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Background: A large part of the population in Germany makes use of naturopathic, complementary and integrative medical treatments. There are now numerous scientific studies that provide evidence of efficacy for certain indications. At German medical faculties, selected procedures and their application are taught within the cross-sectoral unit called and some elective courses, with a focus on specific aspects are offered. So far, however, there has been no structured curriculum that longitudinally anchors teaching across medical studies and enables all students to consider naturopathic and complementary medical options for patient care later on and to integrate them effectively into the diagnostic and treatment process.Objective: The aim of this position paper is to show the relevance of this topic for medical education, to clarify terminology and to present core competencies and possible implementation options for training.Method: The Integrative Medicine and Perspective Pluralism Committee of the German Association for Medical Education developed this position paper in a multi-stage consensual process, in cooperation with the Forum of University Work Groups on Naturopathic Treatment and Complementary Medicine.Results: First, different umbrella terms were discussed and an existing definition of integrative medicine and health was chosen for subsequent use. Building on this step, the status of education and its scientific foundation in Germany was considered in an international context. In the next step, a competency profile for medical training, consisting of seven areas of competency, was developed and described in detail with regard to naturopathic, complementary and integrative medicine. Implementation options were identified using possible starting points in the curriculum and using established examples of best practice.Conclusion: Despite different priorities at each faculty, it was possible to find an agreement on the development of competencies and anchoring them in medical education on the basis of a common definition of terms. Currently, the implementation in the mandatory and elective areas is very heterogeneous. As part of the current revision of the Medical Licensure Act, there are many possible starting points for the integration of naturopathic and complementary medical teaching content, especially in interprofessional and general practice courses. The implementation and accompanying research of targeted teaching settings should lay the foundations for a long-term and binding integration into medical education. Overall, it is clear that medical education in the field of naturopathy and complementary and integrative medicine has the potential to develop comprehensive core medical competencies.

Both reading and language skills are necessary for children to see success in academic and everyday life settings. This manuscript describes in detail four key instructional techniques used to target reading and language development in struggling and early readers, including children with both autism and cognitive disabilities. The techniques include (1) routines and behavioral support, (2) relatable content and interests, (3) shared reading activities to promote language and listening comprehension, and (4) academic and social vocabulary development. Drawing from examples from "Friends on the Block," an intervention designed to meet the needs of children with disabilities, this paper describes key instructional techniques and methods teachers can incorporate into daily reading and language instruction for children with autism and cognitive disabilities. We also provide recommendations for implementing these techniques into instruction without the "Friends on the Block" intervention.

The theme of this issue, fostering joy and recognizing brilliance, invites us to explore the ways that our teaching is rooted in the joy, love, and brilliance of our students, [...]

Introduction: The objectives of the current study were the following: (1) to explore multidimensional profiles of Latinx cultural orientation using Spanish language use, familismo, and ethnic–racial identity (ERI) affirmation among Latinx adolescents, (2) to test how Latinx cultural orientation profiles were associated with adolescents' internalizing symptoms (i.e., depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms), and (3) to test whether associations between profiles and internalizing symptoms were moderated by adolescents' ethnic–racial discrimination experiences. Methods: The study was conducted among a sample of 204 Latinx adolescents (52.4% female; Mage = 14.35, SDage = 1.75). Results: Latent profile analysis indicated four profiles of Latinx cultural orientation: higher affirmation and lower Spanish (HALS), higher Spanish (HS), lower familismo and affirmation (LFA), and higher familismo/lower Spanish and affirmation (HFLSA). Latinx adolescents who reported lower levels on more than one Latinx cultural orientation dimension (e.g. LFA or HFSLA) also reported worse health when compared to adolescents who reported higher levels of more than one Latinx cultural orientation dimension (e.g., HSA). The associations between Latinx cultural orientation profiles and internalizing symptoms were not moderated by adolescents' ethnic–racial discrimination. Conclusion: Findings provide researchers and practitioners with an understanding of the various ways in which Latinx adolescents remain connected to their Latinx culture and implications for their outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of helping all children make meaningful progress in reading development is supported by legislative mandates and court rulings. The purpose of this research was to describe findings from a series of single-case design studies completed over three years to test the effects of a specific comprehensive literacy intervention, Friends on the Block, on word recognition. Participants were 18 students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) ranging in age from 6 to 13. Results were analyzed using Tau statistical procedures that indicate consistent moderate-to-strong positive effects across all participants for both sight words and decodable words. Across the 67 sight word studies the mean effect size was 0.73, and across the 8 decodable word studies the mean effect size was 0.74. Further research is needed to examine the impact of the intervention on a broader array of variables. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

Premise: Functional traits reflect species' responses to environmental variation and the breadth of their ecological niches. Fagus grandifolia and Oreomunnea mexicana have restricted distribution in upper montane cloud forests (1700–2000 m a.s.l.) in Mexico. These species were introduced into plantings at lower elevations (1200–1600 m a.s.l.) that have climates predicted for montane forests in 2050 and 2070. The aim was to relate morphological leaf traits to the ecological niche structure of each species. Methods: Leaf functional traits (leaf area, specific leaf area [SLA], thickness, and toughness) were analyzed in forests and plantings. Atmospheric circulation models and representative concentration pathways (RCPs: 2.6, 4.5, 8.5) were used to assess future climate conditions. Trait–niche relationships were analyzed by measuring the Mahalanobis distance (MD) from the forests and the plantings to the ecological niche centroid (ENC). Results: For both species, leaf area and SLA were higher and toughness lower in plantings at lower elevation relative to those in higher‐elevation forests, and thickness was similar. Leaf traits varied with distance from sites to the ENC. Forests and plantings have different environmental locations regarding the ENC, but forests are closer (MD 0.34–0.58) than plantings (MD 0.50–0.70) for both species. Conclusions: Elevation as a proxy for expected future climate conditions influenced the functional traits of both species, and trait patterns related to the structure of their ecological niches were consistent. The use of distances to the ENC is a promising approach to explore variability in species' functional traits and phenotypic responses in optimal versus marginal environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine the promise and feasibility of a newly developed curriculum to teach early literacy skills to students with intellectual disability (ID) and students with low IQs. The curriculum texts were written to include familiar settings, high frequency words, natural syntax, and cumulative practice. A single-case design was used with multiple baseline across levels of instruction and included eight participants who had IQs spanning from 40 to 63. The study was conducted across one academic year in two private schools for students with special needs. Results showed that all eight students demonstrated significant growth on proximal measures of taught words, as well as growth on at least some curriculum-based distal measures. Additionally, the program was demonstrated to be feasible; the teachers implemented the intervention with high degrees of fidelity and expressed satisfaction with the effectiveness and practicality of the program.

The purpose of this study was to use a mixed methods approach to learn about inadequate response to a year-long multi-tier response to intervention (RTI) model that allowed first-grade students to move up and down tiers. Participants were 156 students who received supplemental intervention services during a larger multi-tier RTI study involving classrooms and 522 students across 10 schools. Findings from an all-subset regression indicate letter word reading, the fluency composite, and blending words explained the most variance (15%) in response among initial skills. Adding additional teacher ratings of behavior and academics accounted for a small amount of additional variance (3%) in-group membership. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated 87.5% of students were correctly classified, yielding a sensitivity of 85.3 and a specificity of 65.0. Findings from qualitative observations of intervention sessions suggest inadequate responders demonstrated physical and verbal task avoidance and displayed emotions of hopelessness and shame. Implications for practice are discussed.

This study, framed by the component model of reading (CMR), examined the relative importance of kindergarten-entry predictors of first grade reading performance. Specifically, elements within the ecological domain included dialect, maternal education, amount of preschool, and home literacy; elements within the psychological domain included teacher-reported academic competence, social skills, and behavior; and elements within the cognitive domain included initial vocabulary, phonological, and morpho-syntactic skills, and alphabetic and word recognition skills. Data were obtained for 224 culturally diverse kindergarteners (58% Black, 34% White, and 8% Hispanic or other; 58% received free or reduced-price lunch) from a larger study conducted in seven predominantly high poverty schools (n = 20 classrooms) in a midsized city school district in northern Florida. Results from a hierarchical multiple regression (with variables in the ecological domain entered first, followed by the psychological and cognitive domains) revealed a model that explained roughly 56% of the variance in first grade reading achievement, using fall-of-kindergarten predictors. Letter-word reading and morpho-syntactic skill were the strongest significant predictors. The findings largely support the CMR model as a means to understand individual differences in reading acquisition and, in turn, to support data-based instructional decisions for a wider range of children. (Contains 4 tables.)