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The current study examined the impact of teaching with acoustical guidance (TAGteach) on ball passing skills of three experienced university rugby athletes. The effects of the intervention were evaluated using a multiple probe design across passing skills for each participant. Passing skills were broken into steps to produce task analyses with each step within the task analysis 'tagged' during the intervention. TAGteach was observed to result in improved performance of targeted passing skills for each participant. Implications of the use of TAGteach with experienced athletes are discussed., Research interest in the application of behavioral interventions to improve sports performance is increasing (Martin, 2003). The utility of behavioral strategies such as modeling, goal setting and public posting, prompting, [...]

Purpose: Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often self-report heightened levels of stress and physical health problems. This paper reviewed studies assessing physiological measures of stress among parents of children with ASD. Methods: Systematic database searches identified 15 studies meeting inclusion criteria. Studies were reviewed to determine: (a) control group characteristics; (b) caregiver and care recipient characteristics; (c) setting; (d) physiological measures employed; (e) physiological outcomes; and (f) stressor type. A measure of methodological quality was also applied. Results: Salivary cortisol was the most common physiological measure employed. A pattern of blunted physiological activity emerged within the reviewed studies, though some studies reported normal or even higher physiological activity among this population. Conclusions: Findings suggested dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis and autonomic nervous system for some, but not all, parents of children with ASD. Further research is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented regarding the evaluation of level of stress of interns in Irish hospitals.