Disciplinary removal patterns among students with other health impairments and emotional disturbance: A three-year descriptive analysis of IDEA Part B data

by Melissa Beck Wells

Students classified under Other Health Impairment (OHI), a category that includes Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), are frequently disciplined in school settings despite ADHD being classified as a neurodevelopmental rather than a behavioral disorder. This study examined patterns of disciplinary removal among students served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Part B, focusing on comparisons between OHI and Emotional Disturbance (ED). Using publicly available IDEA Part B discipline data, a descriptive longitudinal analysis was conducted across three academic years (2019–2020, 2020–2021, and 2021–2022). Percentage-based indicators were analyzed to examine the proportion of students ages 3–21 subject to disciplinary removal by disability category and state. Across all three years, students classified under OHI experienced disciplinary removal at rates comparable to, and in many states exceeding, those of students classified under ED. These patterns persisted despite year-to-year variation associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings are interpreted through IDEA procedural safeguards and DSM-5 diagnostic frameworks, highlighting a potential misalignment between neurodevelopmental disability classification and behavioral support provision. The study discusses how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) may reduce disciplinary risk through proactive design, while emphasizing that individualized behavioral interventions, including Functional Behavioral Assessments and Behavior Intervention Plans, remain legally required when behavior is a manifestation of disability.

Sleep inadequacy and the relationship with mucosal immunity and upper respiratory symptoms in elite swimmers: A longitudinal study leading into the Commonwealth Games

by Lauren H. Baker, Terun Desai, Jonathan Sinclair, Amy V. Wells

Objectives

To monitor sleep patterns of elite swimmers and explore sleep as a potential risk factor for upper respiratory symptoms (URS) alongside salivary Immunoglobulin A (IgA) in elite swimmers, over an 8-month competitive season.

Design

Secondary analysis of an 8-month longitudinal study in elite international swimmers leading into either the Commonwealth Games 2018 or Swim Cup Eindhoven.

Methods

Fourteen elite swimmers (age ± SD = 19.9 ± 0.8 years, height = 178.9 ± 6.3 cm, and mass = 75.0 ± 7.7 kg) were recruited. Self-reported sleep quality, URS data and salivary IgA was obtained weekly on a standardised day. Quantitative sleep parameters were measured using wrist-worn actigraphy four times for two-week bouts; during low, moderate, high training loads and once leading into competition.

Results

Swimmers waking fatigued was positively associated with frequency (p  Conclusions

Perceived fatigue on waking was significantly associated with both frequency and severity of URS, and inversely associated with mucosal immunity (salivary IgA), providing novel insight into the relationship between sleep, fatigue and illness in this cohort. Although causality cannot be established, the high prevalence of inadequate sleep shown in elite swimmers highlights the importance of individual sleep monitoring to support recovery and inform strategies aimed at illness prevention.

Triadic relationships between pasture exposure, gastrointestinal parasites, and hindgut microbiomes in grazing lambs

by Jack Jefferson, Claire Reigate, Alessandra Giacomini, M. Jordana Rivero, Matthew Hitchings, Tamsyn Uren Webster, Konstans Wells

Livestock grazing in confined pastures often means grazing on a less diverse diet than under more natural conditions and increased exposure to gastrointestinal parasites prevailing in these pastures. However, how sward composition influences gut microbiome (GM) diversity and its relationship with parasite burden remains poorly understood. In this study, we analysed the faecal GM of weaned lambs grazing on two distinct sward types (perennial ryegrass and a mixed-species sward) over three consecutive months using 16S rRNA sequencing, in order to assess how microbial diversity and composition are related to environmental conditions and the gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) burden in naturally infected lambs. Sward type and sampling time explained some of the variation in GM alpha diversity and community composition (beta diversity), whereas individual lamb identity accounted for considerably more variation in microbial assemblages. Shifts in the relative abundance of bacterial genera such as Saccharofermentans, Anaerosporobacter, Butyrivibrio in relation to sward type and sampling time suggest mostly adaptive fluctuations in response to diet and pasture condition. Abundance shifts of Negativibacillus, and Candidatus Saccharimonas were also associated with GIN burden, which, in turn, was higher in lambs grazing on mixed swards compared to ryegrass. Our findings add to the growing understanding of how sheep microbiomes vary with pasture management and changes in parasite burden. We highlight that individual identity may shape gut microbiota, and that potential triadic interactions among gastrointestinal parasites, sward exposure, and the gut microbiome underscore the importance of considering host, parasite, and environmental factors collectively when evaluating microbiome dynamics in grazing livestock.