Students encounter hundreds of word problems throughout the elementary grades and on standardized assessments through high school. To demonstrate proficiency on these measures of mathematics competency, students must be skilled in solving word problems. Early detection of word-problem difficulty is essential, and screeners play an important role…

Growing evidence links early life adversity (ELA), including Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and unpredictability, to disrupted health and development. This knowledge has led to increased screening for ELA in primary care settings and provided new opportunities to further research associations between ELA and health. It is imperative to…

For 4 years, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has collected and analyzed early literacy screening assessment data from schools and districts that participated in targeted state grants. In 2023/24, the 1st year that screening was required for all kindergarten through grade 3 students statewide, data were…

This brief analyzes how English Learners in Massachusetts were screened for reading difficulties during the 2023/24 school year, focusing on the use of English- and Spanish-language early literacy screeners. The report highlights clusters of screening patterns, noting demographic and instructional differences among them, such as native language,…

Purpose: This study examined the training and knowledge of current practicing speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and their perceived competence in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It is a follow-up to Schwartz and Drager (2008), with some modifications reflecting "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition"…

This study described exceptional items in human figure drawings (HFDs) which have been discussed as possible expressions of intellectual giftedness. The aim was to serve as a first step in the development of a screener for HFDs that can be used as part of the identification process of gifted children. We examined the frequency of occurrence of 158…

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a serious neurodevelopmental disorder with no clinical biomarker. This study used untargeted metabolomic analysis to identify metabolic characteristics in plasma that can distinguish ASD children. 29 boys with ASD (3.02 ± 0.67 years) and 30 typically developing (TD) boys (3.13 ± 0.46 years) were recruited.…

The purpose of the present study was to examine the potential that parents could effectively administer an online dyslexia evaluation tool (ODET) to their children. To this end, four groups consisting of parents and trained staff were compared. Sixty-three children (36 females and 27 males) participated. The children in each group were assessed…

Aim(s): This exploratory research aimed to explore the views of education setting staff who have undertaken an Analysis of Additional Needs Screening Tool (AANT) online assessment and consultation with an Educational Psychologist (EP). Initially, education staff complete the online AANT form, comprising a range of solution-oriented questions about…

Many young people with mental disorders are not identified until some years after the first onset of symptoms and then frequently do not receive professional intervention. One promising strategy to better identify these young people is mental health screening in schools. Despite a growing literature on the benefits of school-based screening, it…

Objectives: Aminoacidopathies are inborn errors of metabolism (IEMs) that cause intellectual disability in children. Luckily, aminoacidopathies are potentially treatable, if diagnosed earlier in life. The focus of this study was the screening of aminoacidopathies in a cohort of patients suspected for IEMs. Methods: Blood samples from healthy (IQ…

Statistical analysis of categorical data often relies on multiway contingency tables; yet, as the number of categories and/or variables increases, the number of table cells with few (or zero) observations also increases. Unfortunately, sparse contingency tables invalidate the use of standard goodness-of-fit statistics. Limited-information fit…

The current study explored similarities and differences in parenting stress (PSI) and behaviours in parent reports of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attachment disorder (AD). 155 parents whose children had developmental delays and disorders completed the social communication questionnaire, Randolph attachment questionnaire, strengths and…

Background: Receiving timely health screening is associated with important public health benefits among older adults. By focusing on the role of social relationships, the present study was aimed at examining longitudinal trajectories of health screening use among older adults in Korea, whose universal health care system provides free-of-charge…

Background: Silent aspiration (SA) is common post-stroke and associated with increased risk of pneumonia, length of stay and healthcare costs. Clinical swallow examinations (CSEs) are unreliable measures of SA. There is no consensus on the clinical components that best detect SA. Cough reflex testing (CRT) is an alternative/adjunct whose SA…