Enhancing Literacy Development Through AAC Technologies

There is a critical need to understand teaching and technology supports that enable students who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems to engage in meaningful literacy experiences and foster conventional literacy skills. To thrive in classroom environments, they must have access to tools that can support them in active and independent literacy learning. These students need technology that allows them to move seamlessly between reading, writing, and communicating. They require technology that takes into account access needs, individual learning needs, the learning demands of technology, and literacy development across grades. Families and school teams need information that will assist them in providing die best tools and the most appropriate content within these tools throughout die school day. Teachers need information that supports them in providing exemplary literacy instruction to students who use AAC systems. This article explores and summarizes factors impacting literacy learning, including literacy capabilities of school-age students who use AAC, communication in literacy learning and use, reading and writing instruction in general education classrooms, and technology to support literacy learning. It is important that future technology tools provide a platform for levels of literacy learning: The power of technology will be reflected in its ability to provide access to and display the right content at die right time for students who use AAC. This article summarizes current factors thought to influence literacy learning and discusses priorities for future research and technology development.     

护理人员应对突发公共卫生事件知识现状调查

目的了解护理人员应对突发公共卫生事件的现状以及存在的问题。方法采用多种调查方法,选取某省各级医院护士进行问卷调查,共发放调查表嗵245份。结果地震伤员分类救护、创伤量化评分法、火灾烧伤分类救护、呼吸道烧伤的救护、水灾病员特点以及地震火灾和水灾现场救护自我防护等平均知晓率分别为76％、84％、75％、65％、74％、92％、77％和85％。关于近几年全国流行性传染病、发热门诊、H1N1诊断标准、传染病分类管理、传染病报告制度、呼吸道传染病救治和消化道传染病救治时自我防护平均知晓率分别为88．5％、98％、83％、99．6％、95％、74．7％和68．7％。食物中毒、放射性事故和大型交通事故平均知晓率分别为74．8％、68．5％和95％。影响知晓率的因素包括科室、医院级别、工龄、培训等。结论护理人员对突发公共卫生事件的知识大部分掌握较全面,但对少见灾害和少见事故的特点和救护知识尚欠缺,需加强年轻护士和基层护士知识培训。     

医学院校媒介素养教育的伦理道德诉求

随着大众传媒日益深广的影响,提高媒介素养、加强媒介素养教育的呼声越来越迫切。调查显示,医学生对媒介素养的认知和批判能力欠缺,媒介及媒介信息反思能力较差,媒介道德规范的自律能力有待加强,媒介素养仍处于较低水平,亟待伦理道德的支撑。     

湖北省某市城区小型医疗机构医务人员健康素养调查分析

目的了解湖北省某市城区小型医疗机构医务人员健康素养的现状。方法采用中国公民健康素养调查组设计的2008中国公民健康素养调查问卷,以307家小型医疗机构的1600名医务人员为调查对象,对有效问卷进行数据统计和综合分析。结果城区小型医疗机构医务人员健康素养总体知晓率为67％,不同学历和技术职称人员的知晓率具有统计学意义,不同年龄及性别之间无统计学意义。结论城区小型医疗机构医务人员健康素养水平低,上级卫生部门应大力提高小型医疗机构人员的健康素养,把健康素养纳入社会发展规划,重视健康教育。     

Reading skills in children with Down syndrome: a meta-analytic review

The authors examine the reading profile in children with Down syndrome by comparing the nonword decoding skills in children with Down syndrome and typically developing children matched for word recognition level. Journal articles published before 04.05.2010 were identified by using the keyword Down* cross-referenced to ‘reading’, ‘literacy’, ‘decoding’, and ‘reading comprehension’ were selected. A total of eight papers met the criteria for inclusion. Each study was reviewed and coded on both inclusion criteria and coding protocol before the analysis was performed. Children with Down syndrome had equivalent nonword decoding skills to typically developing children matched for word recognition level, but showed deficits on measures of two important underlying skills, vocabulary and phonological awareness. Differences in vocabulary, but not phonological awareness, were predictive of differences in nonword decoding skills. The practical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Effects of computerized match-to-sample training on emergent fraction-decimal relations in individuals with fragile X syndrome

Individuals diagnosed with fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most common known form of inherited intellectual disability, are reported to exhibit considerable deficits in mathematical skills that are often attributed to brain-based abnormalities associated with the syndrome. We examined whether participants with FXS would display emergent fraction-decimal relations following brief, intensive match-to-sample training on baseline relations. The performance profiles on tests of symmetry and transitivity/equivalence of 11 participants with FXS, aged 10-23 years, following baseline match-to-sample training were compared to those of 11 age- and IQ-matched controls with idiopathic developmental disability. The results showed that both groups of participants showed significant improvements in the baseline (trained) relations, as expected. However, participants with FXS failed to show significant improvements in the (untrained) symmetry and transitivity/equivalence relations compared to those in the control group. A categorical analysis of the data indicated that five participants with FXS and eight controls showed at least “intermediate” emergence of symmetry relations, whereas one individual with FXS and three controls showed at least intermediate emergence of transitivity/equivalence relations. A correlation analysis of the data indicated that improvements in the symmetry relations were significantly associated with improvements in the transitivity/equivalence relations in the control group (r = .69, p = .018), but this was not the case in the FXS group (r = .34, p > .05). Participant IQ was significantly associated with improvements in the symmetry relations in individuals with FXS (r = .60, p = .049), but not in controls (r = .21, p > .05). Taken together, these results suggest that brief, computerized match-to-sample training may produce emergent mathematical relations for a subset of children with FXS and developmental disabilities. However, the ability of individuals with FXS to form transitivity/equivalence relations may be impaired relative to those with idiopathic developmental disabilities, which may be attributed to neurodevelopmental variables associated with the syndrome.     

Attention and basic literacy and numeracy in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A one-year follow-up study

Little is known about the link between Executive Functioning (EF) and academic performance in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and how such links develop over time. This study examined word reading, basic mathematics, attention switching, sustained attention and their development. Two age, gender and perceptual IQ matched groups of cognitively able 7–12 year olds (ASD N = 40; typical developing [TYP] N = 40) were assessed at baseline and one year later, completing Word Reading and Numerical Operations tests and computerized tasks tapping attention switching and sustained attention. Children with ASD had similar word reading and numerical operations performance and similar development of these skills relative to TYP children. A delay in attention switching but similar development was found in children with ASD relative to TYP children. The EF tasks were correlated with reading and mathematics in ASD children only, however, in regression analyses these factors were not significant predictors of Time 2 reading and mathematics after accounting for Time 1 reading and mathematics scores. These findings indicate similar word reading and mathematics development but atypical attention profiles in cognitively able children with ASD. Implications for educators are discussed.     

Widening Time Disparities between Two Paradigms: Tama-REgistry of Acute Endovascular Thrombectomy

Background

The Tama-REgistry of Acute endovascular Thrombectomy (TREAT) is a multicenter registry of endovascular thrombectomy in the Tama area of Tokyo. The objective of this study was to confirm the real-world status of 2 paradigms of transportation.