Teaching virtual job interview skills to college students with IDD using literacy-based behavioral interventions

College students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) face challenges searching for jobs, often lacking communication and social skills needed during formal interviews. The COVID-19 pandemic complicates interviews, forcing students to search online and attend virtual interviews. This study used a multiple probe design across participants to examine the acquisition of literacy-based behavioral interventions (LBBIs) on virtual job interviews. Using a video conference platform, students answered interview questions from researchers acting as employers. LBBIs were customized, incorporating students' input. Results indicated that LBBIs were effective for teaching and maintaining virtual job interview skills, and across novel employers. The findings have implications for using LBBIs to teach virtual job interview skills to students with IDD, and for researchers including these students in remote instruction. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Effects of remote audio coaching during workplace conversations for college students with intellectual disability

College students with intellectual disability (ID) face many challenges while maintaining employment. These challenges encompass both social and behavioral tribulations. Increasing social skills at work is a significant goal for practitioners and educators of adults with ID. Coaching strategies such as Covert Audio Coaching (CAC) and Remote Audio Coaching (RAC) have proven effective in teaching students with ID various employment related skills.The purpose of this study was to determine if RAC would increase on-topic workplace communication skills for college students with ID.This study used a multiple probe design to test the effects of RAC on teaching communication skills in the workplace. In this study, college students logged onto a Zoom call to speak with a co-worker about an employment topic while the interventionist used RAC to coach the student through the conversation.The results of this study demonstrated that the RAC intervention was effective in increasing on-topic exchanges between college students with ID and their co-workers.The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the workplace to virtual settings for training and work tasks. RAC can be used as an employment support for adults with ID while minimizing in person contact. Limitations and implications of this study were further described at the end of the article. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation is the property of IOS Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Cardiac abnormalities in Long COVID 1-year post-SARS-CoV-2 infection.

BACKGROUND: Long COVID is associated with multiple symptoms and impairment in multiple organs. Cross-sectional studies have reported cardiac impairment to varying degrees by varying methodologies. Using cardiac MR (CMR), we investigated a 12-month trajectory of abnormalities in Long COVID. OBJECTIVES: To investigate cardiac abnormalities 1-year post-SARS-CoV-2 infection. METHODS: 534 individuals with Long COVID underwent CMR (T1/T2 mapping, cardiac mass, volumes, function and strain) and multiorgan MRI at 6 months (IQR 4.3-7.3) since first post-COVID-19 symptoms. 330 were rescanned at 12.6 (IQR 11.4-14.2) months if abnormal baseline findings were reported. Symptoms, questionnaires and blood samples were collected at both time points. CMR abnormalities were defined as ≥1 of low left or right ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), high left or right ventricular end diastolic volume, low 3D left ventricular global longitudinal strain (GLS), or elevated native T1 in ≥3 cardiac segments. Significant change over time was reported by comparison with 92 healthy controls. RESULTS: Technical success of multiorgan and CMR assessment in non-acute settings was 99.1% and 99.6% at baseline, and 98.3% and 98.8% at follow-up. Of individuals with Long COVID, 102/534 (19%) had CMR abnormalities at baseline; 71/102 had complete paired data at 12 months. Of those, 58% presented with ongoing CMR abnormalities at 12 months. High sensitivity cardiac troponin I and B-type natriuretic peptide were not predictive of CMR findings, symptoms or clinical outcomes. At baseline, low LVEF was associated with persistent CMR abnormality, abnormal GLS associated with low quality of life and abnormal T1 in at least three segments was associated with better clinical outcomes at 12 months. CONCLUSION: CMR abnormalities (left entricular or right ventricular dysfunction/dilatation and/or abnormal T1mapping), occurred in one in five individuals with Long COVID at 6 months, persisting in over half of those at 12 months. Cardiac-related blood biomarkers could not identify CMR abnormalities in Long COVID. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04369807.

Using Mnemonics, Remote Coaching, and the Range-Bound Changing Criterion Design to Teach College Students with IDD to Make Employment Decisions

Adults with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) increasingly are accessing inclusive college programs to gain academic and employment preparation for future community living. Decision-making and self-determination are two inter-related skills taught in these programs. In this study, we investigated an intervention that combined remote audio coaching (RAC) and a mnemonic strategy to teach employment decision- making skills to three college students with IDD. We evaluated the intervention using the range-bound changing criterion design to assess students' stepwise progress. All students substantially increased their employment decision-making skills, generalized those skills to a novel job coach who was not part of the intervention, and maintained the skills after the intervention was removed. We discuss implications of the procedures and results of this decision-making intervention, as well as the goodness-of-fit of the experimental design for evaluating controlled, gradual skill increases.

Multiorgan impairment in low-risk individuals with post-COVID-19 syndrome: a prospective, community-based study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess medium-term organ impairment in symptomatic individuals following recovery from acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. DESIGN: Baseline findings from a prospective, observational cohort study. SETTING: Community-based individuals from two UK centres between 1 April and 14 September 2020. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals ≥18 years with persistent symptoms following recovery from acute SARS-CoV-2 infection and age-matched healthy controls. INTERVENTION: Assessment of symptoms by standardised questionnaires (EQ-5D-5L, Dyspnoea-12) and organ-specific metrics by biochemical assessment and quantitative MRI. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Severe post-COVID-19 syndrome defined as ongoing respiratory symptoms and/or moderate functional impairment in activities of daily living; single-organ and multiorgan impairment (heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, pancreas, spleen) by consensus definitions at baseline investigation. RESULTS: 201 individuals (mean age 45, range 21-71 years, 71% female, 88% white, 32% healthcare workers) completed the baseline assessment (median of 141 days following SARS-CoV-2 infection, IQR 110-162). The study population was at low risk of COVID-19 mortality (obesity 20%, hypertension 7%, type 2 diabetes 2%, heart disease 5%), with only 19% hospitalised with COVID-19. 42% of individuals had 10 or more symptoms and 60% had severe post-COVID-19 syndrome. Fatigue (98%), muscle aches (87%), breathlessness (88%) and headaches (83%) were most frequently reported. Mild organ impairment was present in the heart (26%), lungs (11%), kidneys (4%), liver (28%), pancreas (40%) and spleen (4%), with single-organ and multiorgan impairment in 70% and 29%, respectively. Hospitalisation was associated with older age (p=0.001), non-white ethnicity (p=0.016), increased liver volume (p<0.0001), pancreatic inflammation (p<0.01), and fat accumulation in the liver (p<0.05) and pancreas (p<0.01). Severe post-COVID-19 syndrome was associated with radiological evidence of cardiac damage (myocarditis) (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In individuals at low risk of COVID-19 mortality with ongoing symptoms, 70% have impairment in one or more organs 4 months after initial COVID-19 symptoms, with implications for healthcare and public health, which have assumed low risk in young people with no comorbidities. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04369807; Pre-results.

Teaching Virtual Job Interview Skills to College Students With IDD Using Literacy-Based Behavioral Interventions

College students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) face challenges searching for jobs, often lacking communication and social skills needed during formal interviews. The COVID-19 pandemic complicates interviews, forcing students to search online and attend virtual interviews. This study used a multiple probe design across participants to examine the acquisition of literacy-based behavioral interventions (LBBIs) on virtual job interviews. Using a video conference platform, students answered interview questions from researchers acting as employers. LBBIs were customized, incorporating students? input. Results indicated that LBBIs were effective for teaching and maintaining virtual job interview skills, and across novel employers. The findings have implications for using LBBIs to teach virtual job interview skills to students with IDD, and for researchers including these students in remote instruction.

Teaching Small Talk: Increasing On-Topic Conversational Exchanges in College Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Using Remote Audio Coaching.

Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) often have deficits in interpersonal skills due to limited social-communication opportunities. Knowing how to engage in "small talk" or simple social conversational exchanges can be beneficial in postsecondary schooling, employment sites, community environments, and social gatherings. Recently, covert audio coaching (CAC) showed a positive impact on increasing conversational exchanges. As the COVID-19 pandemic increased the need for remote delivery tools, we explored the effectiveness of remote audio coaching (RAC) to teach this skill to college students with IDD. We used a multiple baseline design across participants to examine whether RAC might increase on-topic, small talk conversational exchanges. Results demonstrated that RAC effectively increased small talk skills between participants and a confederate. Upon removal of RAC, all participants still performed above their baselines, with two participants maintaining near mastery levels 2 weeks after the intervention was removed. Limitations and future research are discussed.