Caregiver perspectives on a diagnosis of 3q29 deletion

Objective: Genetic diagnoses are increasingly common in cases of intellectual disability and developmental delay. While ascertainment of a relatively common, well-studied variant may provide guidance related to treatments and developmental expectations, it is less clear how the diagnosis of a rare variant impacts caregivers, especially when the phenotype may include later onset manifestations such as psychosis. In the current study, we sought to identify caregiver concerns in the first qualitative study to assess the psychosocial impact of diagnosis on caregivers of individuals with 3q29 deletion syndrome (3q29Del), which is associated with a 40-fold increase in risk for psychosis. Method: Participants were recruited from the national 3q29Del registry housed at Emory University (3q29deletion.org). Fifteen participants completed a semi-structured phone interview during which they were asked about their experiences before, during, and after their child received a diagnosis of 3q29Del. Interview responses were analyzed using the general inductive approach, and overarching themes were identified. Results: We identified the following overarching themes: difficult diagnostic odyssey, mixed feelings about diagnosis, frustration with degree of uncertainty, and importance of resources. Importantly, our data suggest that future risk for psychosis is often not disclosed by medical professionals, consistent with the experience of individuals with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. Conclusion: These results highlight potential gaps in how caregivers are informed of risk for adult-onset conditions and point to key caregiver concerns for consideration in diagnosis of 3q29Del.

Once a pun a time: Exploring factors associated with perceptions of humorous punning

Using participants’ reactions to puns (words or phrases with two or more possible meanings) embedded in hypothetical scenarios, we investigated how perceptions of punning are influenced by characteristics of both the social situation and the punster. Consistent with the reversal theory of humor, Study 1 (N=185) showed that puns are considered funnier and more appropriate in playful than serious situations and less appropriate when they interrupt conversation than when they complete a conversation sequence without causing an interruption. Consistent with age-based developmental expectations of punsters, Study 2 (N=333) indicated that obvious puns told by children are perceived more favorably than those told by adults of varying ages and levels of expertise in the subject area of the pun. Future research might benefit from using more naturalistic settings and examining the extent to which various contemporary humor frameworks (e.g. benign violations theory) apply more specifically to punning in context.

Culture in Conflict With Childhood Training and Religious Leadership in Nigeria

It is becoming generally accepted that child development is culturally constructed. Cultural values and attitudes regulate child rearing values, developmental expectations, and emotional orientations. Employing descriptive methods in studying this problem, the chapter observes that leadership style in many societies have been plagued with greed, violence, indiscipline, and corruption. This study places blame on poor home foundation as it reasons with the Hebrew sage that nothing serious can be built on a faulty foundation (Ps. 11:3). Consequent upon this, the study upholds that if children who are Nigeria's future leaders are groomed in families that have religion and morality as the bedrock of their education, then God fearing leaders would be produced. To achieve this, the chapter further suggests that adapting and combining lessons from traditional African families and those of ancient Israel in the home training of Nigerian children would result in producing leaders like the biblical Daniel who remained incorruptible even in the face of serious challenges.

Syntactic Ability of Girls With Fragile X Syndrome: Phonological Memory and Discourse Demands on Complex Sentence Use

This study was designed to establish the extent of delay in complex sentence use by females with fragile X syndrome (FXS) and to identify sources of variability among individuals. Females with FXS (n = 16; 10;2–15;7) and younger typically developing girls (n = 17; 4;1–8;11) were group-wise matched on nonverbal cognition and receptive syntax. Language samples (conversation and narration) yielded syntactic complexity in terms of mean length of C-unit (MLCU) and Developmental Level sentence coding (DLevel; Rosenberg & Abbeduto, 1987). Complex syntax was not weaker than developmental expectations; however, MLCU was lower than expected for age. Phonological memory and verbal working memory correlated with measures of syntactic complexity in narration. Discourse demands may play an important role in the language produced by females with FXS.

Is EPA an obscure coercion? A critical reflection from the literature and agenda for research

There is a preponderance of criticism in the literature about the EU-ACP Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). This paper adopts a neutral stance to present some of these criticisms. The approach is a critical review that culminates in a suggested research agenda. A deduction from critical literature is critic’s censure of EU-ACP EPA apparent coercive posture, described as not meeting developmental expectations both in previous and current agreement. However, some literature avows that EU-ACP EPA has some benefits to EPA, but opines that institutional problems such as corruption in some ACP countries are a hindrance to the realisation of benefits from EPA. Accordingly, the paper suggests agenda for further research as follows: can it be conclusive that the ACP countries have not benefited from EU-ACP agreements thus far and how has corruption in the ACP countries hindered the realisation of intended benefits from EU-ACP agreements?

Developing Social Skills of Students With Additional Needs Within the Context of the Australian Curriculum

Decades of research on social skills assessment and intervention indicates the importance of social skills in improving academic achievement. Additionally, a strong evidence base promotes the inclusion of social–emotional learning into the whole school curriculum. In recognition of this evidence, the new Australian Curriculum, under Personal and social capability, calls for students to develop social skills. For many students with additional needs, it is hoped that the development of social skills will enable increased connectedness and a greater sense of inclusion. To meet developmental expectations of social skills, teachers need to measure these skills, develop effective teaching strategies for them, and evaluate their progress. The multi-tiered assessment and intervention components of the Social Skills Improvement System (SSiS; Elliott & Gresham, 2007) seem to offer a comprehensive system to support this process (Elliott, Frey, & Davies, in press).