A cohort of pediatric patients with gender dysphoria was studied to determine differences in gender-affirming care by patient characteristics. This study found that patients were diagnosed, on average, between 13 and 15 years of age. Patients who were assigned male sex at birth were more likely to be diagnosed at a younger age and receive puberty…

For this 22nd article in the series reviewing recent court decisions concerning appropriate school psychology practice from both professional and legal perspectives, the topic is child find and eligibility under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), including as a secondary matter the intersecting requirement for a comprehensive…

Decades of research in the field of psychology explores public school environments, however it was only recently that psychologists and mental health professionals have begun incorporating themselves into school communities directly. While research has examined the use of retributive and restorative methods, little quantitative research identifies…

Primary care providers (PCPs) are increasingly called upon to screen for and treat depression. However, PCPs often lack the training to diagnose and treat depression. We designed an innovative 12-month evidence and mentorship-based primary care psychiatric training program entitled the University of California, Irvine (UCI) School of Medicine…

When establishing eligibility for developmental disability (DD) services, definitions of specific diagnostic conditions, such as autism, impact policy. Under the Medicaid home and community-based waiver program, states have discretion in determining specific program or service eligibility criteria, the nature of supports to be provided, and the…

There has been vigorous debate within the state of California and elsewhere as to what constitutes appropriate procedures for determining whether an individual qualifies for special education and related services under the category of specific learning disability (SLD). Within the professional literature, there is growing support for educational…

This study compared no-no prompt to flexible prompt fading to teach four children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder expressive labels. Using an adapted alternating treatment design, we evaluated the effectiveness of both systems to teach each participant to expressively label 10 pictures of athletes. The researchers evaluated the…

We conducted an online survey of adult health care providers at Kaiser Permanente Northern California and semi-structured interviews with a subset of physicians. The survey assessed providers' ability to recognize autism spectrum disorder (ASD), asked them to rate their autism knowledge, comfort level in treating affected patients, and evaluated…

We conducted a nested case-control study including 407 cases and 2,075 frequency matched controls to investigate the association between maternal infections during pregnancy and risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Cases, controls, and maternal infections were ascertained from Kaiser Permanente Northern California clinical databases. No…

Background: Having a child with intellectual disability impacts all family members, with both parents and siblings having to adjust. Negative impact on the typically developing sibling, specifically, has been shown to vary based on caregiving responsibilities and mothers' stress level. Method: This study gathered information from 238 Latina and…

Autism prevalence has increased rapidly in the United States during the past two decades. We have previously shown that the diffusion of information about autism through spatially proximate social relations has contributed significantly to the epidemic. This study expands on this finding by identifying the focal points for interaction that drive…

Previous studies report associations between conception with assisted reproductive technology (ART) and autism. Whether these associations reflect an ascertainment or biologic effect is undetermined. We assessed diagnosis age and initial autism symptom severity among >30,000 children with autism from a linkage study of California Department of…

This paper presents a set of strategies and options that California can use to leverage Medi-Cal, the State's Medicaid program, to move toward an equitable, advanced health delivery system for its children. Close to five million children are enrolled in Medi-Cal, more than two-thirds of whom are Black and Brown children. California's program alone…

This study examines medical conditions diagnosed prior to the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Using a matched case control design with 3911 ASD cases and 38,609 controls, we found that 38 out of 79 medical conditions were associated with increased ASD risk. Developmental delay, mental health, and neurology conditions had the strongest…

Other than being African American, little is known of Larry, the lead plaintiff in the legal case known as "Larry P. v. Riles" in 1971, which banned the use of standardized intelligence testing on African-American students in the State of California. As a result of such intelligence testing, Larry was diagnosed as being mildly mentally…