The purpose of this paper is threefold: (1) to describe the relevant ethical and legal issues associated with decisional capacity among minors and to discuss the importance of these concepts for children and adolescents living with HIV; (2) to provide a framework for assessing the decisional capacity of children and adolescents with HIV; and (3) to present a model for thinking about how to use this assessment data to guide action along the protection-autonomy continuum.

Childhood obesity is a growing public health concern and is increasingly prevalent in recent years. There are a variety of risk factors for obesity in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To estimate the prevalence of obesity in children with ASD, a secondary data analysis was conducted on the nationally representative National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH; 2011-2012) archival database. Variables specific to ASD as well as body mass index were analyzed using a cross-tabulation analysis to compare a sample of children with ASD with a random control sample. The prevalence of obesity in children with ASD was 12.6% compared with 7.2% of children without ASD. Additionally, 9.3% of children with ASD met criteria for being overweight compared to 7.5% of those without ASD. These findings suggest that children with ASD could benefit from applied behavioral interventions to reduce risk factors for obesity. Specific recommendations for behavior-analytic treatment are discussed as well as recommendations for future research to better understand these risk factors.

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Assessed 88 infants at risk for mental retardation on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development and a measure of visual recognition memory at 3 months corrected age. Bayley scales were administered again when the infants were 1-year-old. At 3 months of age the Bayley scales and the measure of visual recognition memory were not significantly correlated. Both measures, however, showed significant correlation to the Bayley scales administered at 1 year of age. Results from regression analyses indicated that each measure at 3 months of age was related to a different source of variance in the 1-year measure. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that at 3 months of age the visual recognition memory measure is a better early window into later cognitive development than the Bayley scales.