Cultural Competence When Working With American Indian Populations: A Couple and Family Therapist Perspective

This article focuses on treating the underrepresented American Indian and Alaska Native population in therapy. The lack of literature on this topic may impede the ability of couple and family therapists (CFTs) to work effectively with members of this group. Issues such as the underutilization of therapy, dropout rates, culturally syntonic joining and assessment, religion, and spirituality are discussed. In addition, potential boundary issues of gift giving and community integration are explored. Finally, cultural strengths are addressed so they may be clinically integrated with this unique population.     

Near,Far, or In Between?—Target Edges and the Transport Component of Prehension

It is well known that during visually guided prehension movements the peak velocity of the arm is scaled for object distance (e.g., Gentilucci et al., 1991; Jakobson & Goodale, 1991; Servos, Goodale, & Jakobson, 1992). Those movements are being directed not to single points in space, however, but rather to objects with extent. Thus, object distance must be computed relative to some particular point on the object. Whether that point corresponds to the location of a particular edge, for example, has not been clearly demonstrated. In the present study, subjects (N = 9) were presented with a series of oblong blocks positioned at different locations. Peak velocity increased with object size for reaches in which different-sized objects had their near edges lined up; in contrast, the peak velocities of reaches directed to objects of different sizes did not differ when the far edges of the objects were lined up. The present study, therefore, provided confirmation that subjects calibrate the peak velocity of their reaches relative to the far edge of a target object.     

Specific and general autobiographical knowledge in adults with autism spectrum disorders: The role of personal goals

Autobiographical knowledge is stored hierarchically, at both specific and general levels of representation. It has also been proposed that the self is the structure around which autobiographical memories are organised. The current series of studies assessed whether the autobiographical memory difficulties observed in adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) could be due to problems in using the self as an effective memory cue. A series of cueing paradigms were used to assess the accessibility of both specific and general autobiographical knowledge relating to (i) currently pursued goals (either high or low in self–concordance) and (ii) goals that participants were not currently pursuing. Results demonstrated that while event-specific knowledge was impaired in the ASD group, general event knowledge appeared relatively intact. Moreover, while both event-specific and general event knowledge were organised around goals of the self in control participants, a corresponding relationship was only observed for general event knowledge in the ASD group.     

COPY AND RECALL PERFORMANCE OF 6–8-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN AFTER STANDARD VS. STEP-BY-STEP ADMINISTRATION OF THE REY-OSTERRIETH COMPLEX FIGURE

Turner syndrome (TS) is a genetic disorder in females characterized by the complete or partial absence of one X chromosome. Its most consistent physical features include short stature and ovarian dysgenesis. TS individuals demonstrate a characteristic neurocognitive profile involving weaknesses in visuospatial processing. The hypothesis of defective right hemisphere specialization has been offered to explain the visuospatial deficits in TS. In contrast, an alternative explanation proposes a more uniform dysfunction of the left and right hemispheres, based on findings of symmetrical abnormalities. This article presents an overview of the two hypotheses, along with relevant findings on hemispheric specialization with respect to TS. The impact of the genetic and hormonal mechanisms on the neurocognitive profile of TS is also discussed and directions for further empirical research are identified.