Search results

Although increased social time is associated with healthier lifestyles, autistic people often present in therapy with social time difficulties. Given the growing interest in digital interventions and their applicability for autistic individuals, a social time app could be beneficial to support autistic people to manage social time, but there is limited research in this field, especially that which involves people with lived experience. The purpose of this study was to use co-production to conduct consultations with expert clinicians about the relationship between autism and social time, and the future development of a smartphone app to monitor and support social time in autistic people.

A qualitative methodology investigated clinicians’ views on the relationship between autism and social time and potential development of a social time app. Clinicians (N = 8) participated in semi-structured interviews facilitated by a researcher with lived experience of autism.

Participants were psychologists and psychotherapists from a specialist autism service. Thematic analysis identified factors associated with social time, such as differences with neurotypical populations, need for balance with non-social time and gender differences. According to participants, advantages of social time were connecting with people and forming relationships, whereas challenges were limited social skills, anxiety and anger and frustration. Suggested features of an app were a user-friendly design, psychoeducational components and prompts and reminders. Potential advantages of the app were support outside of therapy, support in therapy and monitoring emotional responses, whereas challenges were task completion and personalising content.

Findings reinforce the importance of a balance between social and non-social time for autistic people, which could be monitored and supported using a social time app. Clinicians could incorporate use of this app within psychological therapies to support emotional regulation and general functioning.

What does special education mean for general education teachers of students with disabilities? In this chapter, we share our approach to advancing values in the classroom placement of special education students in the general education setting. We will take the reader on a journey through time with “Jessie,” a special education student, as we examine the historical exclusion of students with disabilities to their inclusion in general education schools, environments and finally, general education classrooms. In doing so, we will examine the evolution of the general education teacher's role and how the historical perspective impacts current practices. Then, we will elucidate the benefits of inclusion, not only for the special education student but for the nondisabled peers as well. We will recommend values that should be maintained and practices that should be examined. This chapter will conclude with a connection between the values and recommendations of best practices for inclusive instruction.

This case invites students to assess the impact that Brexit, the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, might have on a New York–based hedge fund's portfolio and, specifically, its UK assets. The case is designed to prompt students to make market assumptions and investment hypotheses based on a combination of numerical data and qualitative information. It requires no numerical computations; instead, it asks the student to interpret both markets' short-term reactions to the Brexit vote and strategy shifts from UK and European business leaders in order to evaluate longer-term implications for the economies of the United Kingdom, Europe, and the world.