Objectives: A pilot baby clinic in a hostel for homeless families has been established to address the specific attachment and developmental needs of infants living in temporary accommodation. The aim of this study was to assess whether this clinic model was associated with more positive outcomes than mainstream community services in terms of infant development and parent-infant interactions.Design: Parent-infant psychotherapy and health visiting services collaborated to develop a new model of baby clinic which reconfigured the traditional clinic to give priority to infants' affective experiences in a therapeutic group setting. Outcomes for parent-infant dyads in a homeless hostel where this service model was applied were compared with outcomes for parents and infants in hostels which did not have such a service.Methods: Fifty-nine mother-baby dyads participated in evaluation, 30 in the intervention hostel group and 29 living in comparison hostels. Infant mental and motor development was assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Interactions between the

This study examined the feasibility and acceptability of a telehealth diagnostic model deployed at an autism center in the southwestern United States to safely provide autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnostic evaluations to children, adolescents, and adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants included all clients for whom a telehealth diagnostic evaluation was scheduled at the diagnostic clinic (n = 121) over a 6-month period. Of 121 scheduled clients, 102 (84%) completed the telehealth evaluation. A diagnostic determination was made for 91% of clients (93 out of 102) using only telehealth procedures. Nine participants (two females; ages 3 to 11 years) required an in-person evaluation. Responses from psychologist and parent acceptability surveys indicated the model was acceptable for most clients. Psychologist ratings suggested that telehealth modalities used in the current study may be less acceptable for evaluating school-aged children with subtle presentations compared to children in the early developmental period, adolescents, and adults. Parents of females reported higher acceptability than parents of males. Findings contribute to the small but growing literature on feasibility and acceptability of telehealth evaluations for ASD and have implications for improving access to care during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Lay SummaryThis study described telehealth methods for evaluating children, adolescents, and adults for autism spectrum disorder. Telehealth methods were generally acceptable to psychologists conducting the evaluations and parents of diagnostic clients. Psychologists reported the methods to be less acceptable for school-aged children and parents of males found the methods less acceptable than parents of females. The telehealth methods described may help to increase access to diagnostic professionals and reduce wait times for evaluations during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Providing developmental programs to inner-city youth is a key component to promoting healthy lifestyles in urban communities. In this study, 46 adolescents, predominately African American youth (age 11-14), participated in the "High Five for Healthy Living" hygiene intervention program hosted at the NFL Youth Education Town of the Boys and Girls Club of Atlanta. Windshield surveys, key informant interviews and focus groups were conducted in order to identify the needs of the surrounding community and subsequently plan and implement a 5 week developmental module to meet these needs. Weekly modules were conducted focusing on oral hygiene, hand washing, physical activity, male/female personal hygiene, and nutrition/food safety. Surveys administered showed that a large percentage of students exhibited behavioral change following the completion of each module: 42% for oral hygiene, 88% for hand washing, 75% for physical activity, 88% for personal hygiene and 50% for nutrition/food safety. From these findings, it is evident that that African American adolescents can benefit from developmental programs targeted to address their specific community needs, and as a result implement personal lifestyle changes. Such interventions could potentially decrease in the prevalence of certain preventable diseases endemic to many low socioeconomic inner city communities.

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