The rationale of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Dog-assisted Therapy (DAT) in children and adolescents with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). We conducted a randomized controlled trial in a cohort of 71 children and adolescents with FASD. Participants were randomly assigned either to DAT group (n = 38) or Relaxation Group…

Purpose: To investigate the perceptions of parents/caregivers about the impact of oral conditions on the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of children/adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared to the perceptions of parents/caregivers of children/adolescents without ASD. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was…

Background: This paper presents the baseline characteristics and their moderators in the Healthy Learning Mind (HLM)-- school-based cluster-randomized controlled trial. Objectives: The paper evaluates the state of various measures of well-being, their moderators and how these results compare to national and global norms/population studies.…

Sense of coherence (SOC) is a relevant contributor and predictor of the individuals' mental and physical health. There are a number of studies about SOC, but only two validation articles of the sense of coherence scale (SOCS) were found on adolescents and none on children. The aim of this research was to validate the SOC scale in youth under 18.…

Purpose: The purpose of this scoping review was to synthesize the current evidence-based treatment practices used with school-aged children with any severity of traumatic brain injury (TBI) that could benefit the practice of speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Method: A scoping review of the literature was conducted following the Preferred…

Previous studies have reported reduced quality of life in autism. Improving quality of life for autistic people is, therefore, a key priority for clinical research and practice. However, the relative impact of core autism traits (e.g. social-communication difficulties), as compared to associated mental health symptoms (e.g. anxiety, depression) on…

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning/queer, and other gender diverse (LGBTQ+) adolescents face daunting hardships within the rural contexts they navigate (e.g., community, school), and these onerous demands make it difficult for them to maintain optimal mental well-being. This scoping review described the psychosocial protective and…

Each year, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) releases a list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field. The "2018 Summary of Advances" provides short, plain language summaries of the top research breakthroughs selected by the IACC from a pool of research articles nominated by the members.…

This study investigated the feasibility and cultural validity of KONTAKT©, a manualised social skills group training, in improving the social functioning of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). KONTAKT© was delivered to 17 adolescents (m[subscript age] = 14.09, SD[subscript age] = 1.43; 70% male) with ASD over sixteen 90 min sessions.…

Background: Obesity has serious psychosocial consequences for youth and family members and has reached epidemic levels in Portugal. Objective: This study had two goals: (1) to investigate differences in family cohesion, mothers' quality of life (QoL), and externalizing/internalizing symptoms between children/adolescents with healthy-weight and…

This study employs a multiple baseline across individual design to describe the implementation of positive behavioural supports for seven children and adolescents in residential community settings over a period of 24 months. These individuals with intellectual disability are residing in one county with long-standing challenging behaviour resulting…

Among individuals experiencing internalizing psychopathology, high levels of emotion reactivity--the degree to which they experience emotions strongly or intensely, over extended periods of time, and as elicited by a variety of stimuli--increase risk for self-injurious thoughts and behaviors. Researchers developed the Emotion Reactivity Scale…

In this study, we consecutively recruited treatment-seeking young autistic adults without intellectual impairment aged 16-30 years who presented to a mental health service and evaluated general health (distress, quality of life, and disability), functioning (work loss days and social functioning), and mood symptoms (depression, anxiety, and…

Objectives: This article introduces a youth-reported measure (Essential Youth Experiences [EYE]) developed to assess the experiences of foster youth in their home environment and their critical relationships across a number of service systems. Empirically, the article reports on the psychometric properties of a 9-item scale within the EYE that…

The impact of ASD on parental QOL was evaluated in the EpiTED cohort study at early adulthood. Two-third of parents of young adults with ASD (66.7%) reported that their QoL was at least moderately altered. The perceived impact of ASD on parental QoL was related to the young adults' level of adaptive skills, as well as to symptom severity and the…