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1. A Meta-Analysis and Quality Review of Mathematics Interventions Conducted in Informal Learning Environments with Caregivers and Children

   https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543231156182  

   Nelson, Gena; Carter, Hannah; Boedeker, Peter; Knowles, Emma; Buckmiller, Claire; Eames, Jessica (March 2023, Review of Educational Research)

   The purposes of this study included conducting a meta-analysis and reviewing the study reporting quality of math interventions implemented in informal learning environments (e.g., the home) by children’s caregivers. This meta-analysis included 25 preschool to third-grade math interventions with 83 effect sizes that yielded a statistically significant summary effect (g = 0.26, 95% CI [0.07, 0.45) on children’s math achievement. Significant moderators of the treatment effect included the intensity of caregiver training and type of outcome measure. There were larger average effects for interventions with caregiver training that included follow-up support and for outcomes that were comprehensive early numeracy measures. Studies met 58.0% of reporting quality indicators, and analyses revealed that quality of reporting has improved in recent years. The results of this study offer several recommendations for researchers and practitioners, particularly given the growing evidence base of math interventions conducted in informal learning environments. 

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2. Sensory Responsiveness Is Linked With Communication in Infant Siblings of Children With and Without Autism

   https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_JSLHR-20-00196  

   Feldman, Jacob I.; Raj, Sweeya; Bowman, Sarah M.; Santapuram, Pooja; Golden, Alexandra J.; Daly, Claire; Dunham, Kacie; Suzman, Evan; Augustine, Ashley E.; Garla, Varsha; et al (June 2021, Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research)

   null (Ed.)

   Purpose Differences in communication development impact long-term outcomes of children with autism. Previous research has identified factors associated with communication in children with autism, but much of the variance in communication skill remains unexplained. It has been proposed that early differences in sensory responsiveness (i.e., hyporesponsiveness, hyperresponsiveness, and sensory seeking) may produce “cascading effects” on communication. Evidence for this theory is limited, however, as relations between sensory responsiveness and communication in the earliest stages of development have not been well established. The purpose of this study was to evaluate (a) whether infants with a heightened likelihood of autism diagnosis (i.e., infants with an older sibling with autism) differ from infants at general population–level likelihood of autism (i.e., infants with an older, nonautistic sibling) on patterns of sensory responsiveness, (b) whether early sensory responsiveness is correlated with concurrent communication, and (c) whether the aforementioned between-groups differences and associations are moderated by age. Method Participants were 40 infants (20 infants with an older sibling with autism, 20 infants with an older, nonautistic sibling) aged 12–18 months. A series of observational and parent report measures of sensory responsiveness and communication skill were administered. Results Group differences in sensory responsiveness across the 12- to 18-month period were limited (i.e., only observed for one measure of hyporesponsiveness), though selected differences in sensory responsiveness (i.e., parent-reported hyperresponsiveness and sensory seeking) emerged between groups over this developmental window. Parent-reported hyporesponsiveness was unconditionally, negatively associated with communication skills. Associations between expressive communication and (a) parent-reported sensory seeking and (b) an observational measure of hyperresponsiveness were moderated by age. Conclusions This study provides new insights into the nature of sensory responsiveness and theorized links with communication skill in infants at elevated and general population–level likelihood of autism diagnosis. Further work is needed to better characterize the effects of interest in a larger sample spanning a wider age range. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.14515542 

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3. Moving beyond dosage and adherence: A protocol for capturing dimensions of active child engagement as a measure of fidelity for social-emotional learning interventions

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1014713  

   Devlin, Brianna L.; Paes, Tanya M.; Geer, Elyssa A.; Bryant, Lindsey M.; Zehner, Tracy M.; Korucu, Irem; Morse, Kathleen; Duncan, Robert J.; Purpura, David J.; Schmitt, Sara A. (January 2023, Frontiers in Psychology)

   Social-emotional competencies are important for school-readiness and can be supported through social-emotional learning (SEL) interventions in the preschool years. However, past research has demonstrated mixed efficacy of early SEL interventions across varied samples, highlighting a need to unpack the black box of which early interventions work, under what conditions, and for whom. In the present article we discuss the critical implementation component of active child engagement in an intervention as a potential point of disconnect between the intervention as designed and as implemented. Children who are physically present but unengaged during an intervention may lead to decreased average impacts of an intervention. Furthermore, measuring young children’s active engagement with an intervention may help to guide iterative intervention development. We propose a four-step protocol for capturing the multi-dimensional and varied construct of active child engagement in a SEL intervention. To illustrate the utility of the protocol, we apply it to data from a pilot study of a researcher-implemented, semi-structured block play intervention focused on supporting the development of SEL and math skills in preschoolers. We then present future directions for the integration of active participant engagement into the measurement of implementation of SEL interventions for young children. 

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4. Can Therapists Design Robot-Mediated Interventions and Teleoperate Robots Using VR to Deliver Interventions for ASD?

   https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA48506.2021.9561112  

   Kulikovskiy, Roman; Sochanski, Megan; Hijaz, Ala'aldin; Eaton, Matteson; Korneder, Jessica; Geoffrey Louie, Wing-Yue (May 2021, IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation)

   Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) have demonstrated success in the delivery of interventions to individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). To date, these robot-mediated interventions have primarily been designed and implemented by robotics researchers. It remains unclear whether therapists could independently utilize robots to deliver therapies in clinical settings. In this paper, we conducted a study to investigate whether therapists could design and implement robot-mediated interventions for children with ASD. Furthermore, we compared therapists’ performance, efficiency, and perceptions towards using a Virtual Reality (VR) and kinesthetic-based interface for delivering robot-mediated interventions. Overall, our results demonstrated therapists could independently design and implement interventions with a SAR. They were faster at designing a new intervention using VR than a kinesthetic interface. Therapists also had similar performance to delivering in-person interventions when utilizing VR to deliver interventions with the robot. Therapists reported moderate workload using the VR interface and perceived VR to be usable. 

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5. Investigating frank autism: clinician initial impressions and autism characteristics

   Canale, RR; Larson, C; Thomas, RP; Barton, M; Fein, DA; Eigsti, IM (November 2024, Molecular autism)

   Background: "Frank autism," recognizable through the first minutes of an interaction, describes a behavioral presentation of a subset of autistic individuals that is closely tied to social communication challenges, and may be linked to so-called "prototypical autism." To date, there is no research on frank autism presentations of autistic adolescents and young adults, nor individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in childhood who do not meet diagnostic criteria during or after adolescence (loss of autism diagnosis, LAD). In addition, there are currently no data on the factors that drive frank autism impressions in these adolescent groups. Methods: This study quantifies initial impressions of autistic characteristics in 24 autistic, 24 LAD and 26 neurotypical (NT) individuals ages 12 to 39 years. Graduate student and expert clinicians completed five-minute impressions, rated confidence in their own impressions, and scored the atypicality of behaviors associated with impressions; impressions were compared with current gold-standard diagnostic outcomes. Results: Overall, clinicians' impressions within the first five minutes generally matched current gold-standard diagnostic status (clinical best estimate), were highly correlated with ADOS-2 CSS, and were driven primarily by prosodic and facial cues. However, this brief observation did not detect autism in all cases. While clinicians noted some subclinical atypicalities in the LAD group, impressions of the LAD and NT groups were similar. Limitations: The brief observations in this study were conducted during clinical research, including some semi-structured assessments. While results suggest overall concordance between initial impressions and diagnoses following more thorough evaluation, findings may not generalize to less structured, informal contexts. In addition, our sample was demographically homogeneous and comprised only speaking autistic participants. They were also unmatched for sex, with more females in the non-autistic group. Future studies should recruit samples that are diverse in demographic variables and ability level to replicate these findings and explore their implications. Conclusions: Results provide insights into the behavioral characteristics that contribute to the diagnosis of adolescents and young adults and may help inform diagnostic decision making in the wake of an increase in the demand for autism evaluations later than childhood. They also substantiate claims of an absence of apparent autistic characteristics in individuals who have lost the diagnosis. 

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