This study examined the effects of anaphoric pronouns presented via computer screen on the reading comprehension of four children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Stories from the education.com website were used to collect data. The students’ responses to reading comprehension questions during baseline, treatment, and follow-up sessions were analyzed. The perceptions of students regarding anaphoric pronouns were also analyzed. Initially, reading levels, fluency and comprehension rate, of the students with ASD were identified via the Gray Oral Reading Test, Fifth edition (GORT-5), Test of Narrative Language (TNL), and Test of Narrative Language, Second edition (TNL-2). A randomized multiple baseline (MBL) design with a follow-up extension across participants was implemented to determine the effects of anaphoric reference support using computer-based instruction on the students’ reading comprehension skills. The analysis indicated a statistically significant increase in the reading comprehension skills. Positive student feedback about using anaphoric reference support with automated computer program supported the effect of the intervention on the reading comprehension of the students with ASD. The researcher presented recommendations for further research and studies.

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Bakgrund: Felaktiga torrvikter är ett problem inom hemodialysvården. Det kan orsaka vårdskada i form av komplikationer och lidande, med symtom som trötthet, blodtrycksfall och sendrag för dialyspatienter. Det finns ett behov av implementering av evidensbaserade metoder som minskar risken för fel i torrviktsbestämning. Bioimpedansmätning beskrivs i litteraturen som ett lovande hjälpmedel för bestämning av torrvikt Syfte: Undersöka effekten av bioimpedansledd torrviktskorrigering, på symtom som hemodialyspatienter kan erfara under och efter dialysbehandling. Metod: Experimentell intervention, i form av veckovis korrigering av torrvikt med vägledning av bioimpedansspektroskopi, utförd med single-case-design och multiple base- line. Urvalet bestod av sex strategiskt utvalda hemodialyspatienter. Resultat: Interventionen hade ringa effekt på förekomst av intradialytiska symtom. Bland studiens deltagare förelåg sällan samvariation mellan förekomst av blodtrycksfall och/eller sendrag och felaktig torrvikt. Däremot förelåg positivt samband mellan symtombörda och differens mellan predialytisk vikt och torrvikt. Bioimpedansmätningarna avslöjade dessutom kliniskt relevant varians i torrvikt över tid. Slutsats: Även om interventionen inte hade bevisad effekt på de beroende variablerna, är det inte uteslutet att noga monitorering av vätskebalans med bioimpedansmätare och korrigering av torrvikt kan förebygga uppkomst av intradialytiska symtom. I vissa subgrupper kan bioimpedansmätning också bidra till förbättrad blodtryckskontroll. Dialyspatienters torrvikt visade sig kunna variera med flera kilogram per vecka, varför fixerad torrvikt kan vara ett dilemma för vissa individer. Bioimpedansmätning bland hemodialyspatienter kan underlätta identifiering av individuella riskfaktorer för intradialytiska symtom och vara ett verktyg som bidrar till utvecklingen mot personcentrerad vård med större patientdelaktighet och individualiserade mål. / Background: Inaccurate dry weight is a problem in hemodialysis care. It can cause health damage in the form of suffering and complications such as fatigue, intradialytic hypotension (IDH) and cramps for dialysis patients. There is a need for implementation of evidence-based practices that reduce the risk of error in dry weight assessment. Bioelectrical impedance is described in literature as a promising tool for assessment of dry weight.Objective: Examine the effect of bioimpedance guided dry weight correction on symptoms that hemodialysis patients may experience during and after dialysis. Method: Experimental intervention in the form of weekly assessment of dry weight with the guidance of bioimpedance spectroscopy, performed with single-case design and multiple baseline. The sample consisted of six strategically selected hemodialysis patients. Results: The intervention had little effect on the prevalence of intradialytic symptoms. Among the study participants, the occurrence of IDH and / or cramps and inaccurate dry weight rarely correlated. However, there was positive correlation between symptoms and the difference between predialytic weight and dry weight. Bioimpedance measurement also revealed clinically relevant variance in dry weight over time. Conclusion: Although the intervention had no proven effect on the dependent variables, it is possible that careful monitoring of fluid balance with bioimpedance measurement and correction of dry weight can help prevent intradialytic symptoms. In certain subgroups bioelectrical impedance may also contribute to improved blood pressure control. Dialysis patients' dry weight was found to vary several kilograms per week; fixated dry weight may therefore be a dilemma for some individuals. Bioelectrical impedance among hemodialysis patients may facilitate identification of individual risk factors for intradialytic symptoms and be a tool that contributes to the development of person-centered care with greater patient participation and individualized goals.

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Abstract Background/problem: That physical activity (PA) is important for good health and high quality of life is well known. PA also increases a person’s executive functions, ability to concentrate, solve problems and to learn. High school students (HSS) that lack motivation lose focus and are overrepresented as high school dropouts.  Aim: The aim was to examine the effects of a 20-minute walk, during lunch break, on HSS self-rated motivation and concentration during after-lunch-studies.  Method: The study had a multiple baseline single subject design. Six HSS estimated their motivation and concentration for “after-lunch-studies” for 20 school days. They also estimated their sleep quality, sleep time and how well rested they were when they woke up. During the intervention-phase they performed a 20 min walk on the lunch-break. The length of the baseline and the intervention varied between 5-10 days. Results: No differences were found for the participants when comparing the results from the first and second control period and the intervention period.  Conclusion: No effect on motivation and concentration was found in this study. A different design with more subjects and different exercise intensity might be better suited to evaluate the effects of physical activity on HSS motivation and concentration.

Objective: Recent research has supported the construction of a model of depression and anxiety in older adults ( > 60years), in which the decline in working memory with age is implicated in increasing propensity to engage in repetitive negative thinking, thereby predisposing older adults to anxiety and depression. The study detailed here intended to extend these research findings by exploring the efficacy and acceptability of a working memory intervention in older adults. Methods: The study employed a randomised multiple-baseline single case research design, in which six older adults participated in baseline assessment of mood, repetitive negative thinking and working memory. Participants then tracked their repetitive negative thinking daily throughout a baseline phase, the length of which was defined by the randomisation procedure. Following phase change, participants continued to rate their repetitive thinking daily, as well as engaging in a daily working memory training intervention. On completion of the intervention phase, outcome measures of mood, repetitive negative thinking and working memory were repeated. Full visual and statistical analysis of all data was undertaken to support exploration of the findings. Results: Results of the study indicated that that the working memory training program was unlikely to have elicited a significant impact upon participants’ working memory. However, two participants demonstrated reliable improvement in both repetitive thinking and mood. Analysis of relevant variables to predict the selective impact of the intervention was not fruitful, but may indicate that improvements in working memory underscore the improvements in thinking and mood, lending support to the proposed model. There appeared to be a small, non-significant decrease in daily repetitive negative thinking across five of the six participants. Conclusion: Further research is needed to identify factors that may predict response to working memory training within older adult populations. The research supports the on-going investigation of innovative working memory interventions within an older adult population, although results are not sufficiently robust to indicate wider adoption of these models within health services or as routine treatments for this population.

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a chronic rheumatic disease associated with pain, stiffness and increased psychosocial burden. The purpose of this study was to investigate through an ABAB single-case design the impact of a yoga intervention on pain and morning stiffness in adolescent females with JIA. A secondary aim was to assess the impact of this intervention on self-efficacy, mindfulness, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Two adolescents with JIA participated in three yoga groups and daily home yoga practice with a DVD. Participants engaged in daily self-monitoring of pain and stiffness and completed questionnaires assessing psychosocial functioning at pre- and post-intervention. A three-month follow-up on primary and secondary measures was conducted. Primary outcomes were evaluated using visual inspection and the conservative dual criterion (CDC) method. Results suggested that for one participant, there were no overall systematic changes in pain or stiffness as a result of the intervention; however, trends toward changes in pain were present during the final phases of the study. For the second participant, systematic changes were observed across most but not all phases for morning stiffness, whereas results for pain were less consistent. Modest changes were revealed on secondary outcome measures; however, not consistently in the direction of hypotheses. Lack of stable baseline data for both participants was a significant limitation of the study and is discussed. More research is needed to determine if the yoga intervention utilized in this study is an effective method for reducing pain and stiffness and enhancing psychosocial functioning in adolescent girls with JIA.

The present study evaluated the utility of the methods outlined in the Promoting the Emergence of Advanced Knowledge Relational Training System Equivalence Module (PEAK-E) through a single-case evaluation. Validity, reliability, and effectiveness were the variables explored to assess the degree to which the assessment was able to identify appropriate skills for targeted intervention, and the degree to which the programs were efficacious in teaching the targeted skills. Baseline results suggested that the programs identified through the PEAK-E assessment were not within the participants’ repertoires prior to the intervention. Following the implementation of 9 programs across three participants with autism, mastery was achieved for all of the directly trained relations, and all targeted derived relations emerged for 8 of the 9 programs

A third of youth in the United States are currently classified as overweight, which is impacted by the low rates of youth that meet daily physical activity recommendations. Engaging in physical activity contributes to healthy body weight and physical fitness, both of which have positive health consequences. Participating in physical activity not only aids in positive health outcomes, but research indicates that it also has a positive relationship with and effect on youths’ cognitive, academic, and behavioral outcomes. The majority of researchers conducting meta-analyses examining the effect of physical activity on youths’ cognitive, academic, and behavioral outcomes have excluded single-case design research from the data analyses. Excluding these types of designs from syntheses of the research may create an inaccurate account of the effect of physical activity on youths’ cognitive, academic, and behavioral outcomes. The current study addressed these issues by conducting a meta-analysis of single-case design studies over approximately the past 50 years to add to the current understanding of the effect of physical activity on youths’ cognitive, academic, and behavioral outcomes. Additionally, moderator analyses were conducted on numerous participant, intervention, and study characteristics that were deemed important, as indicated in the literature review. The effect size of physical activity on youths’ academic and behavioral outcomes was determined by utilizing hierarchical linear modeling of the included 81 time series from 15 single-case design studies. There were not enough data to calculate the effect size on youths’ cognitive outcomes. Significant effect sizes were found that indicate physical activity has an effect on increasing youths’ desirable behaviors (e.g.on task behavior and social skills) and decreasing youths’ undesirable behaviors (e.g. self stimulation, self-injurious behaviors, and off task behavior; ES = 1.83), as well as, increasing work completion, (ES = 2.01). No moderating effects were found other than the type of single case design moderated the effect on youths’ behavioral outcomes. The current study is important for decision makers in schools when deciding whether to increase or decrease particular students’ time spent in physical activity. Additionally, the results of the study are pertinent to other practitioners who work with youth, parents, and for youth themselves so that they can utilize physical activity interventions to help with appropriate behaviors and work completion.

This study explored the use of animal-assisted therapy with students identified with a learning disability and limited reading success. Initially, reading progress was defined as the participants' comprehension rate obtained from an oral Informal Reading Inventory (IRI) passage. The nature of the Informal Reading Inventory requires the introduction of more difficult reading passages as the student's comprehension rate increases, potentially masking the overall effect of the intervention. Due to this factor and erratic student performance, which is a common characteristic of students with learning disabilities, obtaining consistent comprehension rates was difficult. Therefore, progress was defined only as total amount of time the student was engaged in reading under each condition. A reversal replication, single case design was implemented to determine the effects of reading to the therapy dog on the students' reading progress as measured by total amount of time read. The analysis indicated a statistically significant increase in the total amount of reading time as determined by the participants in the presence of the therapy dog. Positive student feedback about their experience reading with the therapy dog supported the effect of the intervention on reading progress.