Theological Education in a New Missional Era: A Personal Journey with Seven Theses

The author's personal journey in discovering, developing, researching and practicing adult theological education in the church is rehearsed, pointing out key learning moments along the way. Out of this praxis seven theses are offered that set an agenda for theological education in the new missional era in which the church finds itself.     

First symbols in a girl with Down syndrome: A longitudinal study from 12 to 18 months

Symbolic uses of objects originate in communicative and triadic contexts (adult–child-object). In this longitudinal study we explore the emergence and development of the first symbolic uses in triadic interaction contexts in a girl with Down syndrome between 12 and 18-months of age. We conducted five sessions of video recording, at 12, 13½, 15, 16½, and 18 months chronological age. At each session we videotaped the girl and her mother interacting with different objects. Data were coded in semiotic categories used in previous studies (Rodríguez & Moro, 1999) and a microgenetic analysis was conducted for each session. The first symbolic uses by the girl appeared at 13½ months. Symbols were of different types and levels of complexity, and the adult had an important role in facilitating the production of these symbols.     

The Black Church,Values, and Secular Counseling: Implications for Counselor Education and Practice

There has been a recent increase in the amount of attention given in the counseling literature to addressing clients’ religion and spirituality. However, Black American churchgoers are rarely the target population in the discourse, and little is known about how the Black church shapes their views. This article provides information on values of the Black church and the church's influence on Black American churchgoers regarding secular counseling. Implications for counselor education and practice are discussed.     

Randomized controlled trial of parental responsiveness intervention for toddlers at high risk for autism

This study tested the effects of a parent-mediated intervention on parental responsiveness with their toddlers at high risk for an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).Participants included caregivers and their 66 toddlers at high risk for ASD. Caregivers were randomized to 12 sessions of an individualized parent education intervention aimed at improving parental responsiveness or to a monitoring control group involving 4 sessions of behavioral support. Parental responsiveness and child outcomes were measured at three time points: at beginning and end of the 3-month treatment and at 12-months post-study entry. Parental responsiveness improved significantly in the treatment group but not the control group. However, parental responsiveness was not fully maintained at follow up. There were no treatment effects on child outcomes of joint attention or language. Children in both groups made significant developmental gains in cognition and language skills over one year. These results support parental responsiveness as an important intervention target given its general association with child outcomes in the extant literature; however, additional supports are likely needed to fully maintain the treatment effect and to affect child outcomes.     

The cognitive impenetrability of the content of early vision is a necessary and sufficient condition for purely nonconceptual content

I elaborate on Pylyshyn's definition of the cognitive impenetrability (CI) of early vision, and draw on the role of concepts in perceptual processing, which links the problem of the CI or cognitive penetrability (CP) of early vision with the problem of the nonconceptual content (NCC) of perception. I explain, first, the sense in which the content of early vision is CI and I argue that if some content is CI, it is conceptually encapsulated, that is, it is NCC. Then, I examine the definitions of NCC and argue that they lead to the view that the NCC of perception is retrieved in a stage of visual processing that is CI. Thus, the CI of a state and content is a sufficient and necessary condition for the state and its content to be purely NCC, the CI?≡?NCC thesis. Since early vision is CI, the purely NCC of perception is formed in early vision. I defend the CI?≡?NCC thesis by arguing against objections raised against both the sufficient and the necessary part of the thesis.     

Traduction et adaptation du TEI-SF afin de documenter l’acceptabilité sociale de l’intervention comportementale intensive

Early intensive behavioral intervention is more widely used in large-scale community-based services in Autism Spectrum Disorder. There is an increased need to evaluate the social acceptability of these programs. The present study used a measure of social acceptability as part of a social validation procedure to evaluate a community-based EIBI offered in inclusive childcare, as well as two focused interventions associated with this program. To do so, the Treatment Evaluation Inventory Short-form (TEI-SF) questionnaire was adapted and translated to French. The validation results for the TEI-SF, as well as for the social acceptability of the EIBI programs and procedures, are presented. The results are the first evidence of the validity of the TEI-SF (adapted and translated to French), presenting scores of validity of intervention and a favourable perspective related to the early intensive behavioral intervention and opening the door to further research.     

Identifying the level of trunk control of healthy term infants aged from 6 to 9 months

This study identified the level of trunk control of healthy term infants aged from six to nine months. This cross-sectional study included fifty-five infants aged from six to nine months. The levels of trunk control was investigated by using the Segmental Assessment Trunk Control (SATCo). The infants remained seated on a wooden bench and a neutral pelvic position was maintained. The SATCo score was considered as dependent variable. The results showed that infants aged six and seven months presented levels of trunk control in the thoracic region while infants aged from eight to nine months presented full trunk control. These results demonstrate that younger infants present less levels of trunk control while older infants present full trunk control, confirming that trunk control development takes place in a segmental way and in a cephalocaudal direction. These results also might be used as a reference to distinguish infants that show a delay in trunk control from those who have suitable motor development and, thus intervene at an early stage to minimize later delays in these infantś global motor development.     

Changes in schemas of patients with severe borderline personality disorder: The Oulu BPD study

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a relatively common and severe psychiatric disorder that can impair quality of life in many ways. The aim of this study was to determine whether a combined treatment model for BPD patients, utilising major principles from schema‐focused therapy (SFT) and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), could be more effective in relieving early maladaptive schemas of BPD patients, compared to treatment as usual (TAU). This study is a part of the Oulu BPD study conducted at mental health care services run by Oulu city social and health care services. The study is a multisite, randomized controlled trial conducted over a one year period, involving two groups of patients with severe BPD: (1) Community Treatment By Experts (CTBE) patients (n = 18) receiving the combined treatment model, and 2) TAU patients (n = 27). The patients' schemas were assessed using the Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ‐L3a) before and after one year of treatment. The results reveal that CTBE patients who attended the combined treatment model showed a statistically significant reduction in eight out of 18 early maladaptive schemas, while patients receiving treatment as usual did not demonstrate any significant changes in schemas. The cognitive therapeutic treatment model can be applied for clinical use in public mental health settings using existing professionals, and appears to produce positive changes in patients with BPD.     

Extracurricular Participation and Course Performance in the Middle Grades: A Study of Low-Income,Urban Youth

The transition to middle/junior high school is associated with declines in students’ academic performance, especially among low‐income, urban youth. Developmental psychologists posit such declines are due to a poor fit between the needs of early adolescents—industry, identity, and autonomy—and the environment of their new schools. Extracurricular participation during these years may act as a buffer for youth, providing a setting for development outside the classroom. The current study examines participation within and across activity settings among low‐income, urban youth in New York City over this transition. Using the Adolescent Pathways Project data, this study explores how such participation relates to course performance. We find that a large percentage of youth are minimally or uninvolved in extracurricular activities during these years; that participation varies within youth across time; and that the association between participation and course performance varies by activity setting. Youth who participate frequently in community or athletic settings or have high participation in two or more settings are found to have higher GPAs in the year in which they participate and youth who participate frequently in the religious setting are found to have lower GPAs. High participation in more than two settings may be detrimental.