Background: Aphasia therapy is an effective approach to improve language function in chronic aphasia. However, it remains unclear what prognostic factors facilitate therapy response at the individual level. Here, we utilized data from the POLAR (Predicting Outcomes of Language Rehabilitation in Aphasia) trial to (a) determine therapy-induced…

Background: Prognostication is a complex clinical task that involves forming a prediction about recovery and communicating prognostic information to patients and families. In aphasia, recovery is difficult to predict and evidence-based guidance on prognosis delivery is lacking. Questions about aphasia prognosis commonly arise, but it is unknown…

Background and Aims: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present with impairments in social interaction and stereotypic behaviors. About a third may exhibit delays in verbal expression beyond preschool age, potentially categorizing them as nonverbal/minimally verbal (NV/MV), a condition that can persist into adulthood and affect their…

In some randomized clinical trials, patients may die before the measurements of their outcomes. Even though randomization generates comparable treatment and control groups, the remaining survivors often differ significantly in background variables that are prognostic to the outcomes. This is called the truncation by death problem. Under the…

Despite increasing utilization of chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) for autism spectrum disorders (ASD), limited information exists about how results influence parents' beliefs about etiology and prognosis. We conducted in-depth interviews and surveys with 57 parents of children with ASD who received CMA results categorized as pathogenic,…

Difference-in-differences (DID) strategies are particularly useful for evaluating policy effects in natural experiments in which, for example, a policy affects some schools and students but not others. However, the standard DID method may produce biased estimation of the policy effect if the confounding effect of concurrent events varies by…

When using time series accountability data to evaluate system-wide education policies, concurrent changes often pose threats to internal validity. The standard difference-in-differences (DID) method resorts to a non-equivalent comparison group whose average outcome change is due to such confounding. This strategy relies on the strong assumption…

Objective: Many EEG studies have reported that ADHD is characterized by elevated Theta/Beta ratio (TBR). In this study we conducted a meta-analysis on the TBR in ADHD. Method: TBR data during Eyes Open from location Cz were analyzed from children/adolescents 6-18 years of age with and without ADHD. Results: Nine studies were identified with a…

Many individuals who attempt to enter teacher education programs are precluded from doing so because of an inability to pass basic skills tests. The authors examine whether these tests are simply a gate that needs to be passed through or whether they provide useful early information about how individuals are likely to perform on subsequent…

Hospice care is available for 6 months before death but the length of use varies widely, suggesting that there are different perspectives on the appropriate timing for this transition. This qualitative study explored hospice professionals' views on the appropriate timing for and communication about hospice. Ethnography of team meetings informed…

If the correlation between selection test and pretest is greater than the correlation between selection test and posttest, a selected group will continue to regress to the mean in the norm-referenced model of the Title I Evaluation and Reporting System and, therefore, yield a biased estimate. (Author/RL)

Presents a Marital Instability Index (MII) designed to detect the "peaks and valleys" of intact marriages and the relative severity of their instability. Discusses the development of the scale, its administration, reliability, and indicators of its validity. Concludes that the MII appears to have considerable utility for diagnostic and…

When a test is made to separate a group into two distinct subgroups, as well as to provide an estimate of the mean performance of one subgroup (or both of them), such estimates will be biased due to the unreliability of the test. Suggestions for corrective procedures are presented. (RL)

Assessed counseling psychologists' (N=630) uses of and opinions about psychological tests. Found psychologists used both objective and projective tests, using objective tests more. Psychologists recommended counseling students learn about tests because they answer assessment needs and provide personality structure information. Found the…

Self-derogation relates significantly to the severity of psychopathology regardless of how it is measured. This study examined 152 patients and ex-patients from two community mental health catchment areas two years after their first admission, as well as 97 outpatients beginning therapy. Included were indices of diagnostic severity; overall…