eNotes
June 22, 2018In this Issue:
- Proposed Rule - State Technical Assistance Projects to Improve Services for Deaf-Blind Children Source: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS)
- App May Transform Screening Techniques for Young Children with Autism Source: Digital Medicine
- Supporting Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs Source: Child Trends
- Treating Depression in Preschool-aged Children Source: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
1. Proposed Rule - State Technical Assistance Projects to Improve Services for Deaf-Blind Children
OSERS invites public comments about a proposed rule to limit the recovery of indirect costs by State Technical Assistance Projects to Improve Services and Results for Children Who Are Deaf-Blind (CFDA number 84.326T) grantees to ensure that more federal funding is available to meet the needs of children who are deaf-blind. This requirement is based on 2 CFR 200.414(c)(1), which allows a federal awarding agency to use an indirect cost rate different from the negotiated rate when required by federal statute or regulation. The deadline to provide comments is July 11, 2018. Visit the Federal Register for additional details.
2. App May Transform Screening Techniques for Young Children with Autism
According to a recent study published in Digital Medicine (June 2018), an IOS app used in the home with young children was able to provide emotion and attention data consistent with the data gathered at a traditional clinical research setting. Surveys and videos were collected from 1756 families with children aged 12-72 months old via the Autism & Beyond app developed by Duke Health. The children's faces were video recorded while they viewed movies designed to trigger autism-related behaviors. Automatic behavioral coding was then used to analyze the children's behaviors and emotions from the videos collected.
The development of this new technology could provide clinicians and caregivers with early identification tools that are more accessible, affordable, and flexible than traditional methods. Read the full study for additional information.
3. Supporting Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs
Child Trends recently published a new resource (May 2018) designed to assist state agencies and other stakeholders identify and improve systems that support children challenged with special health care needs. Finding and receiving services for these children and their families is challenging, because they are provided across multiple agencies and systems. This resource divides the services into four domains: health services, family support and social services, education and employment services, and law enforcement and juvenile justice contact. Under each domain is a list of positive outcomes when the services are designed to best meet the needs of this population.
4. Treating Depression in Preschool-aged Children
According to a news release from the NIMH (June 2018), researchers have found a psychotherapeutic intervention that may be used as an effective option for treating early childhood depression. By adapting the Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) treatment with the addition of a new emotional development (ED) module, the study found that children had improved functioning, less behavioral disorders, and greater empathy and emotional regulation skills. Likewise, parents benefited from the intervention, as they reported decreased symptoms of depression, less stress, and applied "more parenting techniques that focused on emotion reflection and processing".