Title: MEMO-ASAP: Mealtime Effects on Maternal Outcomes- Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum Amongst the COVID Pandemic

Authors: Kate Lindig, Deborah Rafferty, Naomi Ekas, and Chrystyna Kouros

Introduction: Mental health of mothers of children on the autism spectrum has been extensively studied (e.g., Sawyer et al., 2009). Prior studies have found connections between the time commitment and pressure experienced by mothers of autistic children and poor mental health outcomes (Liu et al., 2020). Mealtimes for children on the autism spectrum often create stress for mothers (Ausderau & Juarez, 2013). Children on the autism spectrum often experience various difficulties with feeding and mealtime behaviors, such as limited food variety (Curtin et al., 2015), food neophobia (Kuschner et al., 2015), high rates of food refusal and more restricted food repertoire compared to neurotypical children (Bandini et al., 2019), as well as increased disruptive behaviors around mealtimes (Curtin et al., 2015). While little research has examined how feeding behaviors in autistic children impact mothers’ mental health (e.g., Ausderau & Juarez, 2013), it is possible that these behaviors may exacerbate negative mental health outcomes as mothers spending hours attempting to help their children eat with little fruition likely causes feelings of stress and anxiety. Therefore, this study aims to examine how food restrictiveness and disruptive behavior during mealtimes for children on the autism spectrum affects measures of maternal mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has the potential to elevate stress-levels and other negative mental health outcomes for mothers.

Method: Ninety-seven mothers with a child on the autism spectrum served as participants for this study. All mothers participated in October 2020 as a follow-up to a larger study that began prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mothers were mostly white, non-Hispanic (77%), college-educated (45%), with a yearly income greater than $40K (90%). Mothers answered surveys about their children’s mealtime behaviors (BAMBI) and their own mental health (IDAS, NIH PROMIS).

Results: Two separate multiple regressions were performed to examine associations between disruptive mealtime behaviors, such as refusing to stay seated or screaming, and maternal dysphoria and stress. Results indicated a significant, positive association between the number of disruptive behaviors a child or adolescent with ASD exhibited during mealtimes and maternal self-reports of dysphoria, b = 1.24 (SE = .60), t = 2.05, p = .04, R2 = .05, while controlling for everything else in the model. Similarly, there was a significant, positive relation between disruptive mealtime behaviors and maternal self-reports of stress, b = 1.66 (SE = .82), t = 2.02, p = .047, R2 = .09. The relations between limited variety of food and the study outcome variables were non-significant, ps ≥ .09.

Discussion: Autistic children’s disruptive mealtime behaviors were associated with poor maternal mental health outcomes, specifically higher depressive symptoms and greater stress. Consequently, finding ways to lower disruptive mealtime behaviors is important, since they have the potential to impact maternal mental health outcomes. Future research should test various mealtime intervention programs to find the most effective ways for parents to minimize their autistic children’s disruptive mealtime behaviors. Additionally, future research should explore the effects of mealtime behaviors on fathers’ mental health outcomes, since they are often present during their autistic children’s mealtimes. Finally, future research should look specifically at how children on the autism spectrum’s mealtime behaviors at the current time compare to those during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the present study’s data was collected.

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food choices in children with and without autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(10), 3308–3315.
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parental quality of life. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 52(3), 488–499. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-020-01035-z
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0912-3

Human language is an action wherein one plans for, produces, and terminates sound production. Errors in motor planning and production lead to vocal dysfluency. Motor control of respiration is critical for a myoelastic-aerodynamic sound generation mechanism that is used by humans and many other vocalizing animals. Developing our understanding of how the forebrain assumes control of brainstem respiratory circuitry is essential for understanding language initiation, execution, and termination. Songbirds are an animal model for speech production in humans because of the numerous similarities between song learning and production and language acquisition and speech production. Zebra finches sing a learned song that is composed of a motif of 4-7 syllables. The motif is repeated multiple times to form a song bout. Here we explore how a cell-type specific class of neurons control sound termination in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). In songbirds, motor production of song requires activity in premotor and motor cortical analogues HVC (letters used as proper name) and RA (robust nucleus of the arcopallium), respectively. Using an AAV (adeno-associated virus) as a viral vector and Cre-dependent expression of a red-shifted opsin (ChRmine), neurons in premotor cortex that project to motor cortex (HVCRA neurons) produced and inserted soma-targeted, membrane-bound ion channels that allowed for light-dependent manipulation of ongoing cellular activity. Using real-time recording of singing, optical stimulation was timed with the production of individual song syllables. Light stimulation was delivered while birds produced self-initiated and female-directed songs, as well as during quiet respiration. We measured respiratory pressure in birds while they were singing by inserting a small piece of silastic tubing into the anterior thoracic air sac. Singing was reliably disrupted by optical illumination of HVCRA neurons. During the production of song, optogenetic activation of HVCRA neurons resulted in a truncation of the ongoing song respiratory pattern within ~25 ms for female-directed songs and ~32 ms for self-initiated songs. Measures of ongoing respiration during HVCRA stimulation outside of singing had no measurable effects on respiration. These data demonstrate that ongoing song motor patterns can be interrupted via activation of a specific class of neurons, and that the effect is mediated by suppression of ongoing respiratory patterns. However, the suppression of respiration is state-dependent. When birds typically sing faster (female-directed song), the termination occurred faster compared to when they sing more slowly (self-initiated song). Further, outside of song, optical activation of the neurons did not affect ongoing respiration. This suggests that forebrain control of respiration is “permitted” only during song. The underlying neural mechanisms allowing for this state-dependent switch remain to be elucidated. The forebrain control of song termination requires robust activation of HVCRA neurons to suppress brainstem respiratory circuitry. Similar suppression of respiratory circuits may control the termination of human speech.

Introduction: TBRI is an attachment-based model of care for children and youth who have experienced relational trauma. TBRI has been used in a number of service settings, but there is a lack of research on TBRI in clinical and counseling services.   
 
Purpose: The purpose of this pilot study is to evaluate behaviors and trauma symptoms among foster and adopted children whose families received clinical services using the TBRI Counselor’s Manual. 
 
Methods: This study used a one group, pre-post design. Caregivers seeking clinical services for their foster and adopted children (n=14) completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Trauma Symptoms Checklist for Young Children (TSCYC) or Trauma Symptoms Checklist for Children (TSCC) prior to treatment and again after 18 family sessions with a clinician using the TBRI Counselor’s Manual.  
 
Results: Although statistical analyses were limited by the small sample size, descriptive statistics suggest that CBCL and TSCYC/TSCC scores were trending in positive directions. Specifically, mean t scores for most CBCL and TSCYC/TSCC subscales improved, including mean scores for attention problems, aggressive behaviors, and anger. Further, the percentage of participants with scores in the clinical/borderline range dropped for most subscales, including attention problems, aggressive behaviors, anger, arousal, as well as for the composite scales of internalizing problems and externalizing problems.   
 
Discussion: Preliminary findings suggest that TBRI may help improve behavior and trauma symptoms among adopted and foster children whose families participate in TBRI-based clinical services. Limitations include a high rate of attrition and lack of a control group. Further research is needed to establish the effectiveness of the intervention in improving outcomes for adopted and foster children and families.

Introduction: During emerging adulthood, the dynamics of the parent-child relationship change such that parents need to support their child’s independence and autonomy (Padilla-Walker et al., 2019). Engaging in helicopter parenting, where parents excessively monitor their adult children, is associated with greater mental health problems for emerging adults (Schiffrin et al., 2014). Emerging adults who experience greater helicopter parenting also report higher levels of entitlement (Segrin et al., 2012). As emerging adults transition to attending college, perhaps living away from home for the first time, they may experience challenges that negatively impact their mental health. However, there is a lack of research that focuses on how helicopter parenting impacts well-being specifically related to students’ college experience. Thus, the overall goal of the current study was to examine associations between helicopter parenting and emerging adult’s college-related well-being. A second aim was to determine the extent to which psychological and academic entitlement (i.e., the belief that academic success is deserved and the avoidance of personal responsibility) mediated these associations.

Method: Participants included 657 undergraduate students at two private universities in the United States. Participants completed an online survey composed of several measures evaluating the participants’ parents’ helicopter parenting behaviors and the participants’ own academic entitlement, psychological entitlement, and college related well-being. Measures used in the current analyses included the Helicopter Parenting and Autonomy Supportive Behavior Scale (Schiffrin et al., 2014), the academic entitlement scale (Chowning & Campbell, 2009), the Psychological Entitlement Scale (Campbell et al., 2004), and the College Student Subjective Wellbeing Questionnaire (CSSWQ; Renshaw, 2016).

Results: Multiple mediation was used to investigate the extent to which academic entitlement – externalized responsibilities and entitled expectations -- and psychological entitlement mediated the association between helicopter parenting and well-being related to the college experience. Results revealed that helicopter parenting positively predicted each measure of entitlement, ps ≤ .001; but, only academic entitlement – externalized responsibilities significantly predicted college related well-being (b path), b = -5.82, SE = .71, p ≤ .001. The 95% confidence interval of the indirect effect using 5,000 bootstrap reiterations did not include zero [-1.25, -0.47], suggesting a significant indirect effect of helicopter parenting on college related well-being through academic entitlement – externalized responsibilities.

Discussion: Although helicopter parenting was associated with higher levels of each form of entitlement, only academic entitlement served as a mediator of the association between helicopter parenting and college related well-being. Students with higher levels of externalized responsibility generally avoid taking personal responsibility for their academic difficulties, instead blaming failures on others (e.g., their college professors). It is possible that these students were accustomed to having their parents manage academic tasks, particularly when they were living at home. However, now that they are living away from home and attending college, they feel entitled to expect similar treatment from their professors. These findings are important for college administrators and others working with college students to identify students who may be particularly vulnerable for struggling during the transition to college.

How does Prior Knowledge Impact Students’ Study Order Decisions?
Matthew N. Olivares, Addison P. Williams, Addison L. Babineau, Michelle L. Rivers, Sarah K. Tauber, & Michael A. Pelch

Learning complex concepts is essential for student success, but it is often challenging. To improve student concept learning, researchers have identified study strategies that can significantly increase student performance (Samani & Pan, 2021). One strategy that has a profound effect on complex concept learning is study order. Prior research has found that memory performance is better when concepts are studied in an interleaved order (i.e., studying multiple concepts mixed together) compared to a blocked order (i.e., studying one concept multiple times before moving to the next; Brunmair & Richter, 2019). One factor that may impact students’ study order decisions (i.e., the decision to interleave or to block) is prior knowledge. We hypothesized that students with more knowledge about a topic would choose to interleave more during learning than would students with less knowledge. To evaluate this hypothesis, we conducted a two-part study to explore the study order decisions of undergraduate students enrolled in Introductory Geology at TCU (i.e., “Understanding the Earth”). During session one of the study, students learned to classify categories of rocks (i.e., igneous, metamorphic, sedimentary) by either studying the rocks or by completing practice tests. After each learning trial, students could block their study by selecting to study another example from the same rock category (e.g., study multiple igneous rocks in a row); or they could interleave their study by selecting to study an example from a different rock category (e.g., study one igneous rock, then one sedimentary rock). After the first session, students completed activities and lectures in their Introductory Geology course aimed at increasing their knowledge of rock classifications. Then, students completed session two of the study by restudying the rock categories, making study order decisions, and taking a final test on rock classification. We will examine students’ study order decisions at session one (i.e., low prior knowledge) as compared to their study order decisions at session two (i.e., high prior knowledge).