Know thy audience: Children teach basic or complex facts depending on the learner's maturity.

What kind of information is appropriate to teach depends on learner characteristics. In three experiments, 5- to 7-year-old children (N = 170, 50% female, 68% White; data collection: 2022-2023) chose between basic and complex information to teach an infant or adult audience. The older, but not younger, children, taught more complex information to adults and more basic information to infants, (OR = 2.03). Both ages overcame their own preference for complex information when teaching infants (h = .45). Children's reflections on why they made particular pedagogical choices did not predict audience-contingent teaching. The findings suggest that young children can infer what kind of information is suitable given a learner's maturity, with a key developmental progression between ages 5 and 7.

Children teach sensational information-as long as it is true.

When sharing information, teenagers and adults prioritize what is sensational or attention-grabbing, sometimes at the cost of the truth. Nothing is known so far about whether young children prefer to transmit sensational information or what they prioritize when the sensational quality of information conflicts with its truth. In two experiments (N = 136), 4- and 5-year-olds engaged in a forced-choice task in which they selected one of two statements to teach to a peer. In the absence of explicit truth value assignments, children of both ages preferred teaching sensational information over non-sensational (neutral) information (p < .0001). When information was sensational but untrue, truth trumped sensationalism in both age groups (p < .0001). The experiments shed more light on biases that affect the early ontogeny of information exchange. Not only do children prioritize certain kinds of information when teaching, they also actively weigh these preferences against one another and mute their bias for sensationalism when veracity is at stake.

The Impact of "Fear of Falling" on Physical Performance, Balance, and Ambulation in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate falls and the fear of falling (FOF) in children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and to determine the relationships between the FOF and physical performance, balance, and ambulation. METHODS: Thirty-eight ambulatory children with DMD were included in the study. The functional level, falling history, FOF, physical performance, balance, and ambulation were assessed by using Brooke Lower Extremity Functional Classification, History of Falls Questionnaire, Pediatric Fear of Falling Questionnaire (Ped-FOF), timed performance tests, Timed "Up and Go" (TUG) test, and North Star Ambulatory Assessment (NSAA), respectively. RESULTS: Of the 38 children (mean age: 9.00 ± 2.03 years) 97.4% had a history of serious fall last year and 62.2% were injured due to this fall. The Ped-FOF score was 13.79 ± 7.20. Weak to moderate relations were determined between Ped-FOF and functional level (r = 0.33), frequency of falls (r = 0.41), duration of climbing 4-steps (r = 0.38), TUG (r = 0.36), and NSAA (r = -0.32) (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Ambulatory children with better performance scores had lower levels of FOF despite their history of serious falls and injuries. FOF tends to increase as the symptoms of the disease progresses. Investigating the history of falls and FOF from the earliest period will guide to take precautions and make necessary interventions on time in treatment programs.

Development of a questionnaire to assess fear of falling in children with neuromuscular diseases.

Fear of falling (FOF) indicates loss of confidence in the ability to perform daily living activities without falling. Although specific questionnaires do exist to assess FOF in different patient populations, any of them targets the pediatric patients with neuromuscular diseases which falling is a frequent symptom. This study aims to present the development of a self-report FOF questionnaire for children with neuromuscular diseases, pilot application of the questionnaire, and its preliminary psychometric properties. An International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF)-based 'Pediatric Fear of Falling Questionnaire' for neuromuscular diseases (Ped-FOF) was created by the study team following the steps of developing an instrument. The questionnaire included 34 items which were organized based on the 'Activities and Participation' component of ICF-children and youth. Thirty children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) were recruited to obtain preliminary reliability and validity results of the questionnaire. The mean Ped-FOF score of study population was 15.30 ± 7.03. According to the preliminary results, intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.715 [confidence interval (CI) 95%], and moderate correlations between Ped-FOF and functional performance and quality of life were determined (P < 0.05). Ped-FOF promises a practical assessment of FOF in pediatrics with neuromuscular diseases with understandable items that allow self-report of children. Ped-FOF also allows clinicians and therapists to assess FOF efficiently in limited clinical time. Its preliminary reliability and validity results are also sufficient to be used in DMD that falling is a frequent condition, which indicates that the use of questionnaire is promising in many other pediatric neuromuscular disorders.

Treatment of Unstable Thoracolumbar Fractures: Does Fracture-Level Fixation Accelerate the Bone Healing?

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of fusion on short segment including fractured level (SSIFL) and long segment (LS) transpedicular fixation after acute thoracolumbar junction burst fractures. The 2-year clinical and radiologic follow-up results of the 2 groups also were compared. METHODS: Seventy-four patients were randomized into one of 2 groups: SSIFL (n = 39) or LS (n = 35). The SSIFL group included one level above and one level below, including the fracture level, whereas the LS group included 2 levels above and 2 levels below, excluding the fracture level, for the transpedicular fixation. Fusion was assessed by technetium 99m-methylendiphosphonate, bone scintigraphy, and single-photon emission computed tomography. The 2-year follow-up results were compared clinically (Oswestry Disability Index and visual analog scale) and radiologically (kyphosis angle, sagittal index, anterior vertebral body height loss) at regular intervals. The clinical scores and radiologic parameters of patients with and without fusion also were compared. RESULTS: The number of patients with fusion was significantly greater in the SSIFL group compared with the LS group. There was a significant reduction of the clinical scores of patients who had fusion compared with the fusion-free group; however, there was no radiologically significant difference. Furthermore, there was no significant difference between the SSIFL and LS groups in terms of the 2-year radiologic and clinical follow-up results. CONCLUSIONS: Fusion occurred sooner and patients experienced earlier clinical recovery in the SSIFL group compared with the LS group.