Although the field of autism intervention has strived to identify evidence-based practices, translating these interventions into real-world settings remains a significant challenge. This gap particularly impacts marginalized communities, where access to and quality of services are often inferior. Implementation science addresses these gaps by…

While studies to map the priorities of the autistic community have been undertaken in some high-income countries, there has been little or no such systematic assessment in the global south. India alone is home to an estimated >5 million autistic individuals. To address this gap in the literature, this study conducted a survey of the Indian…

Community-engaged approaches to addressing mental health concerns have reduced health inequities experienced by refugee communities. Problem Management Plus (PM+)--a brief psychological intervention developed by the World Health Organization--has shown effectiveness in improving mental health and well-being of adults experiencing distress. This…

Recent studies have reported that strengths-based programs, leveraging autistic adolescents' abilities and interests, could improve their skills and facilitate social engagement. However, little is known about the long-term impact of strengths-based approaches. This study aimed to explore the long-term outcomes of community strengths-based…

Motor impairment is common in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and, as such, a potential target for interventions to improve adaptive functioning. This study investigated motor skill acquisition in children with ASD (n = 15, 12 males; ages 7-16 years) during iCan Bike Camp, a 1-week, community-based intervention (5 × 75-min sessions) to teach…

Low health literacy disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minority communities and lower-income socioeconomic groups. To address this critical determinant of health inequity, two nonprofit organizations, Repairers of the Breach, a day shelter for individuals experiencing homelessness, and Bread of Healing a neighborhood-based clinic serving…

Community-based interventions have long been seen as mechanisms via which to target marginalised youth in relation to personal development. Research surrounding such interventions has often highlighted the promotion of a range of pro-social behaviours and attributes which, in turn, facilitate an increased sense of social inclusion. This paper…

First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI) youth experience many health disparities in comparison with their mainstream Canadian peers. Researchers have recommended that interventions developed to enhance health and well-being for FNMI youth apply a strengths-based approach that acknowledges contextual challenges. This article uses a qualitative…

Program designers develop a wide range of intervention programs to address the social challenges faced by children and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) but it is not clear how those programs are perceived by families of youth with ASD and the extent to which those programs are accessed. To explore the perceptions of families of youth with…

Purpose: The health promoting benefits of sport participation are under-utilized and should be further developed, particularly at the grassroots level. The purpose of this paper is to examine how grassroots coaches in youth football perceive their coaching practices after participating in a community-based coach education program aimed at…

Clinical interventions have been effective at increasing social skills of youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, generalization of those skills to non-clinical environments is often low. To reduce this generalization gap, community-based programs have been designed to help youth develop social skills in naturalistic settings. This…

There is increasing empirical evidence demonstrating the negative impact of racism and other social injustices on individuals' mental and emotional health. Those findings challenge counselor educators and practitioners to address social injustices in professional training programs and communities across the country. This article illustrates a…

Subjects reported significantly lower levels of anxiety and fear and significantly higher levels of assertiveness at posttreatment. The potential clinical significance of the result was reinforced by evidence of significantly lower hospitalization rates among program participants one year after training. (Author)

Proposes a model for planning activities that will help human service practitioners to prevent emotional problems in a targeted group or community. Provides practitioners with a framework for identifying variables affecting a population, a means for assessing which variables to address, and a structured approach to planning preventive…

Fostering Healthy Futures (FHF) is a randomized, controlled trial of an innovative preventive intervention for preadolescent youth (ages 9-11) placed in out-of-home care. The program is designed to promote child well-being by identifying and addressing mental health issues, preventing adolescent risk behaviors, and promoting competence. This paper…