- Parenting African American Children With Autism: The Influence of Respect and Faith in Mother, Father, Single-, and Two-Parent Care. Journal of Transcultural Nursing. 2017; 28(5):496-504.
- Parents are the most significant contributor to care of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and as such research on African American parenting in ASD has been conspicuously absent. Our study of urban African American families caring for children with ASD revealed parenting strengths including valuing respectful ways, faith in God, and dependence on family as a means to cope; but also challenges such as believing they were not receiving similar resources as other racial or ethnic groups. This discovery spurred our research team to study the challenges further, leading to the development of an innovative community outreach program founded by African American families of children with ASD named Autism and We (AWE). AWE’s mission is to advance the health and well-being of African American youth with autism and other developmental disabilities by assuring justice in communities and systems, facilitating relationships, building resources, and informing health care and schools. As such over the past year, AWE founders developed networks of support, established an AWE Facebook page for distributing resources, addressed a policy issue, and met monthly to feature speakers on relevant topics. We are in the process of seeking foundation funding for sustainability of the collaborative to fulfill their mission.
- Sluggish cognitive tempo as a possible predictor of methylphenidate response in children with ADHD: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2018; 79(2):17m11553-17m11553.
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is among the most prevalent childhood neurobehavioral disorders in the United States, and methylphenidate is its most commonly prescribed treatment. Due to significant individual variability in ADHD medication response, there is increasing interest in identifying predictors of methylphenidate effects. However, to date there is no identification of phenotypic factors that consistently predict methylphenidate response in children with ADHD. Currently, there is growing interest in a new ADHD-related phenotype called sluggish cognitive temp (SCT), and in the relationship between SCT symptomatology and ADHD medication response. We conducted the first placebo-controlled double-blind trial to study SCT as a predictor of methylphenidate response, and found that having higher levels of SCT sluggish/sleepy symptoms links to a diminished methylphenidate response. This novel finding, if replicated, may have important implications for assessing SCT as part of ADHD clinical care.
- d-Cycloserine enhances durability of social skills training in autism spectrum disorder. Molecular Autism. 2017; 8(1).
- D-Cycloserine (DCS) has demonstrated enhancement of extinction learning, but it has proven challenging to identify consistent benefit of DCS when added to therapeutic interventions. We conducted a placebo-controlled trial of DCS combined with weekly social skills training in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) but found no difference between control and DCS groups immediately following social skills treatment. This article assessed the impact of DCS 11 weeks following active treatment on response durability. Study participants included 60 outpatient youth between ages 5-11 with ASD and IQ above 70. Researchers found greater maintenance of treatment effect in the DCS group with continued improvement on a social skills measure while the placebo group demonstrated regression to baseline. These findings suggest that DCS may help youth with ASD to maintain skills gained during short term social skills treatment. There needs to be larger-scale studies with longer follow up to further understand this finding.
- Technology-assisted language intervention for children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing; a pilot study of augmentative and alternative communication for enhancing language development. Disability and rehabilitation. Assistive technology. 2017; 12(8):808-815.
- Up to 40% of children who are deaf/hard of hearing are markedly underperforming in language. However our current standard of care for interventions and treatment have become stagnant. This study uses an innovative treatment trial using augmentative and alternative communication to build language skills among a group of children who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing with significant language gaps. Children participating in the trial made significant qualitative and quantitative improvements in communication and social communication skills. This work supports the next phase of a larger randomized control trial and shows promise for effective strategies to allow children who are deaf/hard of hearing to meet their cognitive potential.
- Links between sleep and daytime behaviour problems in children with Down syndrome. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research. 2018; 62(2):115-125.
- In the general population, sleep problems have an impact on daytime performance. Despite sleep problems being common among children with Down syndrome (31-69%), the impact of sleep problems on daytime behaviors in school-age children with Down syndrome was unknown. We evaluated 30 children with Down syndrome for sleep problems using rating scales and actigraphy watches, and obtained parent- and teacher-reports of maladaptive behavior. Our study supports the negative impact of restless sleep and shorter sleep periods on behaviors in children with Down syndrome, specifically on parent- and teacher-reports of conduct behaviors and impulsivity, and parent-reports of insecure symptoms and inattention. These findings have implications for understanding the factors impacting behavioral concerns and their treatment in school-age children with Down syndrome.
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