Contrary to the idea that the world is broken and beyond repair, ongoing care and maintenance are primary concerns of people learning with technologies. This paper advances a perspective that an ethic of care has epistemic significance and locates families' caring practices in technologically-mediated home learning environments. I develop this…

This dissertation measures and describes the factors that impact doctoral student persistence. Using a mixed methods cases study design, I analyzed institutional student record data, survey data on caregiving responsibilities, and data from semi-structured interviews with PhD students at a STEM-focused, public research university in the American…

Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBIs) refers to interventions grounded in behavioral learning and developmental sciences. These interventions are commonly implemented in natural settings with children with autism and intellectual developmental disabilities. Although NDBI is a relatively new term in the behavior analytic…

Objective: To evaluate potential risk-factors of ADHD among primary school-children (PSC) in state schools in Colombo district of Sri Lanka. Method: A case-control study was conducted with 73 cases and 264 controls selected randomly among 6 to 10-year-old PSC from Sinhala medium state schools in Colombo district. Primary care givers completed the…

The COVID-19 outbreak affected the daily lives of individuals with Down syndrome, who were considered to have a higher risk of severe infection. While several studies have reported mental health issues in children and/or parents in the general population, no study has focused on people with Down syndrome and their caregivers. This study…

Having heard "a pimwit", English-speakers assume that "the pimwit" is also possible. This type of productivity is attributed to syntactic categories such as NOUN and DETERMINER, but the key question is "how" do humans become endowed with these categories in the first place. We propose a novel approach that combines…

A growing body of literature addresses why potential research participants decline to take part in research which could improve their and others' lives. However, a neglected field of study concerns reasons why 'gatekeepers' -- professional or informal supporters through whom access is negotiated -- refrain from offering the people they support the…

Discovery awareness (DA) is an approach to using video within structured meetings to help staff become more mindful, aware and interested in a client they are supporting who has intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour. The objective was to evaluate whether, and how, DA is helpful for staff in both inpatient and community settings, and…

We report the effects of peer-mediated training as a performance improvement intervention on recording of well-body checks by classroom instructors at a specialized school for children and youth. The instructors were trained as peer mediators and then assumed performance monitoring responsibilities in the classroom. Compared to baseline phases in…

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) represent a wide range of neurodevelopmental differences associated with prenatal alcohol exposure and are highly prevalent. The current study represents the initial stages in adapting the Families Moving Forward (FMF) Program, an evidence-based behavioral consultation intervention for caregivers of children…

Positive Behaviour Intervention and Supports (PBIS) is a framework for defining, teaching, and supporting appropriate social and academic behaviour in the school setting. This framework is widely implemented across the world, including Australia. Studies evaluating the effectiveness of PBIS confirm a relationship between implementation fidelity…

The acquisition of quantifiers is a central topic in cognitive science. The present study investigated the emergence, frequency, and non-target-like production of the universal quantifiers "all," "every," and "each" in child English from a linguistic perspective, based on the data from longitudinal naturalistic…

Over the past few years, screen-based usage among children and youth has increased significantly, particularly among those with autism. Yet current screen time guidelines do not address the specific needs of autistic children and youth. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop specific and clear guidelines and strategies that…

To explore issues surrounding re-consenting youth in longitudinal studies as they reach legal adulthood interviews were conducted with 46 parents plus 13 autistic teens enrolled in the Simons Foundation Powering Autism Research for Knowledge (SPARK) study. Qualitative analysis focused on family sensitivities regarding guardianship decisions,…

The present study explored the role race-related barriers and practical barriers to treatment participation play in treatment effectiveness and satisfaction among Black families with autistic youth using a mixed-method approach. In a sample of Black caregivers with autistic youth (N = 101), multiple regressions were conducted to examine the impact…