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Moderate feeding problems affect many children with autism spectrum disorder and often co-occur with disruptive mealtime behaviors. Although parent-mediated interventions have shown promise to support feeding problems, research has primarily occurred within randomized controlled trials when delivered by highly trained clinicians in specialty clinics. Thus, the alignment of these approaches within community settings is unclear. To address this limitation, this study explored adaptations to a parent-mediated intervention, Managing Eating Aversions and Limited Variety (i.e. MEAL Plan), to enhance its adoption, implementation, and sustainment within community settings, including factors that may support or hinder its translation. Participants were 14 multidisciplinary providers who attended one of the three workgroups that included semi-structured focus groups regarding the fit of MEAL Plan in their practice setting. Thematic analysis was used to determine emergent themes, which fell into the domains of content, contextual considerations, and training needs. Specific themes included the appropriateness MEAL Plan for autistic and non-autistic children, adaptations to MEAL Plan delivery, billing considerations, agency-level support, and the format of ongoing training and consultation. By proactively responding to these factors, it may be possible to enhance the implementation and sustainability of parent-mediated interventions, including MEAL Plan, within community practices that support autistic children.

Background: Active classroom engagement is at the heart of children's learning. The definition of active classroom engagement has broadened over time to incorporate aspects of social emotional learning (SEL). SEL -- a developmental process that supports student acquisition of skills to build healthy peer relationships and regulate emotions appropriately -- has increasingly become a priority for schools and educators. At the same time, classrooms have become increasingly diverse. There is a need for teachers to be equipped with suitable support tools to ensure that classroom diversity translates into successful social inclusion and student learning. Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore teachers' experiences and perceived effects of a professional development approach called Social Emotional Engagement -- Knowledge and Skills (SEE-KS), which aims to incorporate support for teachers to help them meet the diverse social-emotional and academic needs of their students. Methods: This study, conducted in the USA, used a qualitative descriptive research design. Participants were 61 teachers, whose practice ranged from preschool (ages 3-5) to high school (ages 14-18). A semi-structured interview guide was used to facilitate six focus group discussions. Focus group data were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed by a team of qualitative experts. Findings: The analysis identified five main themes: 1) dynamic engagement of learning, 2) seeing more than was expected, 3) discovery of challenges and needs, 4) translation of SEE-KS to teaching practice, and 5) creating workable solutions for future implementation. These themes contributed to an overarching theme entitled 'achieving openness to social emotional engagement in teaching'. Conclusions: Teachers provided rich descriptions of their experiences in learning and implementing SEE-KS, including perceived benefits to students and teachers. These findings offer a starting point for future adaptations of and inquiry into SEE-KS as well as highlighting implications for teaching practice.

Supplemental digital content is available in the text. Background: As expert clinicians are recruited to academic positions in response to nursing faculty shortages, comprehensive plans are needed for transitioning and role development. Problem: Schools of nursing often lack infrastructures to support and develop new faculty. Approach: Team members from an academic-clinical partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs created a competency-based faculty development plan. Outcomes: A comprehensive self-directed faculty development plan was established that included a needs assessment, competency-based guide, and online modular resources. Conclusion: The faculty development plan provides a tailored approach to support the transition of clinicians to the academic role. This strategy is a potential solution to addressing the faculty shortage, retention, and role strain issues and builds capacity in schools of nursing. This innovative plan is a first step in establishing a mechanism to measure faculty competencies and professional growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]