Here we report the results of the subgroup analyses of an observational cohort of children whose parents completed the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) over the period of several years. A linear mixed effects model was used to evaluate longitudinal changes in ATEC scores within different patient subgroups. All groups decreased their mean ATEC score over time indicating improvement of symptoms, however there were significant differences between the groups. Younger children improved more than the older children. Children with milder ASD improved more than children with more severe ASD in the Communication subscale. There was no difference in improvement between females vs. males. One surprising finding was that children from developed English-speaking countries improved less than children from non-English-speaking countries.

Most early-intervention Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) clinical trials are limited by the availability of psychometric technicians who assess each child’s abilities before and after therapeutic intervention. If parents could administer regular psychometric evaluations of their children, then the cost of clinical trials will be reduced, enabling longer clinical trials with the larger number of participants. The Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) was designed nearly two decades ago to provide such a tool, but the norms on the longitudinal changes in ATEC in the “treatment as usual” population were lacking. Here we report the norms of the observational cohort who voluntarily completed ATEC evaluations over the period of four years from 2013 to 2017.

Here we report the results of the subgroup analyses of an observational cohort of children whose parents completed the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) over the period of several years. A linear mixed effects model was used to evaluate longitudinal changes in ATEC scores within different patient subgroups. All groups decreased their mean ATEC score over time indicating improvement of symptoms, however there were significant differences between the groups. Younger children improved more than the older children. Children with milder ASD improved more than children with more severe ASD in the Communication subscale. There was no difference in improvement between females vs. males. One surprising finding was that children from developed English-speaking countries improved less than children from non-English-speaking countries.

A growing body of evidence supports critical consciousness as a developmental asset for young people, including its benefits for educational and vocational outcomes. National dynamics and policies in the U.S., such as restricting immigration and asylum, have raised the salience of critical consciousness as a protective factor for the career development of Latinx immigrant youth. In this manuscript, we first review the nature and benefits of critical consciousness for Latinx immigrant youth. We then highlight how college and career readiness (CCR) and the components of critical consciousness (CC) can be simultaneously fostered among Latinx immigrant high school students, drawing upon our own work in the context of an afterschool program. We introduce a framework to illustrate this integration, and describe a series of intervention activities and processes designed to simultaneously build CC and CCR. Finally, we provide recommendations and describe caveats and challenges to developing classroom-based career education curricula that integrate CCR and CC.

The current study investigated body mass index (BMI) as a moderator of the relationship between negative weight-based attitudes and depressive symptoms and between negative attitudes and the impact of negative appearance commentary in a sample of college women. Examining BMI as a moderator in these relationships, we hypothesized that individuals with more negative weight-based attitudes would report a stronger negative impact from negative weight or shape commentary and higher levels of depressive symptoms if they had higher BMIs. Two moderated multiple regression analyses were conducted using hierarchical models. Study hypotheses were supported. Results indicated that BMI moderated the relationship between negative weight-based attitudes and depressive symptoms and between negative attitudes and the impact of negative weight or shape commentary. Individuals with highly negative weight-based attitudes and high BMIs showed high levels of depressive symptoms and reported a strong negative impact of negative weight or shape commentary, whereas those with lower BMIs showed lower levels of depressive symptoms and reported a weaker negative impact of negative weight or shape commentary. The presence of this moderation effect extends current research on the negative impact of weight stigma on mental health. Future research should examine additional moderators in the relationships among these variables to identify areas to target in weight stigma interventions.