Youth with complex health care needs – including autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, and other chronic conditions – often face poor outcomes after they transition from pediatric to adult care. What can doctors do to help?

A new document released by the Canadian Paediatric Society’s Adolescent Health Committee recommends that parents and caregivers start transition planning as early as possible, to ensure youth with complex health care needs receive continuous care during what can be a vulnerable time.

To learn more about the 6 transition recommendations, access the full document here.

Authors: Alene Toulany, Jan Willem Gorter, Megan E. Harrison; Canadian Paediatric Society, Adolescent Health Committee

Recommended transition resource: Children’s Healthcare Canada’s (CHC) Child Health Hub in Transition to Adult Healthcare

Are you a family member or researcher interested in child health research and want to learn more about family engagement in research? The Family Engagement in Research (FER) course might be for you!

Applications are now open for the Kids Brain Health Network, CanChild, and McMaster University Continuing Education FER Certificate of Completion Program.

Interested? Here is what you need to know:

Are you a family member, researcher, healthcare professional, policymaker, educator, or student interested in learning about emerging Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) research?

Join us in person on July 6-9, 2022 at the 14th International Developmental Coordination Disorder Conference in Vancouver, BC!

Early bird registration is open until April 30th, 2022.

The Child Health, Exercise and Rest (CHEaR) Lab at Western University is recruiting adults with Cerebral Palsy to participate in a qualitative study about the experience of pain and fatigue.

Please email lbrunto3@uwo.ca if you are interested in participating!

Unsure how to use the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM) tool, a validated clinical assessment tool to measure the change in gross motor function in children with cerebral palsy?

This one-hour GMFM training video provides an overview of the development and administration of the GMFM tools. The video also includes descriptions and video clips of children performing selected GMFM items from each dimension.

Inclusive education is endorsed for children with disabilities or special needs attending school. In inclusive settings, healthcare professionals collaborate with educators to support a child’s integration and participation in school life. Collaboration ​is considered a fundamental element in effective and evidence-based practice to support students with special needs. However, there are differing views of what collaboration entails. This article explores the challenges of current collaboration measures in inclusive education between occupational therapists and educators. Available measures of collaboration that may be suitable for research use in the school environment are presented. Finally, potential solutions to assess collaborative practices and enhance clinical research in school-based occupational therapy practice are proposed.

Authors: Ianni, L., Camden, C., & Anaby, D. (2022). Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention, 1–22. doi: 10.1080/19411243.2022.2054486

Sleep problems are common in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and largely impact health and family functioning. This qualitative study explored parental perspectives regarding the care for sleep in their child with CP (age 1–8 years). Sixteen themes were identified across the three domains: Current situation, Concerns, and Needs. Within the families’ Current situation, parents expressed various issues concerning the care for sleep of their child during the night and daytime. These issues are due to perceived gaps in healthcare, such as limited attention for sleep and lack of knowledge among healthcare professionals. Themes within the Concerns and Needs domains include experiences in the home environment (child, family, and social aspects) and healthcare setting (clinical practices, attitudes of healthcare professionals, and broader organization of sleep care). We need to wake up to parent-identified issues and integrate care for sleep in pediatric rehabilitation.

Authors: Hulst, R. Y., Voorman, J. M., Pillen, S., Ketelaar, M., Visser-Meily, J. M. A., & Verschuren, O. (2022). Disability and Rehabilitation, 44(3), 458–467. doi: 10.1080/09638288.2020.1770873