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Refugees have been resettling in the United States for decades, but there has been little attention in the special education literature to this population. The existing literature notes numerous systemic barriers refugee families and professionals who work with them encounter but has not investigated the roles of professionals in refugee resettlement agencies in supporting families who have children with disabilities. In this study, we used semi-structured interviews to explore in resettlement education case managers (ECMs) the roles and experiences of assisting refugee families to access special education. Our findings revealed that ECMs provided intensive support to newly resettled families by educating them on the special education process, connecting them with supports, and sharing information about disability characteristics. Implications for research and practice are also provided.

The ways caregivers perceive and respond to challenging behavior (CB) could depend, in part, on their cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Yet, limited research is available on the definitions, perceptions, and response strategies of CB across cultural groups, particularly among caregivers of young children with disabilities. In this exploratory multimethod study, data were collected from four diverse caregiver groups (i.e., Black, Korean American, Mexican American, and White) with young children with disabilities to understand (a) what behaviors they considered challenging and (b) how they responded to those behaviors. Data revealed similarities and differences in the types of behaviors reported and indicated caregivers rely on preplanned consequence strategies and unplanned responses.

Around the world, we are seeing the highest number of displaced people to date, with an increasing trend since 2012. With the U.S. historically being leaders as a receiving country for refugee resettlement, research needs to focus on supporting refugee families with children with disabilities and the teachers who serve them. Literature in special education has begun to highlight the experiences of numerous immigrant and native-born families from diverse backgrounds, but literature regarding the experiences of refugee families continue to be sparse. This paper provides the historical context, systems, policies, and procedures that impact refugee families' presence in their children's educational planning and access to services. It begins with an overview of refugee resettlement in the U.S., including policies influencing resettlement and a description of the resettlement process. We then highlight systemic barriers that restrict refugee families' full access to special education services and to being fully informed participants in their children's education.

In recent years, community health workers (CHWs) have emerged as key stakeholders in implementing community-based public health interventions in racially diverse contexts. Yet little is known about the extent to which CHW training curriculums influence intervention effectiveness in marginalized racial and ethnic minority communities. This review summarizes evidence on the relationship between CHW training curricula and intervention outcomes conducted among African American and Latinx populations. We conducted a literature search of intervention studies that focused on CHW public health interventions in African American and Latinx populations using PubMed, PsycINFO, ERIC, CINAHL, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases. Included studies were quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies employed to conduct outcome (e.g., blood pressure and HbA1c) and process evaluations (e.g., knowledge and self-efficacy) of CHW-led interventions. Out of 3,295 articles from the database search, 36 articles met our inclusion criteria. Overall, the strength of evidence linking specific CHW training curricula components to primary intervention health outcomes was weak, and no studies directly linked outcomes to specific characteristics of CHW training. Studies that described training related to didactic sessions or classified as high intensity reported higher percentages of positive outcomes compared to other CHW training features. These findings suggest that CHW training may positively influence intervention effectiveness but additional research using more robust methodological approaches is needed to clarify these relationships.

Background: Total talus replacement (TTR) implants are designed to replace the diseased talar anatomy, reduce pain, maintain ankle range of motion, and restore ankle function after conservative treatments have failed. Currently TTR implants are produced by 3D printing a patient-specific implant designed from the patient's preoperative anatomy. TTR surgery using patient-specific implants is a relatively new technique that remains understudied in the literature. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to determine the early safety and potential benefit of the TTR implant in patients with talar avascular necrosis. Methods: This retrospective, multicenter, cohort study evaluates the safety and potential benefits of TTR using 3D-printed patient-specific implants across 4 US centers. The primary outcome was the occurrence of early adverse events after TTR surgery. Secondary outcomes including, pain, and physical function were assessed using the pain visual analog scale (VAS), and Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) physical function (PF), respectively. Results: The study team analyzed 15 patients with more than 1 year of follow-up. The mean duration of follow-up was 25.9 months (range: 18.3-41 months). Although 33.3% (5 of 15) of patients experienced adverse events, primarily occurring within the initial 6 months postoperatively, 93% (14 of 15) of patients reported implant survivorship. Of the 5 cases (33.3%) resulting in an adverse event, 3 (60.0%) were determined to be unrelated to the subject device, 2 (40.0%) were determined to be possibly procedure-related, and none (0%) were determined to be device-related. Conclusion: Although further studies are needed to compare TTR with the standard of care, the results of this study demonstrate the relative early safety of TTR surgery using a 3D-printed implant for the treatment of challenging talar pathologies. A larger and longer clinical study is required to see if the efficacy of this approach will be statistically and clinically meaningful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing communication skills is critical for all young children, especially for those receiving early intervention (EI) services. Thus, many researchers have investigated evidence-based practices for teaching social communication skills. In an attempt to minimize the gap between research and practice, research investigating training caregivers to use communication teaching strategies has been conducted and replicated. In many studies, interventions have been delivered by researchers rather than natural change agents. The purpose of this study was to assess the social validity of a caregiver-implemented communication strategies intervention program in which the caregiver was trained and coached by a natural change agent, the family's EI service provider, via telepractice. We analyzed multiple sources of data to investigate the social validity of the intervention program. We found that some aspects of the program had high levels of social validity (e.g., goals and outcomes). Other aspects of the program had lower levels of social validity (e.g., procedures and technology use). The findings, limitations, and implications for practice and research are discussed.

Observations on strain behaviour and direct demonstrations of natural selection establish that the scrapie agent and prions in general are able to evolve. Accordingly, it is conceivable that atypical non-contagious scrapie in sheep and goats can transform to classical contagious scrapie under particular circumstances. In consequence, atypical scrapie can be regarded as a latent hazard that warrants comprehensive risk assessment and biosecurity preparedness planning. Evidence for this proposition comes from differences in the expression of atypical and classical scrapie that may make scrapie contagious, historical records of scrapie in Western Europe, and contemporary accounts of the epidemiology of atypical scrapie. Biosecurity preparedness can be based on current knowledge of pathophysiology and epidemiology and can be built around a three-stage model for the endogenous emergence of a propagating epidemic of scrapie. The first stage concerns the occurrence of atypical scrapie. The second stage concerns the acquisition of communicability in prion populations provided by atypical scrapie and the third stage concerns circumstances allowing disease transmission and the initiation of a propagating epidemic. The range of component causes envisaged for possible outbreaks of endogenous classical scrapie is broad. However, exposure of sheep and goats to cyanobacterial toxins qualifies for special attention.

The design of virtual learning environments for post-secondary instruction is rapidly increasing among public and private universities. While the quantity of online courses over the past 10 years has exponentially increased, the quality of these courses has not. As universities increase their online teaching activities, real concern about the best design for these online learning opportunities underscores the need to create effective and responsive virtual learning environments. Adams (2007) developed the Recursive Model for Knowledge Development in Virtual Environments. The premise of this model is the belief that good teaching and engaged learning should not be determined by the use of certain instructional tools but by the guiding principal that learning is an active and recursive process, where knowledge must be contextualized to be relevant to the learner. To this purpose, this article describes the initial development in the ongoing process of designing a valid and reliable assessment tool, the Virtual Learning Environment Survey--VLES, for exploring the degree to which the Recursive Model for Knowledge Development relates to effective design of online learning environments. This student self-report survey will seek to provide guidance for the assessment of online learning environments through collection of student perceptions of teaching strategies, knowledge approach, and knowledge ownership in online classrooms. (Contains 1 figure and 7 tables.)

Background: For healthy development, children need positive relationships with adults. Due to changes in family systems and shifting social norms, many children may be receiving less parental support than in the past and may be discouraged from forming natural mentoring relationships with other adults. Mentoring programs are designed to facilitate appropriate, meaningful relationships between children and adults leading to positive outcomes such as improved social skills and self-esteem. Mentoring programs are being more widely implemented in schools, though additional evaluation of the effects of these programs is needed. Aims: The purpose of this article is to describe and evaluate a school-based mentoring program in which adult volunteers were paired with elementary school students at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders. A secondary question addressed how the school-based mentoring program was perceived by those involved (e.g., students, mentors, teachers, and parents). Sample: Primary participants were 16 students and their adult mentors located in a suburban elementary school in the western United States. Method: Students were selected for the mentoring program using a school-wide screening for emotional and behavior disorders. Evaluation focused on what impact the school-based mentoring program had on ratings of students' social competence, antisocial behaviors, academics, and attendance. Results: Quantitative analysis of data, based on parent and teacher ratings, indicated improvements in students' social competence and decreases in antisocial behaviors, teachers also noted improvements in students' grades. Qualitative analysis revealed that parents, mentors, students, and teachers were all generally pleased with the mentoring experience. Conclusion: Results suggest that participation in the mentoring program was associated with improved social skills, decreased antisocial behaviors, and improved academic behaviors, though teachers noted more of these improvements than did parents. Steps for those wanting to initiate school-based mentoring programs are provided. (Contains 4 tables.)

Background: Health educators have long advocated health promotion, yet their health measurement techniques have a pathogenic focus. Pathogenesis refers to the origin of a disease and the chain of events (precursors) leading to that disease. Traditional health measurement tools with this focus therefore measure health by assessing for the absence of disease or associated risk factors. Salutogenesis, as proposed by Aaron Antonovsky, refers to associated factors and precursors of good health similar to how pathogenesis focuses on associated factors and precursors of bad health. Purpose: This study proposes a health measurement scale with a salutogenic focus that measures health by assessing for the multidimensional capacity or potential for good health. Methods: Two samples of university students (N=226, N=365) were surveyed to develop and test the psychometric properties of the Salutogenic Wellness Promotion Scale (SWPS). Results: The SWPS demonstrated a multidimensional structure with good internal consistency, that positively correlated with and predicted perceived health (p less than 0.001), and did not invoke socially desirable responses. Discussion: The SWPS demonstrated preliminary evidence of reliability and validity in its measurement of health potential. Translation to Health Education Practice: Using the SWPS could assist health educators in developing methodologies and practices that facilitate improved health status. (Contains 2 tables.)