This assignment gives your first experience of reading and reacting to journal literature in Allied Health Research.  Many students never realize there's a world beyond the textbooks and so it's all new to them.  You learn that in your specialty there are things printed every day that are new.  You will have to keep up to maintain your professional competency.  Journals are a resource that you can use, both here in school and when you get out in a professional situation.  The assignment is carefully sequenced with clear due dates and instructions. 

I believe that all of you, as future health care professionals, should be aware of how you can keep up on new developments in allied health and the issues that surround them.  Therefore, the objectives of this assignment are to familiarize you with the available literature in medicine and allied health.  

To meet the objectives of the assignment, you will:

·         Read and study, in detail, one current article on a topic covered in class from any of the three journals mentioned above. 

·         You will submit two assigned journal articles as Discussion Forums, and you may submit 2 or more of your own for credit in ALHE4060.  Ask the instructor if you wish to submit more than 2.

Details of What You Need To Do: 

1.        Go to the library and check out the issues of the journal.  You can also use the Internet for a resource.

2.        TIP: Most Journals publish a subject index in their December issue.  This is extremely useful and convenient when performing searches on subjects. 

3.        Look through the selected article ass well as the rest of that issue of the journal and several other recent issues to get a clear understanding of:

4.        what kinds of information is published,

5.        what audience it is intended to serve

6.        Whether references for further information are given. 

7.        Complete the Journal Article Review Form and submit by the due date. 

To receive full credit for this assignment, you must answer all questions on the review form and submit it by the due date.  Here is the information you should submit to your Research website:

Title of Journal

Article____________Autism and food allergies ___________________________________________________________________

Title of Journal

____________________N/A______________________________________________________________________

Volume_____________________N/A_________ Date ______/__N/A___/______ Page Number(s) ___N/A___________

·          What organization is responsible for publishing the journal you chose?

N/A

·          What is your overall evaluation of this article?

_____Poor          ___+___Fair            ______Good        _______Very Good       _____Excellent

·          Why did you choose to review this particular article?

Dr. Masini chose this article for review for ALHE 4060

·          How would you rate this article as a tool for teaching a student about cardiopulmonary physiology, radiography, or another allied health specialty? 

Students:               ____Poor       __+__Fair       _____Good     _____Very Good      _____Excellent

Teachers:               __+__Poor       ____Fair       _____Good     _____Very Good      _____Excellent

Patients:                ____Poor       ___+_Fair       _____Good     _____Very Good      _____Excellent

·          Comment on the readability of this article. 

This article was very easy to read. It did not use a lot of medical terms that would be hard to understand for most readers, especially patients or family members of patients with autism.  The article was very straightforward and clear about the point.

·          Course Topics covered:

-          food sensitivity

-          mental and physical disease

-          Autism/Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

-          Common Allergens( milk and wheat)

-          The importance of early diagnosis of Autism

·          Brief Summary:

This article covered the importance of early diagnosis of autism.  It pertained to the fact that finding and eliminating the presence of certain food allergies, especially milk and wheat, in patients with autism, can possibly lead to a normal life for those patients.  The researcher emphasizes that the earlier the diagnosis the better.  The researcher was able to give a good, pertinent example in the article of a young boy whose mother was able to test foods to find his specific food allergies in order to fix some developmental deficiencies that the boy had because of Autism.

·          Identify and attempt to explain three (3) terms, procedures or concepts that were unfamiliar to you when reviewing this article.

-          The Sage Test – as stated in the article this is a multi-pathway delayed-food allergy test – this is amazing.  I did not know about specific tests for finding and treating food allergies.

-          The general concept that food sensitivity can play an important role in autism.  This is something that I would have never connected to Autism. 

-          The concept of being able to remedy developmental deficiencies in people who are affected by Autism.  I guess this is unfamiliar to me because I have never studied autism to any extent.  I was under the impression that problems associated with Autism could not be reversed or helped, but that they could only be masked.

·          Detail the strengths/weaknesses of this article.

Strengths:  The article offered a clear summary of the importance that food allergies can play in Autism.  It was able to allow the reader a brief view into the research of Autism in a way that almost anyone can understand.

Weaknesses:  Although the article was very clear, it did not offer much background on the research done or on Autism itself.  I do not feel that the article would have much to offer to a student or teacher trying to learn more about this topic, although it does give a quick glimpse into it. 

·          How might this article be useful to you in your further studies and career?

This article would be useful to me in the future if I was to deal with a patient who had autism or if I was to want to do research on the topic of Autism.  Although there is not much information provided by the article it would still be a great starting point. (Especially since I had never known of this type of treatment for Autism before)

·          Does the article include a list of references/citations that can be used to find more information on the topics they cover?   No

Your Name: ______________Laura Urbin___________________________ Date: _06__/__19____/__06___