Each year, the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and Food Stamp Nutrition Education (FSNE) receive around 60 million dollars in federal funding. In order to document impacts, it is critical that these programs utilize valid and reliable instruments. By having validated instruments that measure behavior changes, it can be documented that these federally funded programs are achieving program objectives. To date, research on measurements of change is either lacking or under-reported. The goal of this study was to develop a valid and reliable assessment instrument to be utilized with a specific curriculum titled Healthy Futures, which is used within Virginia FSNE. To accomplish this, an expert panel was assembled to conceptualize and construct the instrument. The instrument was pilot-tested, evaluated, then finalized and tested. Results with 73 individuals representing 34 white, non-Hispanics and 36 non-Hispanic blacks, found that the physical activity and dietary quality domains of the instrument had achieved an acceptable test-retest reliability coefficient of .70, however the food safety domain achieved a 0.51. For validity, the instrument scored an overall Spearman Correlation Coefficient of 0.28 for physical activity, 0.34 for food safety, and 0.20 for dietary quality. All three domains were sensitive to change (p < 0.0001). The results indicate that this instrument could detect dietary and physical activity change among limited resource participants of FSNE with confidence. / Master of Science

Thesis (Ed.S..)--Western Kentucky University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 49-52).

Thesis (Ed.S.)--Western Kentucky University, 2009. / Tables. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 49-56).

Thesis (Ed.S.)--Western Kentucky University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 55-61).

Objective: The concurrence of prenatal alcohol exposure with other drug exposure, low socioeconomic status and environmental risk factors may obscure associations, if any, between prenatal cocaine exposure and child outcomes. This study evaluates the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on child behavior in analyses stratified by gender and prenatal alcohol exposure status. Methods: Maternal alcohol, cigarette, and illicit drug use were prospectively assessed by interview during pregnancy and postnatally. Maternal and neonatal urine were tested for drug exposure as clinically indicated. Caregiver report of child behavior was assessed with the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Dichotomous cocaine exposure was characterized as no (negative history and biologic markers), and any (positive history and/or biologic markers during pregnancy and/or positive urine screen at delivery from either mother or infant). Results: Prenatal cocaine exposure was associated with adverse effects on offspring behavior that were moderated by the gender of the offspring as well as prenatal alcohol exposure. For girls without prenatal alcohol exposure, 6.5% of the unique variance in behavior was related to prenatal cocaine exposure. For these girls, the odds of scoring in the abnormal range for Aggression was 17 times control levels (95% confidence limits 1.4 to 203). These findings, though significant, have wide confidence intervals and need to be replicated in larger cohorts and on longitudinal follow-up.

No description available.

No description available.

The present dissertation on autism spectrum disorders (ASD) addressed several questions. First, the behavioral symptoms of speaking and mute individuals with ASD were compared on the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC), a commonly used diagnostic instrument. In addition, questions about the construction of the ABC were investigated. In Study I it was found that although the two groups did not significantly differ on the total ABC score, the mute group demonstrated significantly more pathology on 21 of 57 items and 3 of 5 subscales. The speaking group obtained significantly higher scores on only 8 items and 1 subscale (Language). The appropriateness of providing greater pathology scores to speaking, rather than mute, individuals with ASD was called into question. In addition, it was speculated that the expressive language items are weighted too heavily, on both the Language subscale and the total score. Second, because the 57 items of the ABC were categorized into 5 subscales on a subjective basis, an empirical investigation of the factor structure of the ABC was performed. In Study II, a 5-factor model that contained 39 of the items accounted for 80% of the total variance in the checklist. No support was found for classifying the 57 items into the existing 5 subscales. Finally, the two most common forms of instruction to teach children with ASD, discrete-trial teaching and incidental teaching, were assessed. In Study III it was ascertained that discrete-trial teaching was more efficient and produced faster acquisition and initially, greater generalization. However, by follow-up, the incidental teaching methods resulted in equal retention, greater generalization, and equal or greater spontaneous usage. The findings indicate that although it takes a longer time for children with autism to learn with incidental teaching procedures, once they have acquired an ability, it may be more permanent.

No description available.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:40:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Stephanny Maria Rampazo.pdf: 1203090 bytes, checksum: 35e6ca9b23021e367117e2c29b576f87 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-09 / The diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is oriented to people with losses in areas such as communication and social interaction and by the presence of repetitive stereotyped behaviors. It is a clinical diagnosis which follows standard protocols of indirect evaluation and clinical observation (direct evaluation) in order to track signals and symptoms within the 3 areas mentioned previously and having stereotyped behaviors as a clinical indicator of this evaluation. Amongst these indicators, motors stereotypes are usually observed in people with ASD, however, there are a few Brazilian researches that consider broad clinical diversity evaluation as well as its functions, once its tools and common scales explore partially this symptomatology. The objective of this study is to show the registered results of motors stereotypes of people with ASD and discuss about possible ways of stereotypes evaluation regarding its functions and presentation. The sample was built with 22 children (age varying from 3 to 12 years old) diagnosed by Unidade de Referência em Autismo Prof° Marcos Tomanik Mercadante Irmandade Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo with ASD. The stereotype´s evaluations were based on direct and indirect behavior and tracking of ADS from data base tools: a) Brazilian version of The Behavior Problems Inventory-BPI-01; b) Brazilian version of Autism Behavior Checklist - ABC; c) Video register of Stereotypes Evaluation (RAEV). d) Experimental Functional Evaluation of Stereotype. A descriptive analysis was conducted on a case by case basis with non parametric tests and correlation with the used tools. The main conclusions of this study were: 1) the three methods of assessment, recorded the stereotypies in different relative proportions: 12 behaviors that indicate motor stereotypes at ABC were recorded in varying number of subjects in the sample (only one individual did not score), and the record of percentage relative to the total possible was 43.8%. All subjects scored at BPI-01 at least one of the 24 behaviors recorded, and the record of percentage out of the total possible was 67.4%. The direct evaluation was able to register 79 behaviors considered motor stereotypes, and therefore it was considered more effective than other methods; 2) the comparison between ABC and BPI-01 shows similar behaviors, but with slightly different questions, which led to different answers. These two questionnaires are easy to apply, the use of both is recommended because they are complementary to the registration of stereotypies. No difference was found when six similar ABC and BPI-01 records were compared; 3) You can identify the function of stereotyping for each individual from an experimental functional analysis with only a 30 minute session, divided into three situations with 10 minutes each: on demand situation (the children are requested to perform a task); attention situation (the child is praised when showing stereotypes); alone situation (free observation); 4) stereotyping may have multiple functions, i.e., stereotyped behavior can begin with a self-stimulation function, maintained by automatic reinforcement, but it can vary and serve other functions, such as obtaining social attention; 5) evaluating the function of stereotyping rather than the simple topographical record enables different, more detailed and meticulous interventions. / O Diagnóstico de Transtorno do Espectro Autista (TEA) é designado às pessoas com prejuízos nas áreas de comunicação, interação social e pela presença de comportamentos repetitivos e estereotipados. Seu diagnóstico é clinico e a avaliação é realizada a partir de protocolos padronizados de avaliação indireta e de observação clínica (avaliação direta), a fim de rastrear sinais e sintomas dentro das três áreas citadas, sendo um dos indicadores clínicos nessa avaliação, os comportamentos estereotipados. Dentre eles, nas pessoas com TEA, as estereotipias motoras comumente são manifestadas, porém existem poucas pesquisas brasileiras que contemplam avaliações que abranjam sua diversidade clínica, bem como sua função, já que os instrumentos e escalas usuais exploram de maneira parcial essa sintomatologia. O objetivo desse estudo é demonstrar os resultados do registro de estereotipias motoras em pessoas com TEA e discutir sobre as possíveis formas de avaliação de estereotipias, em relação à sua topografia e à sua função. A amostra foi constituída por 22 crianças com diagnóstico de TEA pela Unidade de Referência em Autismo Prof° Marcos Tomanik Mercadante Irmandade Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo, com idade entre 3 e 12 anos. As formas de avaliação das estereotipias se deram por avaliação comportamental direta e indireta e de rastreamento de TEA, a partir de instrumentos de coleta de dados: a) Versão Brasileira do Inventário de Problemas de Comportamentais (The Behavior Problems Inventory-BPI-01); b) Autism Behavior Checklist - ABC; c) Registro de Avaliação de Estereotipias por Vídeo (RAEV). d) Análise Funcional de estereotipia. Foi realizada análise descritiva da casuística, com testes não paramétricos e correlação entre os instrumentos utilizados. As principais conclusões deste estudo foram: 1) os três métodos de avaliação, registraram as estereotipias em proporções relativas diferentes: os 12 comportamentos que indicam estereotipias motoras no ABC foram registrados em número variados de sujeitos da amostra (apenas um indivíduo não pontuou), sendo que o percentual de registro em relação ao total possível foi de 43,8%. No BPI-01 todos os sujeitos pontuaram em pelo menos um dos 24 comportamentos registrados, sendo o percentual de registro em relação ao total possível de 67,4%. Já a avaliação direta foi capaz de registrar 79 comportamentos considerados estereotipias motoras, sendo, portanto mais eficaz que os demais métodos; 2) a comparação entre o ABC e o BPI-01 mostra que comportamentos similares, mas com perguntas ligeiramente diferentes levam a respostas diversas. Como são dois questionários de fácil aplicação, recomenda-se a utilização de ambos, pois são complementares para o registro das estereotipias. A comparação entre o registro no ABC e BPI-01 entre seis comportamentos cuja redação é muito semelhante não mostrou diferença; 3) é possível obter a função da estereotipia para cada indivíduo a partir de uma análise funcional com apenas uma sessão de 30 minutos, dividida em 3 situações de 10 minutos: demanda (solicita-se que a crianças execute uma tarefa); atenção (elogia-se quando a criança exibe a estereotipia); sozinho (observação livre); 4) uma estereotipia pode ter múltiplas funções, ou seja, um comportamento estereotipado pode iniciar por uma função de auto-estimulação, mantida por reforçamento automático, mas pode variar de função e adquirir outras funções simultâneas, como a obtenção de atenção social; 5) avaliar a função da estereotipia ao invés do simples registro topográfico possibilita intervenções diferentes, mais detalhadas e minuciosas.