January 2016  

 
Happy New Year from all of us at CanChild

In this edition of CanChild Today, we are thrilled to share the release of the final report for Partnering for Change, an i nnovative partnership that serves school children with special needs and eliminates waitlists. Results are positive and we encourage you to share this report widely! 

We also invite you to learn about the "F-Words" in childhood disability, new research in genomics and cerebral palsy, and more in our exciting roster of upcoming webinars and events. Lastly, we never pass up an opportunity to share good news and highlight recent publications from the CanChild community! 

Please feel free to share  CanChild  resources and this newsletter with family, friends and colleagues. They can subscribe to the  CanChild Today  e-Newsletter for free by  registering here . Our past issues are archived on the  CanChild  website, and can be  accessed here.
 
News!
Announcing the release of the Partnering for Change report

We are proud to announce the public release of the final report of the  Partnering for Change: Implementation and Evaluation Study (2013-2015)
 
The results are positive in all areas! Goals were achieved and the occupational therapy service was delivered in a way that identified children who were struggling earlier, reached many, many more children, built educator capacity and OT capacity, and cleared waitlists at the schools receiving the service, at no additional cost.

The report outlining the high level results is now available as an online interactive website that can be viewed on any computer, iPad or tablet.

The project was funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and the Ontario Ministry of Education. 

To view the report, please go to  www.partneringforchange.ca.
Events!


CAPHC Presents: The F-words in Childhood Disability: A Call for ACTION - Bringing parents, clinicians and researchers together (webinar)
Presented by Peter Rosenbaum, Jan Willem Gorter, Maria Susini, Julie Brocklehurst & Andrea Cross

Wednesday, February 10, 2016
1:00am - 12:30pm EST

"The F-words in Childhood Disability: I swear this is how we should think!" was published 3 ½ years ago; since then we have been on a knowledge translation (KT) journey around the globe. To date, the article has had close to 1,400 downloads; there have been over 50 local, national, and international presentations; and the video has received over 2,000 views. Researchers, clinicians and families have found common ground in this holistic approach and are now working together to move these ideas into practice. This webinar is organized as a panel discussion involving parent, clinician, and researcher representatives. The panel will share their unique perspectives on the F-words and strategies for implementing the F-words in practice. 

Click here for more information and to register!



CP-NET Webinar: Genetic Factors in Cerebral Palsy
Presented by Dr Richard Wintle

Friday, February 26, 2016 
12:00pm - 1:00pm EST

Recent headlines about the role of genetics in cerebral palsy may have you wondering how studies in genomics might affect your day-to-day life, clinical practice or research.

CP-NET is proud to welcome Dr Richard Wintle, co-author on the ground-breaking paper "Clinically relevant copy number variations detected in cerebral palsy" (Nature Communications), for an engaging webinar aimed at families, clinicians and researchers. This webinar will be presented in a lay-friendly format and is appropriate for anyone who wants to learn more about genomics.

Topics covered by the webinar include:
  • An overview of the human genome
  • How it can vary from person to person
  • What does this have to do with CP?
  • Where might this lead?
Spots are limited and our webinars fill up quickly. Register today!



Big Ideas Better Cities: Building Healthy Communities
February 6 - 10, 2016 | Hamilton, ON

CanChild
is excited to participate in a number of events for Big Ideas Better Cities: Building Healthy Communities, a week-long series of events exploring ways to build healthy, vibrant communities that work for everyone.
  • Cheryl Missiuna will present Partnering for Change: Improving the Lives of School-aged Children in Hamilton at Healthy Children and Families at the David Braley Health Sciences Centre (February 8).  Learn more and register.
  • The CanChild Concussion Team will showcase concussion research at the McMaster Health Crawl, taking place at the McMaster University Main Campus (February 9). Learn more
  • Finally, look for the CanChild booth at the McMaster Health Fair at the David Braley Health Sciences Centre. Drop by to learn about some of our latest projects and initiatives. (February 10) Learn more.  
     

CanChild Family Engagement Day: Opening doors to Family-research partnerships today for a brighter tomorrow
April 2, 2016 | Hamilton, ON
 
Save the Date! The next Family Engagement Day, presented in partnership with  NeuroDevNet, will take place on April 2nd, 2016 at the brand new  Ron Joyce Children's Health Centre in Hamilton, ON. 

Registration opens Feb 15th - stay tuned for details!

Awards & Achievements! 
Congratulations to Briano Di Rezze

CanChild researcher Briano Di Rezze  was successful in securing the Ontario Trillium Foundation Seed Grant. In partnership with Autism Ontario, his Autism Lifepath group  will lead this work which will include a scoping review of published and grey literature of transition programs that are pan-ministerial (education, health and community services), an environmental scan of existing services in Burlington and town-hall meetings with Burlington Chapter of Autism Ontario to identify optimal programming for their community.

Recent Publications by CanChild Members

This study examined the link between maternal education and mental health and the emotional and behavioural functioning of adolescents with chronic health conditions over a one-year time period. Additionally, the study investigated whether these effects differed by child gender. It found that low maternal education was associated with peer relationship problems for girls, and conduct problems for children of both genders. It also found that the link between a maternal mental health condition and clinical signs of hyperactivity/inattention was stronger in boys than in girls. The findings of this study indicate the importance of a holistic and family-centred approach to assessment and service delivery.  Authors: Etherington N, McDougall J, DeWit D, Wright V . Disabil Rehabil. 2015 Oct 27:1-11. [Epub ahead of print]

Research indicates that children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) engage in less physical activity than in their typically developing peers, which may result in children with DCD being less physically fit and more likely to be overweight or obese.  Existing research is limited and leaves many questions about the relationships between motor ability, inactivity and health-related fitness. The Coordination and Activity Tracking in CHildren (CATCH) study will follow a cohort of children over four years to provide a clearer understanding of pathways between DCD and health-related fitness necessary to determine the types of interventions required by children with DCD. Authors:  Cairney J ,   Missiuna C ,   Timmons BW ,   Rodriguez C ,  Veldhuizen  King-Dowling S ,   Wellman S ,  and  Le T. BMC Public Health. 2015; 15: 1266. Published online 2015 Dec 21. doi: 10.1186/s12889-015-2582-8

The Social ABCs is a parent-mediated intervention developed in response to the growing need for feasible, evidence-based and cost-effective interventions for toddlers with suspected or confirmed autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This article outlines a multi-site pilot study that involved 12 weeks of parent coaching, followed by 12 weeks' implementation, and 2-month follow-up assessments for 20 parent-toddler pairs. Parents were able to quickly learn the techniques and rated the intervention as highly acceptable, while toddlers showed significant gains in functional communication and language, social orienting and shared positive affect. Parent-mediated interventions are feasible and highly acceptable, and may provide a cost-effective opportunity for intervention at the first signs of ASD risk. Authors:  Brian JA Smith IM Zwaigenbaum L,   Roberts W Bryson SE.  Autism Res.  2015 Dec 21. doi: 10.1002/aur.1582. [Epub ahead of print]

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