In this study the Autism Mental Status Exam (AMSE) was validated towards ICD-10 Autism Spectrum Diagnoses (ASD) based on an interview with the Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorders (DISCO-11) with parent(s)/caregiver(s) in a group of 124 children referred for assessment to a clinical assessment unit for pre-school children.…

The current study sought to scientifically adapt the existing five essentials teacher survey and develop a new parent survey, and pilot test them for use in early childhood education settings. The adaptation and development of these "Early Education Surveys" occurred in 2014-15, was based strongly on Bryk et al.'s (2010) existing…

Several challenges arise when researchers or practitioners attempt to assess the literacy skills of toddlers, including a lack of developmentally appropriate measures, toddlers' more limited communication ability, and how literacy is defined in the years before age three. This paper describes four new measures of early literacy development and…

To identify the broader autism phenotype (BAP), the Family History Interview subject and informant versions and an observational tool (Impression of Interviewee), were developed. This study investigated whether the instruments differentiated between parents of children with autism, and parents of children with Down syndrome (DS). The BAP scores of…

The question of who is ready to serve as a help-giver reflects an unresolved question in the research on parents of children with disabilities. There is little consensus as to whether or not there are regular, predictable phases of adaptation to a child's disability. The purpose of this research was to develop a measure of readiness to be trained…

The nutrition environment in schools can influence the risk for childhood overweight and obesity, which in turn can have life-long implications for risk of chronic disease. This dissertation aimed to examine the nutrition environment in primary public schools in California with regards to the amount of nutrition education provided in the…

The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid survey instrument to measure student perceptions of the outdoor physical campus environment. Using campus planning and environments literature and expert consultation, a survey instrument was developed to measure student satisfaction with the outdoor campus environment and the…

Students whose school environment fits their developmental needs also typically experience academic success and increased motivation. Most investigations of school fit, which focus on teachers' and students' perceptions, have found a general decline in fit across the transition from elementary to middle school. However, little research has…

This study validated a Perceived Campus Caring Scale with 1,520 university students. Using factor analysis, seven factors namely, Faculty Support, Nonfaculty Support, Peer Relationship, Sense of Detachment, Sense of Belonging, Caring Attitude, and Campus Involvement, are identified with high reliability, validity, and close correlation with the…

The use of current adaptive behavior measures in practice and research is limited by their length and need for a professional interviewer. There is a need for alternative measures that more efficiently assess adaptive behavior in children and youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory-Computer…

Background: This study describes the development and trialling of the Family Life Interview (FLI), a clinical tool designed to examine sustainability of family routines. Materials and Methods: The FLI, a self-report instrument completed by a parent within a semi-structured practitioner--parent interview, was administered to 118 parents, with…

Objective: Research on child and adolescent anxiety disorders has seen a surge in investigations of parenting factors potentially associated with their etiology. However, many of the well-established parenting measures are limited by over-reliance on self-report or lengthy behavioral observation procedures. Such measures may not assess factors…

The relationship between children's activity level and adjustment has been based on a one-dimensional conceptualization of activity level and warrants re-examination. Current questionnaires conflate amount of physical movement with its appropriateness to the context, making it impossible to tell which aspect of activity level accounts for its…

The "Restrictiveness of Living Environment Scale" has long been the primary way to conceptualize the "restrictiveness" of a child's living situation. However, changes in systems of care and other factors have created a need to revisit how restrictiveness is conceptualized and measured. A measure was created to assess an environment's level of…

The purpose of the study was to describe the development and application of an instrument to identify various dimensions of the learning environment, as perceived by elementary and middle school students in Taiwan. The instrument, the New Constructivist Learning Environment Scales, includes four dimensions: attitude concerning instruction,…