Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities (Focus) addresses issues concerning individuals with developmental disabilities, such as autism, mental retardation, and cerebral palsy. Manuscripts appropriate for Focus reflect a wide range of disciplines, including education, speech–language pathology, physical therapy, occupational therapy, psychology, medicine, social work, and related areas. Focus strives to be responsive to professionals and families of individuals with developmental disabilities. Because Focus is published with the intent of improving the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities, the editorial staff seeks manuscripts that disseminate the results of empirical research and strive to provide a forum for professional discussions from diverse philosophical and theoretical perspectives. Focus is published quarterly.
Types of Articles
Focus publishes three types of full-length (15–30 double-spaced pages including tables, figures, and references) manuscripts: (a) original research reports; (b) reviews and interpretations of professional literature; and (c) theoretical papers, conceptual statements, and position papers that include empirical substantiation. The journal also publishes two types of short (2–10 double-spaced pages) manuscripts: (a) replication of prior research findings and controlled data-based case studies, and (b) book reviews.
Original research reports describe investigations related to an aspect of understanding and meeting the needs of individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities. Diverse research methodologies, including single-subject designs, group designs, and qualitative investigations, are encouraged. Criteria include relevance of research question, quality of design, sound implementation procedures, thorough outcome analysis of research findings, and implications for practice and policy.
Reviews and interpretations of professional literature are summations of current literature and integrations of research findings and implications that offer substantive implications for practice and policy. They may be either qualitative or quantitative syntheses of published literature.
Theoretical papers, conceptual statements, and position papers advance new models for understanding, analyzing, and solving problems related to autism and other developmental disabilities; innovations for practice or policy that are new to the research literature; discussions of issues and problems in the field; or other descriptions, interpretations, and discussions that have implications for the field.
The editorial staff acknowledges the value of replication of prior research to provide depth and generalization to the professional literature. Most often, short manuscripts will be appropriate for dissemination of this information. These reports may be abbreviated formats of traditional manuscripts, descriptive studies, or data-based case studies.
Book Notes (2–4 pages) offers reviews of current books and other publications of interest to individuals involved with persons with autism and other developmental disabilities. Only reviews of recently published books will be considered. Book reviews are solicited by invitation; however, persons interested in doing a review may contact the editors.
Acceptance Criteria
Professional writing need not be stilted and unimaginative. Hence, authors are encouraged to write in a manner that is maximally communicative, interesting, and informative. Authors are also encouraged to communicate that an individual with a disability is a person first. Manuscripts should be submitted solely to Focus and should not be considered for publication elsewhere, nor should they have been previously published. Consideration for publication can be given to material that has previously had limited circulation elsewhere. If an article has appeared previously in any form, authors must clearly indicate this in their cover letter. Include copies of potentially duplicative material that has been previously published and provide links to duplicative material on the Internet. Failure to disclose the existence of duplicate material may represent a violation of copyright. Upon acceptance for publication, copyright is transferred to the Hammill Institute on Disability. Authors should not republish the material in any form without written permission from the Institute.
Manuscript Preparation
Focus prefers to receive all manuscript submissions electronically.
Please note: This journal does not accept Microsoft Word 2007 (for Vista operating system) documents at this time. Please use Word’s “Save As” option to save your document as an older (.doc) file type.
Guidelines specified in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA; 5th edition, 2001) should be followed. Pay particular attention to the sections concerning guidelines for nonsexist language (APA 2.13, p. 66), avoiding ethnic bias (2.15, pp. 67), and disabilities (2.16, p. 69).
General
1. Because this journal uses blind peer review, make sure that the files you load during submission DO NOT CONTAIN ANY IDENTIFYING INFORMATION, such as author names, acknowledgments, or bios. You will provide this information later if your manuscript is accepted for publication. Make sure your file names do not include an author name.
2. Articles should be double spaced, using left alignment, a nonproportional font, and 12-pt. type. Include the title of the paper, an abstract of no more than 120 words, and 4 to 5 keywords.
3. Set all margins to 1 inch.
4. Format for 8½ in. X 11 in. paper. Do not format for A4 paper.
5. Please type all copy upper and lower case—do not use all capitals or small capitals.
6. Place all figures and tables in a separate file. Indicate the location of tables and figures in text in boldface, enclosed in angle brackets, on a separate line.
Example: <Fig. 1 here>
7. Please use your tab key and centering functions to do head alignment, paragraph indents, etc. DO NOT USE THE SPACE BAR.
8. Use endnotes as sparingly as possible. Number them with Arabic numerals starting with 1 and continuing through the article; for example: “(see Note 1).” Do not use footnotes.
Artwork
Figures must be provided as production-ready. Do not use rules or tick marks smaller than 1 point in size. Acceptable electronic formats for figures or other art are: TIFF, EPS, Word, or Excel. If you have trouble loading Excel files, copy and paste them into a Word document. Scans must be at least 300 dpi (also sometimes called lpi). Scans done at lower resolutions will have a very poor print quality even if they look crisp and clear on a laser printout.
Permissions
Obtaining written permissions for material such as figures, tables, art, and extensive quotes taken directly—or adapted in minor ways—from another source is the author’s responsibility, as is payment of any fees the copyright holder may require. Because permissions often take a considerable amount of time to be granted, authors should start the request process as soon as possible. Authors should never assume that material taken from software or downloaded from the Internet may be used without obtaining permission. Each source must be investigated on a case-by-case basis. Authors can download the Sage Permissions Request form at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/focus. The form has been written to cover all necessary provisions; however, copyright holders may require use of their own form. In these cases, the author should read any forms carefully to make sure that the language is broad enough to allow publication in all formats, worldwide, as well as in both electronic and print versions. Failure to obtain permission will result in either removal of the particular item or the article being pulled from the journal issue.
Authors who want to refine the use of English in their manuscripts might consider utilizing the services of SPi, a non-affiliated company that specializes in editing and correcting English-language manuscripts written by authors with a primary language other than English. Visit http://www.prof-editing.com for more information. (Please be aware that SAGE has no affiliation with SPi and makes no endorsement of the company. An author’s use of SPi’s services in no way guarantees that his or her submission will ultimately be accepted. Any arrangement an author enters into will be exclusively between the author and SPi, and any costs incurred are the sole responsibility of the author.)
Manuscript Submission
Manuscripts should be submitted online through Manuscript Central.
Starting the Submissions Process
1. Launch your Web browser (Internet Explorer 5 or higher, Netscape 6 or higher, or Mozilla Firefox) and go to the Manuscript Central
homepage (http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/focus).
2. Log in or click the “Create Account” option if you are a first-time user of Manuscript Central.
3. If you are creating a new account:
• After clicking on “Create Account” enter your name and e-mail information and click “Next.” Your e-mail information is very
important. Continue entering information as prompted.
• Enter a user ID and password of your choice (we recommend using your e-mail address as your user ID) and then select your areas of
expertise. Click “Finish” when done.
4. Log in and select “Author Center.”
Submitting Your Manuscript
Make sure you have the following items and information available: your original manuscript files; keywords for the manuscript subject matter; all coauthors’ full names, addresses (city/state), and e-mail addresses; # of figures, # of tables, # of words in the manuscript; if the manuscript is for a special issue; if you submitted manuscript previously, and if so, ID number assigned by the journal editorial office.
5. After you have logged in, go to the Author Center and click the “Submit a Manuscript” link.
6. Enter data as prompted, clicking the “Next” button to save your work and advance.
7. You will be prompted to upload your files:
• Click on the “Browse” button and locate the file on your computer.
• Select the description of the file in the drop down next to the Browse button.
• When you have selected all files you wish to upload, click the “Upload” button.
8. Review your submission (in both PDF and HTML formats) before sending. Click the “Submit” button when you are done reviewing.
Copyright
After your article has been accepted for publication, please go to the journal’s Manuscript Central Web site to obtain the Transfer of Copyright form. Please download, fill this out, and send it to the FOCUS editorial office: Fax: 404/651-4901.
Ordering Reprints
Information regarding reprints will be sent with the complimentary printed copy of the journal issue in which your article appears.
Journal Contact Information
Editors
Juane Heflin and Paul Alberto
Dept. of Educational Psychology & Special Education
Georgia State University
PO Box 3979
Atlanta, GA 30302-3979
E-mail: focus@langate.gsu.edu
