Research in developmental disabilities
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To compare scores of children with cerebral palsy (CP) at different levels of Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), using the Pediatric Balance Scale (PBS) and to assess whether it can be used to predict GMFCS levels in children with CP. ⋯ PBS is able to detect differences among GMFCS levels I, II, and III of mild and moderate impairment. Accordingly, PBS can be used reliably in clinical practice to indicate the motor impairment level of such children. The results enable specify the expected tasks that are expected to be accomplished by the children in each GMFCS level, contributing with therapeutic planning and monitoring.
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Scoliosis Research Society-22 (SRS-22) questionnaire was developed to evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQL) in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients. Rasch analysis (RA) is a statistical procedure which turns questionnaire ordinal scores into interval measures. Measures from Rasch-compatible questionnaires can be used, similar to body temperature or blood pressure, to quantify disease severity progression and treatment efficacy. ⋯ Compared with the SRS-22, the short form scale shows better targeting of the participants' population. RA shows that SRS-22 has poor clinimetric properties; moreover, when used with AIS at first evaluation, SRS-22 is affected by a severe ceiling effect. SRS-7, an SRS-22 7-item short form questionnaire, provides an HRQL interval measure better tailored to these participants.
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The management of problem behaviours (PB) in individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID), developmental disabilities (DD) and/or autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) can be challenging. Antipsychotic medications are commonly prescribed where other strategies have failed. A systematic review (SR) was conducted to establish the research evidence for the efficacy of aripiprazole in the management of PB in adults and children with ID, DD and/or ASD. ⋯ Most studies reported adverse effects from aripiprazole in the form of weight gain, increased appetite, sedation, tiredness, drooling and tremor. However, aripiprazole improved serum prolactin level in some participants and overall did not show any adverse effect on QTc interval. There is a need for more carefully designed RCTs into the use of aripiprazole in the management of PB in people with ID/DD and/or ASD, which should be carried out independent of pharmaceutical companies.
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A growing body of research has sought to examine issues associated with the Quality of Life (QoL) of parents of children with Autistic Disorder. However, no studies have examined the QoL of Arab parents whose parenting experience is expected to be substantially different from that of their western counterparts. Therefore, the purposes of this study were: (1) to examine differences in the QoL between fathers and mothers of children with Autistic Disorder in a sample from an Arab country, and (2) to examine the psychosocial correlates of the QoL of Arab parents of children with Autistic Disorder. ⋯ This is the first study to examine the QoL of parents of children with Autistic Disorder in the Arab world and, in doing so, it highlighted the distinct lack of research in this area. The QoL of Arab parents of children with Autistic Disorder crosses lines with their stress levels, coping strategies, demographic characteristics, and to some extent their cultural context.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
The relationship between multiple developmental difficulties in very low birth weight children at 3½ years of age and the need for learning support at 5 years of age.
This study investigated whether multiple developmental difficulties are more frequent in very low birth weight (VLBW) children than in those born full term. The association between multiple developmental difficulties assessed at 3½ years of age and educational provision for the child at 5½ years was also investigated, with 'educational provision' referring to the curriculum, school placement and the level of learning support. There were 143 VLBW children without cerebral palsy (CP) and 41 term-born peers assessed at 3½ years of age. ⋯ Multiple logistic regression analyses showed that of the difficulties, impaired motor coordination was most strongly associated with the requirement for learning support two years later. Regression analyses showed that having multiple difficulties was significantly associated with the need for learning support (Odds Ratio of 3.4 (95% CI: 1.5-7.8). These results show that the presence of multiple difficulties in a VLBW child of preschool age, can impact the child's educational provision two years later.