The Sheffield Learning Disabilities Outcome Measure: a factor analysis.

BACKGROUND: The Sheffield Learning Disabilities Outcome Measure (SLDOM) is routinely used across clinical services in the UK, despite not yet showing evidence of psychometric reliability or validity. However, it is reported that the SLDOM demonstrates good face validity, and represents a valuable tool for providing useful information around the parent-child relationship in the context of having a child with a Learning Disability (LD). METHOD: This study involved 263 parents or carers of a child with LD who completed the SLDOM. Data from this study were subjected to factor analysis. RESULTS: These findings suggest that the SLDOM could be viewed as a tool that measures two concepts: (1) internal factors central to the parent/carer in relation to having a child with LD and (2) external factors in terms of the context and environment surrounding a child with LD. To our knowledge, this study is one of the first to investigate the psychometric properties of the SLDOM. CONCLUSIONS: This has implications in terms of building evidence to support the clinical and research use of this tool; to provide evidence-based clinical services, and overall, to gain a better understanding of patients and their families, which will allow for optimum service provision.

Using inclusive sampling to highlight specific executive functioning impairments in autism spectrum disorder.

Objectives: The aim of the study is to help identify the nature of impaired executive functioning (EF) in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It is also argued that participant sampling by age alone should inform experimental research on EF, as selection through IQ matching may weaken any experimental effects. Methods: Sixteen children with ASD across a wide range of Nonverbal IQ (NVIQ) and 16 neurotypical control children matched on age alone were given two different types of computerized sequencing game. Both required top-down organization, but in one case the sequence had to be self-generated while in the second it had to be learned and strictly followed. Measures of learning success in relation to NVIQ, and information processing demands were made. Results: Children with ASD were significantly impaired on the first task only, especially when the processing demands were increased. The effects were particularly pronounced for children with below average NVIQ. Conclusions: The study indicates a selective problem with self-organized sequencing in ASD with implications for certain real world contexts, but also points to a need for more inclusive sampling of children in order to fully expose specific executive impairments in autism spectrum disorder.