussed.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to compare 2 methods for directly teaching word meanings to kindergarten students within storybook read‐alouds that varied in instructional time and depth of instruction along with a control condition that provided students with incidental exposure to target words. Embedded instruction introduces target word meanings during storybook readings in a time‐efficient manner. Extended instruction is more time intensive but provides multiple opportunities to interact with target words outside the context of the story. Participants included 42 kindergarten students who were taught 9 target words, 3 with each method. Target words were counterbalanced in a within‐subjects design. Findings indicated that extended instruction resulted in more full and refined word knowledge, while embedded instruction resulted in partial knowledge of target vocabulary. Implications are discussed in relation to the strengths and limitations of different approaches to direct vocabulary instruction in kindergarten and the trade‐offs between instruction that focuses on teaching for breadth versus depth.

This article examines the role of direct instruction in promoting listening and reading comprehension. Instructional examples from 2 programs of intervention research focused on improving comprehension; the Story Read Aloud Program and the Embedded Story Structure Routine are used to illustrate principles of direct instruction. An analysis of these 2 approaches suggests that direct instruction principles are effective in supporting students with varied achievement levels and that these principles can be used to enhance comprehension among students at very different points in reading development. These evidence-based approaches also illustrate that direct instruction can be designed to support complex learning and the development of higher order cognitive strategies.

In the acute-care setting patients with altered mental status as a result of such diverse etiologies as stroke, traumatic brain injury, degenerative neurologic impairments, dementia, or alcohol/drug abuse are routinely referred for dysphagia testing. A protocol for dysphagia testing was developed that began with verbal stimuli to determine patient orientation status and ability to follow single-step verbal commands. Although unknown, it would be beneficial to ascertain if this information on mental status was predictive of aspiration risk. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if there was a difference in odds for aspiration based upon correctly answering specific orientation questions, i.e., 1. What is your name? 2. Where are you right now? and 3. What year is it?, and following specific single-step verbal commands, i.e., 1. Open your mouth. 2. Stick out your tongue. and 3. Smile. In a consecutive retrospective manner data from 4070 referred patients accrued between 1 December 1999 and 1 January 2007 were analyzed. The odds of liquid aspiration were 31% greater for patients not oriented to person, place, and time (odds ratio [OR] = 1.305, 95% CI = 1.134–1.501). The odds of liquid aspiration (OR = 1.566, 95% CI = 1.307–1.876), puree aspiration (OR = 1.484, 95% CI = 1.202–1.831), and being deemed unsafe for any oral intake (OR = 1.688, 95% CI = 1.387–2.054) were, respectively, 57, 48, and 69% greater for patients unable to follow single-step verbal commands. Being able to answer orientation questions and follow single-step verbal commands provides information on odds of aspiration for liquid and puree food consistencies as well as overall eating status prior todysphagia testing. Knowledge of potential increased odds of aspiration allows for individualization of dysphagia testing thereby optimizing swallowing success.

Purpose: To compare the amplitude, latency, morphology, and threshold of the auditory P300 using standard oddball and omitted paradigms. Research Design: P300 waveforms were measured from the Cz electrode site. Frequent stimuli for both paradigms were 1000 Hz tone bursts. Target stimuli for the standard oddball paradigm were 2000 Hz tone bursts and an omitted stimulus, or silent gap, for the omitted paradigm. Study Sample: Fifteen bilaterally normal-hearing young adults. Results: There were significantly lower amplitudes, poorer morphology, and higher thresholds for the P300 using an omitted paradigm compared to the standard oddball paradigm. Conclusion: These results suggest that the auditory P300 could have a larger exogenous component than traditionally thought.

Electron-multiplying CCD (EMCCD) cameras have extremely strong characteristics for speckle imaging including high quantum efficiency, extremely low effective read noise, and high bandwidth. We report on our first results for binary star astrometry and photometry using an Andor iXon EMCCD at the WIYN 3.5-m Telescope at Kitt Peak. We find that diffraction-limited image reconstructions can be achieved to approximately 15th magnitude and that the device appears to deliver reliable differential photometry of the components of binary star systems. Some implications for stellar astrophysics are discussed.

A study was conducted using 2,734 citations and references to electronic resources cited in 94 scholarly and peer reviewed ejournals published between 2005 and 2008. Study illustrated problems that occur when users attempt to access e-sources cited in e-journal articles.

Thirteen chapters and 47 sections of the book"Digital libraries, its theory and practices" were worked on and the book is ready to send to the publisher. Did a paper that was accepted by the journal Library Hi Tech. Visited China and gave 2 seminars in 2 universities in China.

Worked on book about Fabian feminism. Finished the final chapter but book isn't complete yet. Wrote and delivered paper in London in March 2009. Is expanding book to include 1980's and 1990's Fabian feminism.

This is the remarkable, moving true story of two families brought together through tragedy and triumph. One loses a family member; one regains a life. See how it happens, as it happens. Be there at bedside, through the waiting, through the wondering as Joe brings you through the days, weeks and months leading up to and following his wife Jean's transplant. Learn how circumstances beyond anyone's direct control come to intersect, changing forever all those who experience it from their own perspectives spoken in first person language.