Research in developmental disabilities
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Differential effect of Taekwondo training on knee muscle strength and reactive and static balance control in children with developmental coordination disorder: a randomized controlled trial.
This randomized controlled trial aimed to investigate the effect of short-term intensive TKD training on the isokinetic knee muscle strength and reactive and static balance control of children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Among the 44 children with DCD (mean age: 7.6 ± 1.3 years) recruited, 21 were randomly assigned to undergo daily TKD training for 1h over three consecutive months, with the remaining 23 children being assigned to the DCD control group. Eighteen typically developing children (mean age: 7.2 ± 1.0 years) received no training as normal controls. ⋯ Moreover, UST body sway velocity was slower in the DCD-TKD group than in the DCD control group (p<0.001), and was comparable to that of the normal control group (p>0.05) after TKD training. However, no such improvement in balance was observed in the MCT (p>0.025). The results show that children with DCD who undergo a 3-month program of intensive TKD training experience improvements in isokinetic knee muscle strength at 180°/s and static single-leg standing balance control, but do not benefit from improved reactive balance control.
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Prescribing pharmacotherapy for older individuals with an intellectual disability (ID) is a complex process, possibly leading to an increased risk of prescription errors. The objectives of this study were (1) to determine the prevalence of older individuals with an intellectual disability with at least one prescription error and (2) to identify potential risk factors for these prescription errors (age, gender, body mass index (BMI), frailty index, level of intellectual disability and living situation). The study population consisted of 600 older (≥ 50 years) individuals with an ID using one or more drugs who were randomly selected from the study cohort of the Healthy Ageing and Intellectual Disability (HA-ID) Study. ⋯ Relevant errors, defined as errors that actually do require a change of pharmacotherapy, were identified in 26.8% of the individuals (161 of 600 individuals; 95% CI 23-30%). Higher age (adjusted odds ratio (OR adj) 1.03; 95% CI 1.01-1.06), less severe intellectual disability (moderate: OR adj 0.48; 95% CI 0.31-0.74 and severe: OR adj 0.56; 95% CI 0.32-0.98), higher BMI (OR adj 1.04; 95% CI 1.01-1.08), higher frailty index (0.39-0.54: OR adj 2.4; 95% CI 1.21-4.77 and ≥ 0.55: OR adj 3.4; 95% CI 1.03-11.02), polypharmacy (OR adj 8.06; 95% CI 5.59-11.62) and use of medicines acting on the central nervous system (OR adj 3.34; 95% CI 2.35-4.73) were independently associated with the occurrence of prescription errors. Interventions targeted to high risk patients should be designed and implemented to improve pharmacotherapy in older individuals with an intellectual disability.
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Children's symptoms of autism are robustly linked to diminished parent well-being and relationship distress, however they are less clearly linked to other aspects of family development. We focused on child atypical symptoms (i.e., behavioral stereotypies) and investigated relations to parental stress and the parenting alliance. ⋯ However, parents with highly atypical children did not report a similarly better self-focused parenting alliance, indicating that direct emotional support from the partner did not differ between the groups. We discuss the possibility that, among parents who stay together in the face of severe child disability, enhanced perceptions of parenting are not uncommon.