Envisioning a kinder,gentler world: On recognition and remuneration for care workers

In this paper, I argue that thestatus of those who take care of persons withdisabilities, and persons with disabilities,are inextricably linked. That is, devaluingthe status of one necessarily devalues that ofthe other. Persons with disabilities and thosewho help care for them must form an alliance toadvance their common interests. This alliancecan gain insight and inspiration from feministthought insofar as caretaking is literallylinked to problems of the representation ofcaretaking as ``women's work,' and morephilosophically, by borrowing from the toolboxof feminist social, political, and economicanalyses. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Behavioral and social development of children born extremely premature: 5-year follow-up

A cohort of extremely prematurely born children and matched term controls was assessed at 5 years of age. The parents completed a questionnaire on their behavioral and social development. The purpose was to illuminate whether the children's general intellectual ability and parental sensitivity were associated with behavioral and social development. The index children exhibited more hyperactive behavior and had poorer social skills than the controls. Lower Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) was associated with outward reacting and hyperactive behavior and poorer social skills. Sensitive parenting was associated with less outward reacting and less hyperactive behavior. When controlling for differences in FSIQ and parental sensitivity, the index children persisted to have an increased risk of exhibiting hyperactive behavior but not poorer social skills. The index children with normal intellectual development, however, did not exhibit more behavioral problems or poorer social skills than the control children did.     

Identifying the nature of impairments in executive functioning and working memory of children with severe difficulties in arithmetic

An age-matched achievement-matched design was used to examine whether the executive functioning and working memory impairments exhibited by children with severe difficulties in arithmetic (SDA) are better viewed as developmental lags or as cognitive deficits. Three groups of children were included: 20 SDA children, 20 typically achieving children (CM) matched in chronological age with the SDA children, and 20 younger typically achieving children (AM) matched in achievement with the SDA group. While children with SDA did not exhibit impairments in color-word inhibition and verbal working memory, they did demonstrate impairments in shifting, quantity-digits inhibition, and visuospatial working memory. As children with SDA did not perform more poorly than their AM counterparts on any of these tasks, impairments in specific areas of executive functioning and working memory appear to reflect developmental lags rather than cognitive deficits.     

EARLY REGULATION IN CHILDREN WHO ARE LATER DIAGNOSED WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER. A LONGITUDINAL STUDY WITHIN THE DANISH NATIONAL BIRTH COHORT

Studies have shown that children later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in their first years of life might show symptoms in main developmental areas and that these signs might be sensed by the parents. The present study investigated in a large birth cohort if children later diagnosed with ASD had deviations at 6 and 18 months in areas such as the ability to self‐regulate emotions, feeding, and sleeping. The study was based on prospective information collected from 76,322 mothers who participated in the Danish National Birth Cohort. When the children reached an average age of 11 years, 973 children with ASD and a control group of 300 children with intellectual disability (IDnoASD) were identified via Danish health registries. Associations were found between short periods of breast‐feeding and the children later diagnosed with ASD and IDnoASD as well as associations at 18 months to deviations in regulation of emotions and activity. The similarities in these associations emphasize how difficult it is to distinguish between diagnoses early in life.     

The buffering role of in‐group identification and intergroup contact on the association between perceived discrimination and mental health

Previous research has shown that disadvantaged group members cope with the negative effects of perceived discrimination (PD) on mental health using various mechanisms. We examined the potential protective role of two processes—in‐group identification and intergroup contact—on the association between PD and mental health (anxiety and depression) among physically disabled adults (N = 269, M_age = 39.13, SD = 13.80). Intergroup contact, but not in‐group identification, had a buffering role on the association between PD and both depression and anxiety. However, this effect was further moderated by in‐group identification such that high levels of intergroup contact had a protective role against PD, only when in‐group identification was low. Findings highlight the importance of evaluating various social–psychological processes interactively in creating a resilient outlook among disadvantaged groups.     

Individuals With Visual Disabilities and Substance Use Disorders: Recommendations for Counselors

Given the prevalence of substance use disorders in individuals with visual disabilities, counselors must be prepared to address the distinctive needs of this population. The authors summarize evidence‐based interventions, offer contextual considerations, and provide recommendations for counselors.     

Teacher Perspectives on Grief Among Children with Intellectual Disabilities

The death of a parent can have a profound impact on a child. However, little is known about how children with intellectual disabilities demonstrate grief or how teachers respond to student grief. Constructivist grounded theory methods were used to analyze data collected from five special education teachers of elementary students with intellectual disabilities. Categories related to grieving, loss, support, coping, and emotion were found. Teachers reported a range of grieving behaviors displayed by children with intellectual disabilities in the classroom and used various strategies to provide support. Grief in surviving caregivers and assistance from other school personnel were also described. The need for additional training of teachers and counselors about grief in children with intellectual disabilities is highlighted.     

The moral virtue of open-mindedness

This paper gives a new and richer account of open-mindedness as a moral virtue. I argue that the main problem with existing accounts is that they derive the moral value of open-mindedness entirely from the epistemic role it plays in moral thought. This view is overly intellectualist. I argue that open-mindedness as a moral virtue promotes our flourishing alongside others in ways that are quite independent of its role in correcting our beliefs. I close my discussion by distinguishing open-mindedness from what some might consider its equivalent: empathy and tolerance.     

Recasting Gendered Paradigms: An Indonesian Cleric and Muslim Women in the Malay World

This essay examines the ideas of a prominent Indonesian cleric, Haji Abdul Malik Karim Amrullah (Hamka), about the place of women in Islam and in Southeast Asian Muslim societies. I argue that Hamka was engaged in the project of “recasting gendered paradigms,” which involves reinterpreting, reconceptualizing and reconfiguring various dominant understandings about the roles, functions and responsibilities of women in Islam as reflected not only in the Qur'an and the adat (traditional customs), but also in modern discourses about women's empowerment. I show that Hamka's commitment to advocating for women's rights and critiquing prevailing ideas about the place of women in religion and society was a product both of his personal experiences and of the profound social and intellectual shifts that characterized his day and age.