This study evaluated the impact of a curriculum called the Early Literacy Skills Builder on the language and early literacy skills of students with significant developmental disabilities. Students in the control group received the ongoing sight word and picture instruction prescribed by their individualized education programs. Results indicate…

Purpose: In this study, we conducted the first evaluation of assisted vacations for persons with dementia and their caregivers in the field of caregiving research. Design and Methods: We used a quasi-experimental, two-group, repeated measures design with two measuring times (preintervention, 3-month follow-up) to examine whether assisted vacations…

Abnormalities in the interactions between functionally linked brain regions have been suggested to be associated with the clinical impairments observed in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We investigated functional connectivity within the limbic system during face identification; a primary component of social cognition, in 19 high-functioning…

The purpose of this study was to investigate undergraduate students' performance while exposed to complementary computational modelling activities to improve physics learning, using the software "Modellus." Interpretation of kinematics graphs was the physics topic chosen for investigation. The theoretical framework adopted was based on Halloun's…

Technology-based instruction represents a new recent pedagogical paradigm that is rooted in the realization that new generations are much more comfortable with, and excited about, new technologies. The rapid technological advancement over the past decade has fueled an enormous demand for the integration of modern networking, informational and…

This study investigated the use of block-building interventions to develop spatial-reasoning skills in kindergartners. Two intervention conditions and a control condition were included to determine, first, whether the block building activities themselves benefited children's spatial skills, and secondly, whether a story context further improved…

This study assessed the effects of explicit teaching of metastrategic knowledge (MSK) on gains of low-achieving (LA) and high-achieving (HA) 5th grade students (N=41). Gains in reasoning scores of students from the Experimental group (compared to students from the control group) were obtained on the strategic and on the metastrategic level. Gains…

The offspring of mothers with epilepsy are considered to be at developmental risk during pregnancy from: (1) generalized maternal seizures (hypoxia); (2) teratogenicity of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs); and (3) adverse socio-familial conditions associated with having a chronically sick mother. Sixty-seven children of mothers with epilepsy and 49…

Memory and attentional control impairments are the two most common forms of dysfunction following mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) and lead to significant morbidity in patients, yet these functions are thought to be supported by different brain networks. This 3 T magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) study investigates whether…

Little is known about the risk factors for suicide among psychiatric inpatients in China. In this study we identified the risk factors of suicide among psychiatric inpatients at Guangzhou Psychiatric Hospital. All psychiatric inpatients who died by suicide during the 1956-2005 period were included in this study. Using a case-control design, 64…

Eighteen students (K-11th grade) with emotional/behavioral disorders who were at-risk for change of placement to more restrictive settings participated. Construct validity of functional behavioral assessment (FBA) was assessed with a multifunction-multimethod matrix that showed excellent convergent and divergent agreement with combined FBA methods…

The extent to which ESL learners benefit from written corrective feedback has been debated at length since Truscott (1996) mounted a case for its abolition. Ten years later, the debate continues, not only because little attention has been given to testing its efficacy over time but also because studies that have investigated the issue have not…

This article describes the evaluation of two family group decision-making programs administered under the California Title IV-E Waiver Demonstration Project. This is the only evaluation using random assignment to examine FGDM. Overall, results did not indicate more positive outcomes for children receiving the intervention, but did indicate that…

Geriatric patients are at increased risk for complications from delirium or falls during hospitalization. Medical education, however, generally places little emphasis on the hazards of hospitalization for older inpatients. Geriatricians conducted a faculty development workshop for hospitalists about the hazards of hospitalization for geriatric…

This study examined the relation of middle ear effusion (MEE) in the first 3 years of life to language outcomes at age seven. It was hypothesized, on the basis of a literature review, that (1) a low, but positive relation between early MEE and language measures in general will be observed at age seven, and (2) major effects will be demonstrated…