Maryellen Brunson McClain

This pilot study evaluated the effects of a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) on teacher stress and coping as well as students’ prosocial classroom behavior. This study also explored the implementation fidelity and social validity of this MBI with teachers. This study used a single-case multiple baseline design across four elementary teachers. The MBI consisted of self-practice and a proactively culturally-adapted classroom-based intervention. We gathered data on teacher stress and coping as well as student prosocial behavior in the classroom for two weeks. Teachers received weekly in-person fidelity checks and performance feedback. MBI sustainability was monitored with two-week and one-month follow-up questionnaires post-intervention. MBI self-practice and classroom-based implementation were conducted with high fidelity and had strong social validity. The MBI decreased teacher stress for two of four teachers and improved coping abilities for two of four teachers. Further, three of four teachers reported the MBI had small yet desirable effects on students’ academic engagement, respectful behavior, and disruptive behavior in the classroom. Although results show potential promises in the short-term, follow-ups suggested the MBI had poor sustainability. This study provides proof of concept for the MBI’s potential to positively affect both teachers and students, but more research is needed to understand the mixed results. Results have practical implications for informing future research related to using MBI to reduce teacher stress and coping as well as for improving students’ classroom behavior. We hope this study encourages researchers to engage in MBIs to promote teacher and student well-being.

The evaluation of social communication and interaction (SC/I) behaviors is foundational to the autism identification process. However, this type of evaluation is made difficult by the fact that SC/I is a construct in which perceptions and expectations are largely influenced by norms and attitudes of different sociodemographic groups. While there are many factors that influence differences in SC/I behaviors across sociodemographic groups, one factor that may be especially important is the perceived value of these behaviors. The purpose of this study is to investigate which sociodemographic factors influence the perceived importance of SC/I behaviors among caregivers of children and adolescents. Caregivers (n = 398) living in the United States completed the Social Communication and Interaction Perceptions Scale (SCIPS). Linear mixed-effect models were used to investigate the relationship between the perceived importance of SC/I behaviors and seven sociodemographic factors as well as determine if this relationship was moderated by SC/I behavior type (i.e., foundational vs. advanced behaviors). Several different sociodemographic factors (i.e., caregiver race/ethnicity, caregiver gender, household income, child disability status, child age, child gender) were associated with caregiver ratings of the perceived importance of SC/I behaviors. This relation was, in some instances (i.e., caregiver race/ethnicity, caregiver gender, child disability status), moderated by whether the SC/I behaviors were foundational or advanced. Our findings highlight the importance of considering the values of caregivers regarding perceived SC/I importance during the autism identification process.

Background: Experiencing mental health concerns (MHC; e.g., depression, anxiety, stress) can have negative effects on satisfaction with life (SWL) for autistic adults. Current mental health supports that may promote SWL do not effectively meet the needs of autistic adults, often due to deficit-based approaches. Methods: To begin addressing the gap in research surrounding mental health supports among autistic adults, we designed a preregistered longitudinal study that used structural equation modeling to assess 289 autistic adults from the Simons Powering Autism Research (SPARK) program to determine whether progress toward one's values, a strengths-based component of psychological flexibility, is a potential mechanism through which MHC (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress) impacts SWL. Results: Results suggested that depression (but not anxiety or stress) negatively affected participants' SWL. However, when including components of psychological flexibility as a mediator, there was no longer a significant direct effect between depression and SWL, suggesting that influences on SWL were explained through participants' levels of components of psychological flexibility. The influence of values progress on the association between depression and SWL was significantly stronger than that of value obstruction (a deficit-based construct). Associations did not differ across gender. Conclusion: These findings provide preliminary support for interventions targeting improvements in psychological flexibility as they may help address core issues of deficit-based mental health services while also being able to emphasize outcomes that matter most to the autism community.

Special education services are crucial for enhancing outcomes and well-being among autistic students. Unfortunately, many racially and ethnically minoritized and girl autistic youth face challenges in timely and accurate identification. National-level data reveal autism prevalence rates differ across student gender, race, and ethnicity hindering access to services and appropriate education. As research focusing on autism disproportionality in schools is limited, we investigate autism identification disparities specific to racially and ethnically minoritized and girl students at the national and state levels in schools. State-level data from the 2019–2020 academic year were obtained from the United States Department of Education and analyzed to assess prevalence rate, relative risk, and systemic-level predictors of autism identification disparities. Girls were under-identified with autism in schools compared to their boy peers. The disproportionality risk of racially and ethnically minoritized students compared to White students had decreased in reference to prior reports, with the least improvement for Latine students. School locale proved significant in predicting the risk of autism identification for girl and Latine students. These findings can inform policy change, raise the collective consciousness, and encourage practitioners to seek out continued education regarding autism identification and girl students to reduce or eliminate these disparities. Lay Special education services are important for helping autistic students succeed, but many racially and ethnically minoritized and girl students face difficulties in getting support because they are not identified appropriately in schools. This study looks at the identification of autism in racially and ethnically minoritized and girl students across schools in the United States during the 2019–2020 school year. We found that girls are less likely to be identified compared to boys, which means they might not get the help they need. The gap between racially and ethnically minoritized students and White students in autism identification has improved slightly, but Latinx students still face challenges. We also found that where students live (their locale) affects their chances of being identified, especially for girls and Latinx students. These findings show that there are disparities in school autism identification, and understanding them can help policymakers, educators, and communities make changes to ensure all autistic students get the support they need.

The articles in this special issue collectively provide important information about engagement, perceptions, and experiences that enhance our understanding of the current context of educational and health care delivery across systems of care; the importance of perspectives of collaboration and engagement in collaborations; and the direct benefits of interagency collaboration (IAC) on improving mental health among students. Moreover, these articles highlight the importance of specific training and interprofessional collaboration (IPC) and the importance of ethical considerations in IPC and IAC. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Introduction: Autism is a common neurodevelopmental condition often diagnosed in childhood that requires cross-system and -sector collaboration (e.g., educational, healthcare, community and family systems). Having a psychometrically strong tool to consistently and reliably measure clinicians’ attitudes toward healthcare teams is necessary in both research and clinical contexts. Prior researchers have developed such tools, but many lack psychometric support or are not focused on interdisciplinary healthcare teams. In the present study, we revised the Attitudes Toward Health Care Teams (ATHCT) scale to explicitly address interdisciplinary healthcare teams and use inclusive language appropriate for a range of disciplines. In this study, we evaluate this revised measure—the Attitudes Toward Interdisciplinary Healthcare Teams (ATIHCT)—to determine its psychometric support. Method: Two hundred and sixteen healthcare clinicians from two samples were included in the current study to validate the ATIHCT. An exploratory factor analysis with parallel analysis using maximum likelihood was conducted to determine factor structure. Promax (orthogonal) rotation method was used as factors are assumed to be correlated. Due to the ordinal nature of response options a polychoric correlation matrix was used. Results: The ATIHCT evidenced good reliability and resulted in two distinct factors measuring healthcare providers’ perceived efficiency of interdisciplinary team-based care and perceived service quality associated with interdisciplinary team-based care. Discussion: The findings from the current study indicate that the ATIHCT is a psychometrically strong measure of healthcare provider perceptions of interdisciplinary team-based care. We discuss implications and potential uses for the ATIHCT in both clinical and research contexts. Implications for Education and Practice There is an increasing need for interdisciplinary healthcare teams in the United States, particularly in the service provision for autistic individuals. Having a psychometrically strong tool to consistently and reliably measure clinicians’ attitudes toward healthcare teams is necessary in both research and clinical contexts. The findings from the current study indicate that the ATIHCT is a psychometrically strong measure of healthcare clinicians’ perceptions of interdisciplinary team-based care.

Objectives: This pilot study evaluated the effects of a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) on teacher stress and coping as well as students’ prosocial classroom behavior. This study also explored the implementation fidelity and social validity of this MBI with teachers. Methods: This study used a single-case multiple baseline design across four elementary teachers. The MBI consisted of self-practice and a proactively culturally-adapted classroom-based implementation. We gathered data on teacher stress and coping as well as student prosocial behavior in the classroom for two weeks. Teachers received weekly in-person fidelity checks and performance feedback. MBI sustainability was monitored with two-week and one-month follow-up questionnaires post-intervention. Results: MBI self-practice and classroom-based implementation were conducted with high fidelity and had strong social validity. The MBI decreased teacher stress for two of four teachers and improved coping abilities for two of four teachers. Further, three of four teachers reported the MBI had small yet desirable effects on students’ academic engagement, respectful behavior, and disruptive behavior in the classroom. Although results show potential promises in the short-term, follow-ups suggested the MBI had poor sustainability.Conclusion: This study provides proof of concept for the MBI’s potential to positively affect both teachers and students, but more research is needed to understand the mixed results. Results have practical implications for informing future research related to using MBI to reduce teacher stress and coping as well as for improving students’ classroom behavior. We hope this study encourages researchers to engage in MBIs to promote teacher and student well-being.