Let's celebrate the awards CanChild members received in the month of May...

To start, in recognition of an outstanding career in pediatric research in this country, Dr. Jan Willem Gorter, past Director of CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research, and long-standing scientist and physician at McMaster, received the Canadian Paediatric Society’s prestigious, Career Research Award.

Next, at this year's European Academy of Childhood Disability (EACD) conference in Barcelona, Dr. Briano Di Rezze and colleagues received the Mac Keith Press Best Abstract Award (1st Place) for their submission: 'Construct Validity of the Autism Classification System of Functioning for Social Communication (ACSF) Across Childhood and Adolescence’.

Jael Bootsma was the recipient of this year's McMaster School of Rehabilitation Sciences Basmajian Travel Award. This award allowed her to present her PhD work at the EACD Barcelona 2022 conference in May.

Kids Brain Health Network (KBHN) awarded Dr. Samantha Micsinszki the Outstanding KBHN Trainee Member Award, which recognizes a trainee’s outstanding contribution and commitment to the KBHN network through activities, including, but not limited to, conferences, webinars, and workshops.

Last but not least, Kids Brain Health Network also awarded Dr. Andrea Cross the Outstanding KBHN Mentor/Supervisor Award for providing outstanding supervision and mentorship with the ability to inspire trainees, and fulfill KBHN's mission to conduct research in an inclusive and dynamic learning environment and translate that knowledge into practice.

Are you a caregiver of a child with cerebral palsy (CP)? We want to hear from you!

CP-NET is recruiting parents and caregivers of children up to age 16 with any type of CP to take part in a research study. The study will help us learn what information you need on hip surveillance for your child. Currently, there is a gap in knowledge about hip surveillance and its importance for children with CP.

Your participation would involve an interview or focus group to learn about your experiences and information needs. This will be used to develop educational materials on hip surveillance.

Contact hopmansn@mcmaster.ca if you are interested!

Parents of school-age children with physical disabilities face unique challenges with managing their children’s health and therapy needs at home. This research aimed to define a successful therapy home programme for school aged children with cerebral palsy from the parents perspective; and determine what influenced and predicted this success.

Mindy Silva is a New Zealand based physiotherapist whose PhD focused on partnering with parents using digital technology to co-design health interventions for children with cerebral palsy.

By completing the course, you will earn a CanChild / Kids Brain Health Network / McMaster University Certificate of Completion and a micro-credential.

The Quality of Upper Extremity Skills Test (QUEST) is an outcome measure that evaluates movement patterns and hand function in children with cerebral palsy. The four domains evaluated by the QUEST include:

The QUEST can be used with children aged 18 months to 8 years of age and has excellent reliability and validity.

Co‐development of the ENVISAGE‐Families programme for parents of children with disabilities: Reflections on a parent–researcher partnership.  

In childhood disability research, the involvement of families is essential for optimal outcomes for all participants. ENVISAGE (ENabling VISions And Growing Expectations)-Families is a programme comprising five online workshops for parents of children with neurodevelopmental disorders. The workshops aim to introduce parents to strengths-based perspectives on health and development. The research is based on an integrated Knowledge Translation (iKT) approach, in which knowledge users are involved throughout the research process. This article is co-authored by the ENVISAGE health service researchers (N = 9) and parent partners (N = 3) to describe the process through which we co-developed and implemented the workshops. The team identified seven key ingredients that we believe are necessary for a successful parent–researcher working relationship: (i) consistent communication; (ii) clear roles and expectations; (iii) onboarding and feedback; (iv) flexibility; (v) understanding; (vi) self-reflection; and (vii) funding.

Authors: Pozniak, K., Cross, A., Babic, R., Cavalieros, V., Martens, R., Rosenbaum, P., Imms, C., Novak‐Pavlic, M., Balram, A., Hughes, D., O’Connor, B., & Miller, L. (2022). Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 1440-1630.12811. doi: 10.1111/1440-1630.12811

In this cross-sectional study, the authors explore if demographics, social and clinical questionnaire scores, and cortisol levels in hair samples from adolescents and young adults (AYA) with cerebral palsy (CP) are associated with higher scores on anxiety and/or depression questionnaires. Data from a community-based sample of 63 AYA with CP were analyzed. 65% of participants provided a hair sample. Clinical depressive and anxiety symptoms were present in 33% and 31% of participants, respectively. Family functioning, fatigue, and pain were statistically significant predictors of depressive symptoms. Fatigue and pain were statistically significant predictors of anxiety. Cortisol levels from hair samples were not found to be associated with depressive symptoms or anxiety. Overall, integrating mental health support into regular care for AYA with CP is recommended.

Gorter, J. W., Fehlings, D., Ferro, M. A., Gonzalez, A., Green, A. D., Hopmans, S. N., McCauley, D., Palisano, R. J., Rosenbaum, P., Speller, B., & on behalf of the MyStory Study Group. (2022). Journal of Clinical Medicine, 11(11), 3060. doi: 10.3390/jcm11113060