A daughter pushing the limits. A marriage ready to crack. A secret that can break them. For Emily Rossi, life may not be perfect, but it’s pretty close. She has a great career, a house in the country, a solid marriage to Eric and two wonderful children—tennis superstar Daniel and quiet, sensitive Zara. But when her fourteen-year-old daughter brings home a toxic new best friend, Emily’s seemingly perfect family starts to spiral out of control. Suddenly Zara is staying out late, taking drugs and keeping bad company. And just when Emily needs Eric to be an involved father, he seems too wrapped up with his job in London to care. What’s more, he’s started drinking again. When a dark secret from the past emerges, Emily’s life is turned upside down. Struggling to protect the people she loves, can she save her damaged family? Doing so may mean keeping a secret of her own…

Is her new husband really who she thinks he is? When young doctor Lauren Matheson meets Joe, an older divorced businessman, at a glittering poolside in California, it's a chance encounter that seems life-changing for them both. Back home in London, their feelings only strengthen. But Lauren soon discovers that building a happy future with Joe is going to be an uphill struggle... She's determined to be a good stepmother to his children, four-year-old Toby and complicated teen Grace. But under the watchful eye of Meredith, Joe's intimidating ex-wife, Lauren can't seem to do a thing right. Why won't Joe ever take her side against Grace? And what really happened between him and Meredith? As her husband retreats into a cold, secretive version of the dashing man she met in California, Lauren starts to wonder if she's made a costly mistake. Was Joe ever the man she thought she married?

How can those who seek to protect the "right to life" defend assassination in the name of saving lives? Carol Mason investigates this seeming paradox by examining pro-life literature both archival material and writings from the front lines of the conflict. Her analysis reveals the apocalyptic thread that is the ideological link between established anti-abortion organizations and the more shadowy pro-life terrorists who subject clinic workers to anthrax scares, bombs, and bullets.The portrayal of abortion as "America's Armageddon" began in the 1960s. In the 1970s, Mason says, Christian politics and the post-Vietnam paramilitary culture popularized the idea that legal abortion is a harbinger of apocalypse. By the 1990s, Mason asserts, even the movement's mainstream had taken up the call, narrating abortion as an apocalyptic battle between so-called Christian and anti-Christian forces. "Pro-life violence of the 1990s signaled a move away from protest and toward retribution," she writes. "Pro-life retribution is seen as a way to restore the order of God. In this light, the phenomenon of killing for 'life' is revealed not as an oxymoron, but as a logical consistency and a political manifestation of religious retribution."Mason's scrutiny of primary sources (direct mail, internal memoranda, personal letters, underground manuals, and pro-life films, magazines, and novels) draws attention to elements of pro-life millennialism. Killing for Life is a powerful indictment of pro-life ideology as a coherent, mass-produced narrative that does not merely condone violence, but anticipates it as part of "God's plan."

The U.S. Census Bureau has reported that 56.7 million Americans had some type of disability in 2010, which represents 18.7 percent of the civilian noninstitutionalized population included in the 2010 Survey of Income and Program Participation. The U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) provides disability benefits through the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. As of December 2015, approximately 11 million individuals were SSDI beneficiaries, and about 8 million were SSI beneficiaries. SSA currently considers assistive devices in the nonmedical and medical areas of its program guidelines. During determinations of substantial gainful activity and income eligibility for SSI benefits, the reasonable cost of items, devices, or services applicants need to enable them to work with their impairment is subtracted from eligible earnings, even if those items or services are used for activities of daily living in addition to work. In addition, SSA considers assistive devices in its medical disability determination process and assessment of work capacity. The Promise of Assistive Technology to Enhance Activity and Work Participation provides an analysis of selected assistive products and technologies, including wheeled and seated mobility devices, upper-extremity prostheses, and products and technologies selected by the committee that pertain to hearing and to communication and speech in adults. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary 1 Introduction 2 Environmental Facilitators Framework 3 Wheeled and Seated Mobility Devices 4 Upper-Extremity Prostheses 5 Selected Hearing Technologies 6 Augmentative and Alternative Communication and Voice Products and Technologies 7 Coverage for Relevant Products and Technologies 8 Review of Social Security and Other Selected Disability Compensation Programs 9 Overall Conclusions Appendix A: Public Session Agendas Appendix B: Glossary Appendix C: Medicare Data Appendix D: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members

Heritable disorders of connective tissue (HDCTs) are a diverse group of inherited genetic disorders and subtypes. Because connective tissue is found throughout the body, the impairments associated with HDCTs manifest in multiple body systems and may change or vary in severity throughout an affected individual's lifetime. In some cases, these impairments may be severe enough to qualify an eligible child or adult for monetary benefits through the U.S. Social Security Administration's (SSA's) Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income program. SSA asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to convene an expert committee that would provide current information regarding the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of selected HDCTs, including Marfan syndrome and the Ehlers-Danlos syndromes, and the effect of the disorders and their treatment on functioning. The resulting report, Selected Heritable Disorders of Connective Tissue and Disability, presents the committee's findings and conclusions. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary 1 Introduction 2 Overview of Hereditary Disorders of Connective Tissue 3 Marfan Syndrome and Related Hereditary Aortopathies 4 Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders 5 Heritable Disorders of Connective Tissue and Effects on Function 6 Overall Conclusions Appendix A: Public Session Agendas Appendix B: Commissioned Paper Appendix C: Selected Resources Appendix D: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members

The U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) provides benefits to disabled adults and children, offering vital financial support to more than 19 million disabled Americans. Of that group, approximately 5.5 million have been deemed ? by virtue of youth or mental or physical impairment - incapable of managing or directing the management of their benefits. Hence, a representative payee has been appointed to receive and disburse SSA payments for these beneficiaries to ensure that their basic needs for shelter, food, and clothing are met. Periodically, however, concerns have been expressed about the accuracy of the process by which SSA determines whether beneficiaries are capable of managing their benefits, with some evidence suggesting that underdetection of incapable recipients may be a particular problem. The importance of creating as accurate a process as possible for incapability determinations is underscored by the consequences of incorrectly identifying recipients either as incapable when they can manage their benefits or as capable when they cannot. Failure to identify beneficiaries who are incapable of managing their funds means abandoning a vulnerable population to potential homelessness, hunger, and disease. Informing Social Security's Process for Financial Capability Determination considers capability determination processes used by other similar benefit programs, abilities required to manage, and direct the management of, benefits, and effective methods and measures for assessing capability. This report evaluates SSA's capability determination process for adult beneficiaries and provides recommendations for improving the accuracy and efficiency of the agency's policy and procedures for making these determinations. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary 1 Introduction 2 Review of the Social Security Administration and Other Selected Capability Determination Processes 3 Effects of Appointment of Representative Payees on Beneficiaries 4 Abilities Required to Manage and Direct the Management of Benefits 5 Methods and Measures for Assessing Financial Competence and Performance 6 Conclusions and Recommendations Appendix A: Public Session Agendas Appendix B: Glossary Appendix C: Selected Forms Appendix D: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members

The U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) provides disability benefits through the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs. To receive SSDI or SSI disability benefits, an individual must meet the statutory definition of disability, which is "the inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity [SGA] by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months." SSA uses a five-step sequential process to determine whether an adult applicant meets this definition. Functional Assessment for Adults with Disabilities examines ways to collect information about an individual's physical and mental (cognitive and noncognitive) functional abilities relevant to work requirements. This report discusses the types of information that support findings of limitations in functional abilities relevant to work requirements, and provides findings and conclusions regarding the collection of information and assessment of functional abilities relevant to work requirements. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary 1 Introduction 2 Disability and Function 3 Collection of Information on Function and Disability 4 Integrated Assessment of Work-Related Functional Ability 5 Selected Instruments for Assessment of Physical Functional Abilities Relevant to Work Requirements 6 Selected Instruments for Assessment of Mental Functional Abilities Relevant to Work Requirements 7 Selected Impairments and Limitations in Functional Abilities Relevant to Work 8 Review of Selected Disability Benefit Programs 9 Overall Conclusions Appendix A Public Session Agendas Appendix B Glossary Appendix C Literature Search Strategies Appendix D Biographical Sketches of Committee Members

In the past decade, few subjects at the intersection of medicine and sports have generated as much public interest as sports-related concussions - especially among youth. Despite growing awareness of sports-related concussions and campaigns to educate athletes, coaches, physicians, and parents of young athletes about concussion recognition and management, confusion and controversy persist in many areas. Currently, diagnosis is based primarily on the symptoms reported by the individual rather than on objective diagnostic markers, and there is little empirical evidence for the optimal degree and duration of physical rest needed to promote recovery or the best timing and approach for returning to full physical activity. Sports-Related Concussions in Youth: Improving the Science, Changing the Culture reviews the science of sports-related concussions in youth from elementary school through young adulthood, as well as in military personnel and their dependents. This report recommends actions that can be taken by a range of audiences - including research funding agencies, legislatures, state and school superintendents and athletic directors, military organizations, and equipment manufacturers, as well as youth who participate in sports and their parents - to improve what is known about concussions and to reduce their occurrence. Sports-Related Concussions in Youth finds that while some studies provide useful information, much remains unknown about the extent of concussions in youth; how to diagnose, manage, and prevent concussions; and the short- and long-term consequences of concussions as well as repetitive head impacts that do not result in concussion symptoms. The culture of sports negatively influences athletes' self-reporting of concussion symptoms and their adherence to return-to-play guidance. Athletes, their teammates, and, in some cases, coaches and parents may not fully appreciate the health threats posed by concussions. Similarly, military recruits are immersed in a culture that includes devotion to duty and service before self, and the critical nature of concussions may often go unheeded. According to Sports-Related Concussions in Youth, if the youth sports community can adopt the belief that concussions are serious injuries and emphasize care for players with concussions until they are fully recovered, then the culture in which these athletes perform and compete will become much safer. Improving understanding of the extent, causes, effects, and prevention of sports-related concussions is vitally important for the health and well-being of youth athletes. The findings and recommendations in this report set a direction for research to reach this goal. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary 1 Introduction 2 Neuroscience, Biomechanics, and Risks of Concussion in the Developing Brain 3 Concussion Recognition, Diagnosis, and Acute Management 4 Treatment and Management of Prolonged Symptoms and Post-Concussion Syndrome 5 Consequences of Repetitive Head Impacts and Multiple Concussions 6 Protection and Prevention Strategies 7 Conclusions and Recommendations Appendix A: Public Workshop Agendas Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members Appendix C: Clinical Evaluation Tools

In September 2010, the White House Office of National AIDS Policy commissioned an Institute of Medicine (IOM) committee to respond to a two-part statement of task concerning how to monitor care for people with HIV. The IOM convened a committee of 17 members with expertise in HIV clinical care and supportive services, epidemiology, biostatistics, health policy, and other areas to respond to this task. The committee's first report, Monitoring HIV Care in the United States: Indicators and Data Systems, was released in March 2012. The report identified 14 core indicators of clinical HIV care and mental health, substance abuse, and supportive services for use by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to monitor the impact of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) on improvements in HIV care and identified sources of data to estimate the indicators. The report also addressed a series of questions related to the collection, analysis, and dissemination of data necessary to estimate the indicators. In this second report, Monitoring HIV Care in the United States: A Strategy for Generating National Estimates of HIV Care and Coverage, the committee addresses how to obtain national estimates that characterize the health care of people with HIV within the context of the ACA, both before 2014 and after 2014, when key provisions of the ACA will be implemented. This report focuses on how to monitor the anticipated changes in health care coverage, service utilization, and quality of care for people with HIV within the context of the ACA. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary 1 Introduction 2 Implications of Health Care Reform for People with HIV in the United States 3 How to Obtain National Estimates of Health Care Coverage and Utilization for People with HIV in the United States 4 Conclusions and Recommendations Appendix: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members

The number of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in the United States is growing each year largely due both to advances in treatment that allow HIV-infected individuals to live longer and healthier lives and due to a steady number of new HIV infections each year. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that there were 1.2 million people living with HIV infection in the United States at the end of 2008, the most recent year for which national prevalence data are available. Each year, approximately 16,000 individuals die from AIDS despite overall improvements in survival, and 50,000 individuals become newly infected with HIV. In 2011, the CDC estimated that about three in four people living with diagnosed HIV infection are linked to care within 3 to 4 months of diagnosis and that only half are retained in ongoing care. In the context of the continuing challenges posed by HIV, the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) released a National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) for the United States in July 2010. The primary goals of the NHAS are to: reduce HIV incidence; increase access to care and optimize health outcomes; and reduce HIV-related health disparities. Monitoring HIV Care in the United States addresses existing gaps in the collection, analysis, and integration of data on the care and treatment experiences of PLWHA. This report identifies critical data and indicators related to continuous HIV care and access to supportive services, assesses the impact of the NHAS and the ACA on improvements in HIV care, and identifies public and private data systems that capture the data needed to estimate these indicators. In addition, this report addresses a series of specific questions related to the collection, analysis, and dissemination of such data. Monitoring HIV Care in the United States is the first of two reports to be prepared by this study. In a forthcoming report, also requested by ONAP, the committee will address the broad question of how to obtain national estimates that characterize the health care of people living with HIV in the United States. The second report will include discussion of challenges and best practices from previous large scale and nationally representative studies of PLWHA as well as other populations. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary 1 Introduction 2 Indicators Related to Continuous HIV Care and Access to Supportive Services 3 Sources of Data on HIV Care to Assess Indicators of HIV Care and Access to Supportive Services 4 Barriers to the Collection of HIV Care Data 5 The Role of Health Information Technology and Data System Integration in the Collection of HIV Care Data 6 Efficient Analysis of HIV Care Indicators and Dissemination of Data by Federal Agencies Appendix: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members

In Reading Appalachia from Left to Right, Carol Mason examines the legacies of a pivotal 1974 curriculum dispute in West Virginia that heralded the rightward shift in American culture and politics. At a time when black nationalists and white conservatives were both maligned as extremists for opposing education reform, the wife of a fundamentalist preacher who objected to new language-arts textbooks featuring multiracial literature sparked the yearlong conflict. It was the most violent textbook battle in America, inspiring mass marches, rallies by white supremacists, boycotts by parents, and strikes by coal miners. Schools were closed several times due to arson and dynamite while national and international news teams descended on Charleston.

A native of Kanawha County, Mason infuses local insight into this study of historically left-leaning protesters ushering in cultural conservatism. Exploring how reports of the conflict as a hillbilly feud affected all involved, she draws on substantial archival research and interviews with Klansmen, evangelicals, miners, bombers, and businessmen, a who, like herself, were residents of Kanawha County during the dispute. Mason investigates vulgar accusations of racism that precluded a richer understanding of how ethnicity, race, class, and gender blended together as white protesters set out to protect "our children's souls."

In the process, she demonstrates how the significance of the controversy goes well beyond resistance to social change on the part of Christian fundamentalists or a cultural clash between elite educators and working-class citizens. The alliances, tactics, and political discourses that emerged in the Kanawha Valley in 1974 crossed traditional lines, inspiring innovations in neo-Nazi organizing, propelling Christian conservatism into the limelight, and providing models for women of the New Right.

In Reading Appalachia from Left to Right, Carol Mason examines the legacies of a pivotal 1974 curriculum dispute in West Virginia that heralded the rightward shift in American culture and politics. At a time when black nationalists and white conservatives were both maligned as extremists for opposing education reform, the wife of a fundamentalist preacher who objected to new language-arts textbooks featuring multiracial literature sparked the yearlong conflict. It was the most violent textbook battle in America, inspiring mass marches, rallies by white supremacists, boycotts by parents, and strikes by coal miners. Schools were closed several times due to arson and dynamite while national and international news teams descended on Charleston.

A native of Kanawha County, Mason infuses local insight into this study of historically left-leaning protesters ushering in cultural conservatism. Exploring how reports of the conflict as a hillbilly feud affected all involved, she draws on substantial archival research and interviews with Klansmen, evangelicals, miners, bombers, and businessmen, a who, like herself, were residents of Kanawha County during the dispute. Mason investigates vulgar accusations of racism that precluded a richer understanding of how ethnicity, race, class, and gender blended together as white protesters set out to protect "our children's souls."

In the process, she demonstrates how the significance of the controversy goes well beyond resistance to social change on the part of Christian fundamentalists or a cultural clash between elite educators and working-class citizens. The alliances, tactics, and political discourses that emerged in the Kanawha Valley in 1974 crossed traditional lines, inspiring innovations in neo-Nazi organizing, propelling Christian conservatism into the limelight, and providing models for women of the New Right.

How can those who seek to protect the "right to life" defend assassination in the name of saving lives? Carol Mason investigates this seeming paradox by examining pro-life literature both archival material and writings from the front lines of the conflict. Her analysis reveals the apocalyptic thread that is the ideological link between established anti-abortion organizations and the more shadowy pro-life terrorists who subject clinic workers to anthrax scares, bombs, and bullets.The portrayal of abortion as "America's Armageddon" began in the 1960s. In the 1970s, Mason says, Christian politics and the post-Vietnam paramilitary culture popularized the idea that legal abortion is a harbinger of apocalypse. By the 1990s, Mason asserts, even the movement's mainstream had taken up the call, narrating abortion as an apocalyptic battle between so-called Christian and anti-Christian forces. "Pro-life violence of the 1990s signaled a move away from protest and toward retribution," she writes. "Pro-life retribution is seen as a way to restore the order of God. In this light, the phenomenon of killing for 'life' is revealed not as an oxymoron, but as a logical consistency and a political manifestation of religious retribution."Mason's scrutiny of primary sources (direct mail, internal memoranda, personal letters, underground manuals, and pro-life films, magazines, and novels) draws attention to elements of pro-life millennialism. Killing for Life is a powerful indictment of pro-life ideology as a coherent, mass-produced narrative that does not merely condone violence, but anticipates it as part of "God's plan."